In a Monday news release, U.S. Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Skamania, revealed that she will hold three more town halls in her district over the next two weeks.
The events are planned for Cowlitz, Clark and Skamania counties. The first event in Cowlitz County will be held at Lower Columbia College at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 14. The Clark County event will be held at 5:30 p.m. at the Battle Ground Event Center on Wednesday, Aug. 20, and the Skamania County event will be at 5:30 p.m. at the Hegewald Center on Friday, Aug. 22.
The series of events will be the third round of town halls hosted by the congresswoman this year since winning reelection in 2024. It’s at least her second major event in her home Skamania County this year.
In the congresswoman’s last bout of town halls held in Centralia and Vancouver, the representative for Washington's Third Congressional District received a relatively cold welcome, mostly from left-leaning attendees who criticized the politician over her votes in support of certain pieces of Republican-sponsored legislation. Most notably, she was criticized for supporting the Laken Riley Act, which mandates the federal government arrest certain non-citizens, and the SAVE Act, which called for Americans to provide proof of citizenship in order to vote.
While the Laken Riley Act was signed into law, the SAVE Act failed to exit the U.S. Congress.
Gluesenkamp Perez was heckled intensely at both of the previous events. One audience member was arrested during the event in Centralia. Protesters and activists at the Vancouver event were shown in social media videos surrounding and blocking the representative's car from leaving the event.
In the wake of the town hall events, Gluesenkamp Perez gained a political competitor after Brent Hennrich, a Democrat, announced his candidacy for Washington's Third Congressional District, citing similar concerns over Gluesenkamp Perez’s support for pieces of Republican legislation.
Hennrich ran in the 2022 election but stepped down in support of Gluesenkamp Perez during her first campaign. He now paints himself as a representative more deeply committed to the values of the Democratic Party.
On Tuesday, state Sen. John Braun, R-Centralia, announced his candidacy for the Third Congressional District seat.
