Editor:

As a chronically ill stay-at-home mom in District 4, I try my best to stay informed about local politics. I watch the news every night, I’m active on social media and I check my mail daily. Given my efforts, I feel confident in saying that I haven’t heard of any recent town halls or community engagement events hosted by Joel Engardio post-Prop. K.  

Every time I see Joel Engardio’s friend Lucas Lux on TV, he claims that Joel is actively engaged with his community and regularly hosts engagement events. However, I haven’t seen any evidence of these events outside of carefully controlled PR stunts where public engagement is heavily managed. Are there any genuine, open town halls or community engagement events that Joel has hosted lately where he welcomed diverse perspectives and listened to all sides of the issue?   

I believe it’s essential for our elected officials to create SAFE spaces where they genuinely engage with all their constituents, not just those who support them. However, I haven’t seen any evidence of Engardio doing that lately. Have there been any events where Joel welcomed diverse perspectives and listened to all sides of the issue? Or is he just relying on PR stunts to create the illusion of engagement? If Joel Engardio truly was hosting genuine, open town halls or community engagement events, I’d love to hear about them. What dates and times were these events happening? Where were they located, and what was on the agenda?

Wendy Liu
D4