NORTHERN ARIZONA — Many constituents were not happy with the process of Rep. Eli Crane’s (R-Ariz.), “Telephone Town Hall,” held live on April 9, 2025 from Washington, D.C.
In his Facebook page, Crane stated “Thank you to the more than 8,000 constituents who took the time to join me for tonight’s Tele-Town Hall. It’s an honor to represent you in Washington, DC.” However, even Crane admitted there were problems with the effort.
“For anyone who wasn’t able to join, here is a full unedited recording.”
Those who couldn’t get into the Tele-Town Hall voiced their displeasure on his Facebook page
“We have also called multiple times saying it wasn’t active, I gave up after 30 minutes. I don’t even believe you held this. How long was the town hall? 10 minutes? Or zero minutes. You are a fraud and don’t represent anyone but MAGA voters. That isn’t your job, you represent all of us. You are what is wrong with this country right now, blindly following Trump and letting our country be trashed!”
“?? Called in starting at 5p. Recording said the event was not active. Tried several times What was the phone number?”
I called at least a dozen times beginning at 4:50 AZ time until 5:25 and each time the recording said it hadn’t started yet. Show some courage and act like you care, come home to face your constituents face to face.
“Why not a real town hall?”
“I received an invitation and when I called the phone number it kept saying to call when the event started. How long did it last ??? The time in the email stated 5:00 pm Arizona time.”
“Called many times and just got a recording saying the meeting hadnt started yet. Not surprised we were left out in the cold. You need to come home and talk to your constituents in person, Mr. Crane. You have been representing your party, not your people, in DC. We will remember that during primaries.”
“So who actually was able to get on the call? None of us could.”
“I came here to see what happened. I called from 4:55-6:30 PM and just continued to get the message that the event was not active yet. When was this actually held?”
“So sad that your view of “constituents” are those that align with your narrow view of the world”
“Many of us here in Northern Arizona tried to call at 5 pm on the dot . Called and the automated voice said event not active , please come back when the event starts. I’m sure we will find out what happened, so don’t jump to conclusions before you know .”
After receiving harsh pushback from constituents — with video clips shared on national media — Republican leadership have be urged to either avoid live town halls altogether or use video/telephone town halls so they can better control who is asking questions.
As a result, many have opted to hold empty-chair town halls in Republican districts.
