Carlos May Introduces Plan for Accessibility,
First of Seven Solutions for District 7 (7SD7)
Congressional candidate to hold 100 town hall meetings,
Challenges incumbent to do half as many

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (April 12, 2010) – Carlos May, candidate for the 7th District Congressional seat, today introduced the first of his Seven Solutions for District 7 (7SD7). May announced his plan on Accessibility if elected and shared how his administration would better serve constituents of the 7th Congressional District.

“The definition of the job is in the title – U.S. Representative,” said May. “I can only be an effective representative if I know what the people want and what they are thinking. I have strong convictions and ideas that I believe will help the district, but my job is also to listen in order to provide the best representation possible for the Indianapolis area.”

Candidate May announced the following policies for his office if he is elected:

Open Door Policy

• As Congressman, May will personally meet with any constituent that requests such a meeting and will hold open office hours weekly. Staff will meet with any constituent by appointment or by walk-in.

Satellite Offices and Mobile Office

• At least two satellite offices, along with the main District Office and a Mobile Office to travel throughout the district and to constituents when disabilities confine them to their home. Ongoing Town Hall Meetings
• Weekly Town Hall Meetings when in the district and virtual town hall meetings when stuck in Washington because of votes or committee meetings. Community Liaisons
• Staff will visit with neighborhood groups, attend school board meetings and other community events and work with local government to help neighborhoods. (Modeled after the Mayor’s Community Liaisons Program)

May discussed additional priorities for him and the office including; he will keep his home in the district and only be in Washington for official business such as votes and committee meetings, his family will remain in Indianapolis, both his district and his Washington schedule will always be posted on the office website, his office will email weekly newsletters to inform constituents of the week’s activities, and he will take suggestions from constituents to make his office even more accessible.

“My goal is to be the most accessible Congressman this district, this state, and even this nation has ever seen,” added May.

Candidate May is releasing three of the seven solutions in the next three weeks leading up to the May 4th primary and the final four solutions prior to the November 2nd election.

Town Hall Meetings and Challenge to Congressman Carson

Candidate May will share his vision and listen to voters of the district through a series of town hall meetings, both neighborhood (four to be held before the primary) and virtual (began in mid-March), with 100 total meetings planned by the November election. (Schedule for the four upcoming neighborhood town hall meetings and the weekly virtual town hall meetings Click Here)

May challenged the incumbent Congressman to accomplish even half of the 100 meetings he plans to hold, to reveal how many public forums he has held since being elected and to pledge to hold weekly meetings with the public, either neighborhood or virtual if re-elected, always directly answering questions from the public.

“I challenge Congressman Carson to hold just 50, or half, of the public meetings that I will conduct because I realize some of his time will be spent in Washington to vote or in committees. However, he can hold virtual town hall meetings from Washington as I am doing here and he can and should be here every weekend, to meet with constituents face to face and answer their questions in a public setting just as I am doing,” said May.

“We can’t represent unless we listen to the people. We can’t listen to the people if we’re not in front of the people and among the people. We can’t do our job right if we’re casting votes in Washington based on what Washington is telling us. Today, I not only pledge to always listen, but I have put forth a plan to show that my actions will speak even louder than my words. I challenge the incumbent Congressman to do the same and spell out his plan to listen to his constituents, just as I have done today,” concluded May.

Note:
Congressman Andre Carson is the most liberal voting U.S. Representative from the state of Indiana, rating 22nd most liberal in the nation by the National Journal. He has voted the will of Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, a democrat from San Francisco, ninety-nine percent (99%) of the time since he has been in office.