Local group hosts Guthrie ‘no-show’ town hall
Published 11:35 am Monday, March 24, 2025
SOKY Indivisible member Tom Morris speaks to the audience at the start of the “Brett Guthrie No-Show” town hall meeting at The Capitol in Bowling Green on Sunday. The meeting was organized by the local group SOKY Indivisible as a way for citizens to share their concerns over perceived inaction from U.S. Rep. Brett Guthrie on recent moves to rework the federal government by the Trump administration. (JACK DOBBS / Daily News)
SOKY Indivisible member Cathy Severns, dressed as a chicken, holds up poster boards that show campaign contributions made to U.S. Rep. Brett Guthrie during the “Brett Guthrie No-Show” town hall meeting at The Capitol in Bowling Green on Sunday. The meeting was organized by the local group SOKY Indivisible as a way for citizens to share their concerns over perceived inaction from Guthrie on recent moves to rework the federal government by the Trump administration. (JACK DOBBS / Daily News)
Attendees to the “Brett Guthrie No-Show” town hall meeting wait to enter The Capitol in Bowling Green on Sunday. The meeting was organized by the local group SOKY Indivisible as a way for citizens to share their concerns over perceived inaction from U.S. Rep. Brett Guthrie on recent moves to rework the federal government by the Trump administration. (JACK DOBBS / Daily News)
Jeanie Smith speaks during a panel discussion at the “Brett Guthrie No-Show” town hall meeting at The Capitol in Bowling Green on Sunday. The meeting was organized by the local group SOKY Indivisible as a way for citizens to share their concerns over perceived inaction from U.S. Rep. Brett Guthrie on recent moves to rework the federal government by the Trump administration. (JACK DOBBS / Daily News)
SOKY Indivisible member Tom Morris speaks to the audience at the start of the “Brett Guthrie No-Show” town hall meeting at The Capitol in Bowling Green on Sunday. The meeting was organized by the local group SOKY Indivisible as a way for citizens to share their concerns over perceived inaction from U.S. Rep. Brett Guthrie on recent moves to rework the federal government by the Trump administration. (JACK DOBBS / Daily News)
A t-shirt sits on a table after the “Brett Guthrie No-Show” town hall meeting at The Capitol in Bowling Green on Sunday. The meeting was organized by the local group SOKY Indivisible as a way for citizens to share their concerns over perceived inaction from U.S. Rep. Brett Guthrie on recent moves to rework the federal government by the Trump administration. (JACK DOBBS / Daily News)
SOKY Indivisible member Cathy Severns, dressed as a chicken, watches panelists answer questions during the “Brett Guthrie No-Show” town hall meeting at The Capitol in Bowling Green on Sunday. The meeting was organized by the local group SOKY Indivisible as a way for citizens to share their concerns over perceived inaction from U.S. Rep. Brett Guthrie on recent moves to rework the federal government by the Trump administration. (JACK DOBBS / Daily News)
Around 250 people attended a town hall at the Capitol theater in downtown Bowling Green Sunday, but the focus was largely on the absence of one individual, Rep. Brett Guthrie, R-Bowling Green.
Similar town halls with federal legislators around the country have been contentious as some constituents push back against Trump administration actions.
A letter sent by the SOKY Indivisible group to Guthrie earlier this year “urgently” requested a meeting and placed a March 4 deadline for a response. The letter stated that if no response was received by then, a town hall would be held by the group.
“We had hoped to host Representative Brett Guthrie tonight, but despite our office visits, letters, phone calls and (an) online petition inviting him to set a date and time, he has ignored our request,” SOKY Indivisible member Tom Morris said.
In Guthrie’s place was Cathy Severns, one of the coordinators of SOKY Indivisible’s protests, dressed as a chicken.
Social Security, Elon Musk and job cuts within the National Park Service were among the issues discussed during the town hall, which was prefaced by a playing of Green Day’s “American Idiot.”
The “Brett Guthrie No-Show” was moderated by local attorney Ashlea Shepherd. Submitted questions and open-mic questions were presented to a four-person panel.
One topic discussed were recent job cuts and layoffs within the federal government, namely in the National Park Service. Reports are that around 20 positions had been eliminated at Mammoth Cave National Park, although the impact of recent court rulings on the cuts is unknown.
Panelist Jeanie Smith, who chairs the Warren County Democratic Party, said national parks are considered “one of the best things our country has ever done.”
“I would like to know what Guthrie plans to do when Trump, who views everything as a real estate project, comes in and starts developing on them and drilling on them,” she said.
When asked about potential cuts to Medicaid, panelist Ouida Meier described possible cuts as “indefensible,” and described Medicaid as an “essential safety net” for everyone, even those who don’t use it. Guthrie chairs the Energy and Commerce Committee in the House of Representatives, which oversees Medicare and Medicaid.
“My father died of Alzheimer’s,” Meier said. “That family experience told me how our for-profit medical system is designed to strip a person of their life savings at the end of life, which so often involves great medical intervention and expense.”
Medicaid, which is utilized by nearly 46,000 residents in Warren County, has been discussed as a possible target for cuts by the Department of Government Efficiency, led by Trump adviser Musk.
Speaking on Musk’s role in government, panelist Terrell Holder stated he has “no idea what’s going on with Elon Musk.”
“The only reason he’s Donald Trump’s friend is because he’s the richest person in the world,” Holder said. “He is unelected, unconfirmed … unwanted.
“I would like to ask Mr. Guthrie why are they (in Congress) so afraid to call this out,” he said.
Guthrie’s staff issued a statement prior to Sunday’s town hall. Guthrie said in his statement his work in Congress will help Trump deliver his “America First agenda and restore fiscal responsibility to the government.”
“In November, the American people and voters from across Kentucky’s Second District gave President Trump a mandate to govern and to fix the problems created over the last four years,” the statement reads. “… While I was in Washington, D.C. voting on important legislation, our staff diligently met with constituents; and we appreciate all who came by to share their thoughts.”
Jack covers city government for the Daily News. Originally from Simpson County, he attended Western Kentucky University and graduated in 2022 with a degree in journalism.
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