Marie Gluesenkamp Perez Town Hall—Klog 100.7 News

Last night, Congresswoman Marie Gluesenkamp Perez hosted a town hall at Lower Columbia College, drawing about 75 attendees. The Q&A session covered a wide range of topics, from local issues to international affairs.

One major question focused on preventing local mill closures. Perez emphasized the benefits of paper over plastic for both health and environmental reasons, and stressed the importance of maintaining family-wage jobs in the community. She suggested not adding new regulations so mills have time to adapt. Other local topics included Mt. St. Helens disaster response and sea lion impacts on the Columbia River.

Nationally, U.S. support for the war in Gaza sparked pro-Palestinian protests, with some attendees being removed by security. Perez reiterated her support for Israel, calling for a “liberal democracy in the Middle East” and stating the conflict would end if “Hamas released the hostages.” She also said other Middle Eastern countries “killed people for being gay” and acknowledged she was not an expert on the matter, saying U.S. experts themselves disagreed on the best course of action.

Perez also discussed women’s rights, threats to public education, health care, and Social Security.