We hope residents will be active participants in Sen. Brent Jackson’s Feb. 7 town hall forum, being held at 7 p.m. in the Activity Center on the Sampson Community College campus.
It is an opportunity to listen and to share, making a difference in the governance of the state, as it pertains to Sampson County and beyond.
Since 2011, Jackson has opened himself up to public scrutiny through these public forums, using them as a platform to share what he and the General Assembly are doing and why, as well as providing constituents an opportunity to question the senator about anything going on in Raleigh.
The forum is an open door that constituents should enter, particularly during the times in which we currently live.
The town hall meetings, also being held in other parts of Jackson’s district (Johnston and Duplin), can be merely information sessions, where the senator updates those in attendance about legislative happenings and policies that have been implemented during his tenure, or they can be opportunities to open dialogue.
How the forum unfolds depends on attendance and, just as importantly, the willingness of attendees to ask pointed questions that drill down into subjects that truly matter in the shaping of our state and county.
Jackson is to be applauded for holding the forums and for being willing to answer the public’s questions, not matter what that question will be.
The senator is doing his part; but the public holds the key.
Attendance is important; asking questions even more so.
If able, we urge citizens to take part in any or all of these forums. In the long run, it will help our county and our lawmakers.