Tele Town Hall meetings over the phone are becoming increasingly popular and are being embraced by voters who are taking a more active interest to interact with their elected officials. Case in point: Recently it was reported that the teleconference held in the 12th District in New Jersey, hosted by Senator Jennifer Beck, Assemblyman Declan O'Scanlon, and Assemblywoman Caroline Casagrande, to discuss aspects of New Jersey's FY 2011 State Budget was attended by nearly 4000 citizens -- more than double the participation that had occurred a year earlier. Residents are finding that the meetings over the phone are much more convenient and a big time savings over attending live meetings at local venues. Elected officials are finding it more useful, and helpful, to engage thousands of citizens, rather than just a few who show up to the physical meetings.
"By doing a tele-town hall," said Beck, "we can reach out to thousands of our constituents, whereas at most a few hundred might be able to attend a meeting during the week. This year, more people are feeling the pressure of difficult, but necessary, budget cuts, and it is vital that we remain as receptive as possible to their concerns. Bringing the town hall to the people makes it possible to get the kind of feedback we got tonight, while keeping ourselves informed about the specific concerns our constituents have."
"Last year," said Casagrande, "we had 1,700 people stay on the line for the entire call. This year participation more than doubled, which is exactly what we were hoping for. Those who weren't able to ask questions because of time constraints were able to leave a message so we could get them the answers they needed. We'll be doing the same kind of follow up we did last year with each and every message that was left. We have always encouraged people to come to us, but sometimes we have to go to them to really get a sense of the most pressing concerns."
"The three of us would all like to make it to every meeting of our local governing bodies and school boards," said O'Scanlon, "because the more we know about local concerns, the better we are at our jobs. However, attending every meeting is not very feasible in our large district. Last night, we were able to hold a district-wide community forum without anyone having to drive 40 minutes or more out of their way. The concerns we heard last night may never have made it to our ears without a meeting like this one."
One of the benefits of Tele Town Hall services and conducting a town hall teleconference is that voters can be invited to call in themselves at the designated time. Anyone can join in just by picking up the phone. Moreover, the service can dial tens of thousands of voters, inviting each one to participate just by touching a number on their keypads.
You can learn more about town hall teleconferencing and how it works here: