Huge crowd packs Santa Rosa town hall with Senators Schiff and McGuire

SANTA ROSA, Calif. - With Labor Day – the traditional start of the political season –nearly a month away, both grape picking and political season arrived early in wine country.

Senators hold town hall

Local perspective:

An audience of more than 400 people stood in long lines to attend a town hall meeting hosted by U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff (D-California) and State Sen. Mike McGuire (D-Healdsburg) at Pinder High School in Santa Rosa on Wednesday evening. 

The large crowd filled every floor seat and stretched into the bleachers, reminiscent of an old-style campaign rally where many attendees submitted written questions.

Entering the event, community members expressed urgency regarding the current political system.

"I'm hoping to get some information with what's going on with our political system right now and hoping that they address some of the things that are going on like the corruption with the Supreme Court," said attendee Ron Folla.

His brother, Steve Folla, echoed those sentiments. 

"I've never been to one of these, so I thought I'd come and check it out," he said. "I'd like to find out if there's such a thing as law and order in this country anymore, or is the law just for us working people and not the rich and powerful."

Other attendees stressed the importance of direct civic engagement and moral leadership. 

Frank Bush said the current political climate makes it necessary to engage with representatives in any way possible, while Susan Minde stated she hoped the visit would encourage officials to outline specific action plans.

"Our country is in a moral crisis where people are grabbing for themselves. There's corruption. There's lying. We need people of good moral fiber," said attendee Kathy Differeding.

What they're saying:

During the event, Schiff pointed to economic uncertainty as a top issue driving public frustration across the country.

"When you have millions of people who look at the quality of life their parents had and think it was better than what they have, and look to the future and are filled with doubt and think what it means to their kids, all too many are ready to entertain any demagogue [who] comes along promising they alone can fix it," Schiff said.

The initial round of questions focused on strategies to build more housing despite delays from red tape and tariffs, efforts to slow or stop climate change, and ways to address immigration fears affecting naturalized and native-born Americans.

Addressing immigration enforcement, McGuire expressed strong criticism of current tactics. 

"ICE are boot lickers. They're terrorizing our communities and it's intentional. Seventy-four percent of those who are detained by ICE have no criminal record," McGuire said.

Both senators discussed specific legislative bills currently introduced or proposed to address each of the topics raised during the event.

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