Congressman Mike Levin, whose 49th district straddles San Diego and Orange counties, held a town hall Sunday afternoon to talk with constituents and answer questions on what he is doing to push back against the Trump administration’s recent moves to cut federal programs.
At the first mention of Elon Musk during Levin’s opening remarks, a resounding “boo” erupted through the crowd seated in San Juan Hills High School’s auditorium, setting the tone for the next hour and a half.
Three speakers were featured to share the state of Social Security, Medicaid and the Department of Veteran Affairs.
Susie Dixon, president of the California Retired Teachers Association, took to the lectern to recap recent efforts to uproot the social security system.
Referencing the agency’s announcement that it would be cutting 7,000 employees and intending to close several field offices, she said that older members who aren’t familiar with technology or cannot drive the extra distance to the next available office may miss out on benefits.
“We need to have more funding to update the technology, and I’m shocked that Elon, with his interest in technology, didn’t recognize that, but instead wants to crash it and start all over. And start over means privatize,” Dixon said.
Doctor Karl Steinberg, a nursing home and hospice medical director in North County, discussed Medicaid and said the cuts could affect nursing homes’ ability to stay open nationwide.
“It’s probably more of a factor in rural areas than it is here, but I think about a quarter of the nursing facilities in this district would be at risk for shutting down if Medicaid gets cut,” Steinberg said. “So, I don’t think any of us, no matter our political affiliation, want to see 95-year-old people sleeping in the park or being discharged from a nursing home to an unsafe home environment.”
The final speaker, Kolin Williams, a disabled Army veteran and faculty chair of the Saddleback College VETS program in Orange County, touched on the impact of the administration’s plan to cut 80,000 jobs from the VA.
“I have heard from veterans across our area and at Saddleback College very frequently that they have to wait four to six months to meet a counselor, only to get tangled in red tape or rejected over requirements,” Williams said. “The program is already understaffed, and we can’t repair a broken system by making it weaker.”
The question and answer portion began after all four on stage gave remarks. Twelve questions were asked by constituents for the next hour, mostly revolving around what citizens should do next and what the congressman is doing and what are his plans.
To start the questions, Wendy Cochran, a Vista resident and Army wife, asked Levin how he plans to convince both GOP and Democratic colleagues to protect veterans’ families from losing VA benefits.
Levin said that while he has legislative and procedural tools to oppose the administration, the “most important thing we have” is mobilizing the people to advocate for these programs.
“I don’t have an easy answer except keep telling your stories.”
This message of mobilization carried throughout the session, as Levin and others on stage encouraged the people to use their voice to let fellow Americans know that these programs are in danger.
“We know how our congressman feels, we know how our senators feel, but contact the other ones,” Dixon said. “Social media, I think, is one of the biggest tools you can use. And you can always call their office, and you can shut down their email system, as we have done for Congressman Levin many times.”
As Levin relayed his plans to fight back against the administration in the courts, one San Juan Capistrano resident, Karen Fisher, asked what they should do if the executive branch stops following the judicial branch’s orders.
“So a number of these cases are going to make their way to the Supreme Court, and that’s when we will really see whether we are in a near constitutional crisis or a full-blown constitutional crisis,” Levin said.
Considering the possibility that the Supreme Court would disregard the constitution, Levin said, he has been in talks with other representatives about the uncharted territory they may slip into, without giving details about their possible course of action.
The last participant to take the podium was Nicole Gambino, a 38-year-old Solana Beach resident. Her message took a detour from the majority of the participants’ tone, asking the politician if he stood alongside billionaires or the people.
Calling out Levin for taking money from political action committees — which the congressman denied in his response, despite record of contributions — she asked the politician to consider the younger generation.
“I am here to tell you this system is broken,” Gambino said. “And this isn’t just my voice; it is the voice of an entire generation that has been ignored, dismissed, and outright robbed of the future we were promised.”
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