Tester Town Hall in Kalispell Draws Crowd of Curious Constituents

U.S. Sen. Jon Tester on Friday fielded questions from a crowd of more than 200 people in Kalispell, where audience members quizzed the Democrat on everything from the impeachment hearings roiling the Trump administration to Montana’s mental health crisis.

Staff members for Montana’s senior senator billed the town hall-style event as Tester’s eighth “unvetted” public forum of the year, which they say represents a departure from his congressional counterparts, who have opted for “tele-town halls” rather than face-to-face assemblies.

Indeed, the latter have become a signature of the third-term senator’s tenure in public office, and some of the questions from audience members, who gathered at the Flathead Valley Community College’s Arts and Technology Building, caught Tester flat-footed — including one from a Glacier High School student who grilled the senator about socialist nations and their viability in the history of civilization.

Others were right down Tester’s lane, including several questions from locals concerned about the continued trend in high suicide rates among Montanans, as well as the barriers blocking their way to mental health care access.

Read more: https://flatheadbeacon.com/2019/11/23/tester-town-hall-kalispell-draws-crowd-curious-constituents/