Norman’s Women in Action for All will be sponsoring a "Non Cole Town Hall" for U.S. Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.) on April 9.
The meeting will be held at 5:30 p.m. in the Moore Public Library. Cal Hobson, former president pro tempore of the Oklahoma Senate, will be speaking at the town hall along with former Gov. David Walters.
Cole, the representative for Oklahoma’s 4th Congressional District, will not attend the event, according to Olivia Porcaro, Cole’s communications director.
“Due to the congressman’s busy schedule, he will not be in attendance at the event,” Porcaro said.
Rhonda Stock, the chair of Women in Action for All, said attendees will ask Hobson and Walters questions that they want to ask Cole.
“One thing that I’m really looking forward to is that they will recommend what we can do as individuals,” Stock said.
The town hall comes after Cole held a town hall over the phone on March 20 to address concerns regarding federal cuts in Oklahoma. During the call, Cole assured constituents the Department of Government Efficiency had reconsidered the cuts and decided against them.
DOGE is an advisory panel that is expected to make budgetary recommendations for the Trump administration.
In February, several National Weather Center employees were terminated as part of nationwide mass layoffs proposed by DOGE. On March 3, DOGE canceled the Radar Operations Center’s lease, a centralized hub for technicians and researchers to work on improving and repairing weather radar.
Stock said one of Women in Action for All’s biggest concerns is the potential cancellation of the National Weather Center’s lease. Stock believes the center to be important to Oklahomans.
“Oklahoma needs it desperately,” Stock said. “People just need warnings about the weather.”
According to Stock, Women in Action for All planned the town hall after holding a rally outside of Cole’s office.
“We had about a hundred women there, and we had signs and that sort of thing,” Stock said.
Stock said Women in Action for All had a letter written by Judith Lewis, a retired OU history professor, requesting Cole hold a town hall. After the rally, the organization delivered the letter to Cole’s staff, Stock said.
Andrea Clark, the liaison between Women in Action for All and Indivisible Oklahoma, posted on Facebook that Cole had been invited to the town hall so constituents could speak to him about any questions or concerns.
“I know that he won’t be attending, but I hope that he will respond and answer our questions,” Stock said.
Stock said that a week after the town hall, Women in Action for All will hold another rally and deliver another letter of concern to Cole’s office.
“You feel a little more empowered when you’re with a group to be able to do something,” Stock said.
This story was edited by Anusha Fathepure, Ismael Lele and Ana Barboza. Ryan Little and Grace Rhodes copy edited this story
