Two Bedford DLs share their observations about the Lawler Town Hall

Michael Kempin, District Leader, ED1

Attended last night’s town hall.  I was able to attend again as a walk in. 

Generally speaking, a repeat of Rockland 

1. Majority of the room In opposition to Lawler,

2. Not one question in his favor this time. In both instances, random questions were taken by lottery. Typically if you prepared a question it would eventually be asked by another attendee.

3. Again, only one maga hat (which did make the news).

Except this time 

1. They stepped up efforts to request civility. Matt Slater was vocal in the subject as he took the stage.  Since we were at Kennedy, we opened with a prayer.

2. The house lights were up to make it easier to identify individuals not complying with the rules. 

3. I say this because, they required attendees leave their pens and notebooks at the door.

Other observations:

1. While folks acted out again at the pledge of allegiance, it is clearly not because they take exception with standing to recite the pledge of allegiance, it is because watching Lawler lead us, is staged hypocrisy.  This time the room raised their voices on the words “for all.”

2. The energy is very much police state as opposed to attending a lecture, a theater production or a movie.  Picture the ushers changing roles to “watchers/scouts” as the event begins, security guards with expensive tattoos, and state troopers at the doors while you are asking a question of your elected representative. The watcher/scouts, Lawler’s staff, were assigned the role of quelling crowd, and deciding who is asked to leave and who is dragged out.  You could literally see the fire is the eyes of the woman walking the aisles, switching her view toward anyone acting out.

Generally speaking, he is happy to bait the crowd, with statements like I guess you like petroleum in your food if you oppose Kennedy.  Should the crowd have responded, his staff would have quelled. It demonstrates to me that he sees the attendees at both events as “other” which is the most concerning observation of all.

Lawler’s Rules for the Town Hall

Christopher Vecchio, District Leader, ED3

Last night offered a study in contrasts: two political theaters, separated by asphalt and brick, yet playing to the same electorate.

Outside Congressman Mike Lawler’s (R, NY-17) town hall, the atmosphere was defined by calm resolve. 

There was warmth in the crowd, both in spirit and in shared purpose. Neighbors showed up with signs, coffee, and conversation. People sang as Q104.3 belted classic rock. We stood shoulder to shoulder, not in anger, but in solidarity. It wasn’t a mob; it was a movement. A movement built on dignity, inclusion, and truth-telling. There was a sense of community. People brought their kids. Volunteers handed out water. 

If democracy lives in public spaces, it was alive and well on the side of the road on Rt. 138 in Golden's Bridge.

Inside the town hall, the tone was categorically different.

According to a firsthand account from Bedford Democratic District Leader Michael Kempin, what unfolded in that auditorium bore little resemblance to democratic discourse. Think less “town hall” and more “controlled environment.” Pens and notebooks were confiscated at the door—an odd choice for an event ostensibly focused on information-sharing. House lights remained on, not for visibility, but surveillance. The goal wasn’t transparency; it was deterrence.

Security personnel roamed the aisles. Staffers were deputized as enforcers, quick to identify dissenters. Attendees were asked to remain civil while being subjected to baiting lines like, “I guess you like petroleum in your food if you oppose Kennedy.” This wasn’t a dialogue. It was provocation, calibrated to trigger a response that could then be managed or suppressed. This isn’t democracy. It was a kabuki theater with armed ushers. Armed ushers who forcibly removed several constituents for simply exercising their First Amendment rights.

Symbolically, the moment crystallized during the Pledge of Allegiance. While Lawler led the room, attendees elevated their voices on the words “for all.” The message was clear: values without action are hollow. The residents of Lawler's district are tired of his performative patriotism.

What we witnessed is something I’ve seen repeatedly in policy and markets alike: an asymmetry of power masquerading as process. The disconnect could not be more profound. Outside, we practiced the best traditions of American civic life. Inside, it felt like something out of a soft authoritarian handbook: surveillance, suppression, and staged legitimacy.

The broader implication? Lawler no longer views his constituents as stakeholders. He views us as liabilities. Dissent isn’t met with inquiry; it’s met with containment. And that shift, from representation to regulation, is the most dangerous signal of all.

Jennifer Cabrera, Chair of the Westchester-Putnam WFP, is carried from the Town Hall by state troopers.