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M.J. Hegar

stated on August 21, 2018 in an interview on Spectrum Cable's "Capital Tonight":

Says U.S. Rep. John Carter "hasn’t held a town hall in five years."

U.S. Rep. John Carter, a Texas Republican, speaks to a Round Rock crowd in August 2018. It's MOSTLY TRUE that Carter hasn't held a town hall in five years (PHOTO: Megumi Rooze).

By W. Gardner Selby August 29, 2018

Has Congressman John Carter not held a town hall in five years?

Has a Central Texas congressman not hosted a "town hall" meeting for half a decade?

Democrat M.J. Hegar of Round Rock says as much about the Republican she’s challenging to represent the state’s 31st Congressional District, eight-term Rep. John Carter of Round Rock. The district, north of Austin, sweeps in Williamson and Bell counties.

Hegar, a decorated Air Force veteran, has promoted her candidacy with a video in which she says that she once tried but failed to land a meeting with Carter about lifting the ban on women to participate in ground combat. "We’ll show him tough," Hegar says in the video. "Then we’ll show him the door."

Hegar said of Carter in an Aug. 21, 2018 interview on Spectrum News's "Capital Tonight:" "He hasn’t had a town hall in five years and he’s kind of acting as if he wants to retire."

Hegar points to news stories

We sought Hegar’s factual backup for her claim mindful that Merriam-Webster defines a town hall as "an event at which a public official or political candidate addresses an audience by answering questions posed by individual members." The dictionary makes clear that such a gathering doesn’t have to enable anyone to ask anything. Merriam-Webster follows the definition with this sample sentence: "Town halls have lost some of their spontaneity. The 80 or so undecided voters chosen for Tuesday's event must submit their questions in advance and moderator Candy Crowley of CNN will decide which people to call on."

Christian Walker of Hegar’s campaign pointed us to a Texas Observer article describing a 2013 town-hall meeting where Carter faced critical questions.

Walker also singled out a February 2017 Austin American-Statesman news story quoting a Round Rock resident, Felicia Miyakawa, saying Carter’s staff had told her and others that Carter hadn’t hosted live town hall meetings since the shooting of U.S. Rep. Gabby Giffords, D-Ariz., at a public meeting with constituents in 2011. Carter spokeswoman Corry Schiermeyer responded at the time: "I wouldn’t say that is ‘the’ reason, but it would be correct to say it contributes to the many reasons. Mostly town halls are not nearly as effective, and you can’t reach nearly as many people as a tele-town hall."

One alternative: Mass conference calls. The American-Statesman story said: "Many members of Congress prefer the safety of tele-town hall meetings, which offer interaction with constituents but in a controlled setting — essentially large-scale conference calls in which hundreds or thousands of people can listen in and queue up to ask a question — with no booing, no signs with clever slogans, no bad headlines, no viral videos."

Carter held an hour-long tele-town hall on March 22, 2017, according to an American-Statesman news blog post. More recently, an Aug. 11, 2018, news story in the newspaper said Carter had reached out to residents through Facebook Live events.

Instagram posts

stated on March 21, 2024 in an Instagram post

Video shows legislators “dancing in Congress” while the border is “overrun.”

Carter: ‘Man of the people’

When we asked Carter about Hegar’s claim, he said by phone that he’d held multiple events attended by people asking questions. "I’ve been all over my district now, for 12- to 14-hour days, which is pretty typical of my work in Augusts each year. I would say I’m way ahead of my opponent in the Man-of-the-People category," Carter said.

When we inquired into Carter’s formal schedule, we heard back from his office’s Emily Taylor. By email, Taylor listed four August 2018 events where, she said, Carter took questions from constituents on topics including federal pensions, Fort Hood and the legalization of marijuana. The events, Taylor said, were hosted by the Temple Kiwanis Club (Aug. 7); American Legion Post 133 (Aug. 14); the Military Officers Association of America (Aug. 17); and the Killeen Chamber of Commerce (Aug. 23). An Aug. 14, 2018 Temple Daily Telegram news story on the American Legion event includes a section titled "Town Hall" stating that Carter "took a few minutes to discuss congressional business and field questions from the audience."

We asked if Carter had held public town halls open to all constituents.

Taylor replied that Carter had hosted 25 telephone town halls in five years, the latest one on June 18, 2018. "The last four alone have reached 71,471 constituents," Taylor wrote.

Also, Taylor said, Carter holds Facebook Live "town halls, where constituents can tune in online and ask real-time questions or submit questions on our website if they’re unable to tune in during the live event." She pointed us to a nearly 20-minute Facebook Live that Carter held July 2, 2018. Such events are publicized, Taylor wrote, through Carter’s electronic newsletters.

Our ruling

Hegar said Carter "hasn’t held a town hall in five years."

As Hegar maintained, it looks like Carter hasn't hosted a traditional in-person town hall any time recently. Yet he holds tele-town halls, makes Facebook Live appearances and talks at meetings hosted by local groups.

We rate this claim Mostly True.

MOSTLY TRUE – The statement is accurate but needs clarification or additional information. Click here for more on the six PolitiFact ratings and how we select facts to check.

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