Group presses Chuck Fleischmann on voting record

photo Chuck Fleischmann
Arkansas-Tennessee Live Blog

TOWN HALL MEETINGSU.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann will hold four town hall meetings in Hamilton County today. Those meetings will be at:* 8:30 a.m.: Collegedale City Hall* 11 a.m.: Heritage House at Heritage Park* 1:30 p.m.: John A. Patten Recreation Center* 4 p.m.: Electric Power Board community roomSource: Rep. Chuck Fleischmann

Members of Chattanooga Organized for Action plan to attend three of U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann's town hall meetings today, saying they want answers about the congressman's stance on new jobs.

Chris Brooks, organizer for Chattanooga Organized for Action, the group behind the recall effort on Mayor Ron Littlefield, said four volunteers plan to attend meetings being held at Heritage Park, the John A. Patten Recreation Center and the Electric Power Board community room.

"We're going to be pushing for Chuck to answer his voting record on jobs," Brooks said.

The town hall meetings come a week after Chattanooga Organized for Action held a demonstration in front of the Chattanooga Convention Center, where Fleischmann was attending a speech by Gov. Bill Haslam, then marched to Fleischmann's local office, demanding answers on job creation efforts by the freshman congressman.

Jordan Powell, Fleischmann's spokesman, said Wednesday everyone is welcome to attend the events and having a "productive, respectful conversation about the issues."

But Powell also said he thinks Chattanooga Organized for Action and the Service Employees International Union, which helped facilitate last week's demonstration, are not showing the full story about the congressman's votes.

"This pro-union group simply has their facts wrong about Chuck's voting record," he said.

Brooks and other members of Chattanooga Organized for Action said this week and last that Fleischmann's voting history reflects taking sides with U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., that would have overhauled Medicare. They say such a move could have cost tens of thousands of jobs in Tennessee.

But Powell said the congressman has supported free trade agreements with South Korea, Colombia and Panama, co-sponsored tort reform and worked for "pro-growth, pro-business policies."

"He will continue to fight for America's small businessmen and women and their right-to-work values by getting the federal government out of the way," Powell said.

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