Randy Evans is executive director of the Iowa Freedom of Information Council and can be reached at DMRevans2810@gmail.com.
For the past couple of years, Republicans often accused President Joe Biden of dodging the media—refusing to sit for extended interviews, declining to be questioned in regular White House press conferences, depriving the public of the opportunity to see how he thinks on his feet and articulates his views.
Critics accused Biden and his staff of avoiding unscripted events because they knew he was not mentally agile enough to keep up with the demands pointed questions bring. The president’s supporters brushed aside those assertions—although Biden’s performance during the recent debate against Donald Trump confirmed their worst anxieties.
I am not here to re-plow that political ground. Instead, I wonder why other political leaders much younger than the 81-year-old president are so reluctant to stand in front of their constituents, and journalists, and answer questions on a variety of topics.
Take, for example, U.S. Representative Zach Nunn, 45, who represents Iowa’s third Congressional district.
Iowa’s longest-tenured public official, Senator Chuck Grassley (who, at age 90, is nine years older than Biden), has made it his signature political strategy to visit Iowa’s 99 counties every year and take questions in each one.
Not all those events are open to the public, however, especially in the bigger cities. The progressive advocacy group Progress Iowa tallied several years ago that Grassley held true public “town hall” events in fewer than half the counties. Most of the senator’s 99-county appearances were at invitation-only events hosted by businesses, service clubs, and other groups.
That said, Grassley seems fearless with compared with Nunn.
Progress Iowa noted last year that since Nunn took office in January 2023, he has never held a town hall event that was open to all comers in any of the 21 counties in IA-03. (Editor’s note from Laura Belin: The website Legistorm, which tracks town hall meetings for all members of Congress, still has no record of any such event for Nunn.)
Nunn has met with constituents in those counties, of course. But meeting with a select group, whether invited by the congressman’s staff or a local host, is not the same as having an open-door event where anyone can attend and ask Nunn about his views and his votes.
Nunn’s approach differs somewhat from the other members of Iowa’s U.S. House delegation. Representatives Mariannette Miller-Meeks, Ashley Hinson, and Randy Feenstra each have held at least one public town hall forum since their current House terms began in 2023.
Nunn’s avoidance of these public Q&A events is baffling. Elected officials should want to hear from their constituents. It is an important part of the job. Town hall events give the officeholder the opportunity to explain their views on an assortment of issues.
That was why such public access to elected officials used to be more common than now. Governors Robert Ray and Terry Branstad met at least once a week with reporters and took questions on any topic the journalists asked about. Ray believed the sessions were an important way for him to stay plugged in on the wide range of concerns Iowans had, regardless of whether they supported him or not.
Branstad reveled in the give-and-take when he sat down with a group of Iowans. He was not naive enough to think he would avoid pointed questions. But he believed such sessions gave him the chance to directly explain himself and his positions to citizens.
Nunn must not understand this—or maybe he is not concerned about this aspect of public service.
A public town hall gathering where anyone can attend produces different questions, and a politician gains different insights, than occurs at a private event. A host at a private event is not likely to invite someone whose questions might make Nunn uncomfortable. And if the private event is at a business, it is unlikely an employee would risk embarrassing the guest—and the boss—with a touchy question.
While Grassley set the standard by visiting every county every year, State Auditor Rob Sand has gold-plated the Grassley standard by holding public town hall events in all 99 counties every year.
A few weeks ago, Sand released a schedule of 100 public town halls he will hold in the coming months. There is no guessing if Sand will visit a certain county. It’s on the schedule on his office website. There is no question when, where, and at what time he will meet with the public. It’s on the schedule. And there is no question who can attend. Anyone can.
Rob Sand understands what Zach Nunn does not:
Even if some questions make Sand squirm, or if some force him to quickly gather his thoughts, or if someone from the other party pounces with an embarrassing question, Sand knows this is part of being an elected official. It just goes with the territory.
Top image: U.S. Representative Zach Nunn speaks during a roundable on affordable housing in Des Moines on May 20, 2024. Photo first published on his official Facebook page.