GILPIN COUNTY — With Congress still on an Easter break, Joe Neguse, U.S. Representative for Colorado’s 2nd Congressional District, held a town hall meeting at the Gilpin County Community Center on April 8.

Neguse said that it was his 36th town hall since January 2025, and that he has held more town halls then the rest of the Colorado congressional delegation combined. He added that he enjoys the unscripted questions format because it gives him a chance to hear from his constituents and learn about their concerns and issues.

The Community Center multi-purpose room was filled to capacity, with some folks standing along the back wall and others listening in the hallway.

The multi-purpose room at the Gilpin County Community Center was packed for the Joe Neguse town hall meeting. Gilpin County Clerk and Recorder Sahari McCormick (standing, right) was able to ask Neguse about the threat to voting by mail.

Photo by Wes Isenhart

Neguse was running a little late, so he skipped his opening remarks and went straight to answering questions from the audience. The session’s basic rule was to keep each question to under 30 seconds so he could answer as many as possible during the time allotted.

The county commissioners took turns picking from the many raised hands, assuring that selection would be more random.

The questions ranged from national policy to personal problems like dealing with Medicare coverage. The national policy questions included the Iran War, proposed changes to voting by mail, the SAVE act which would alter voter ID requirements, and invoking the 25th Amendment.

Neguse involved constituent services staff accompanying him for the personal questions. These trained staff members met with the individuals after the Town Hall and obtained the necessary information to open a case. These cases are then pursued by the congressional staff to resolve the issue or find answers.

One of the more heartfelt questions was about including a sign language interpreter at his public meetings so that deaf people could participate. Neguse recognized the request and said he would look into providing such a service in the future. He told a story about helping blind students when he was on the CU Student Council to get Braille instructions placed on campus ATM machines.

In his closing remarks, Neguse encouraged everyone to make friends with someone they disagree with, “because you never know when you are going to need a little help or another vote to get something done that benefits all of us.”

His final comment was not to despair about the current situation, and to get involved with peaceful electoral activities to effect positive change.

After the meeting, Neguse and his staff remained in the room, answering individual questions and helping to arrange for individual attention by his staff to personal problems Gilpin residents had in dealing with the federal government.

Neguse’s congressional website is neguse.house.gov. Click on the Contact tab to find local offices or information on contacting the 2nd Congressional District office.