Area Residents Express Concerns at Empty Chair Town Hall
Attendees at the Empty Chair Town Hall for Constituents of New York’s 21st Congressional District
on March 23, 2025. Photo by Thomas Dimopoulos.
GLENS FALLS — More than 150 people filled all available seats, and dozens more stood against the walls inside the Crandall Public Library March 23 during an event billed as the Empty Chair Town Hall for Constituents of New York’s 21st Congressional District.
The “empty chair” atop the stage was occupied by a photograph of Congresswoman Elise Stefanik, who currently represents the 21st Congressional District which includes multiple Saratoga County towns – Corinth, Greenfield, Moreau, Northumberland, Saratoga, and portions of Wilton among them.
Attendees of the event were chosen to speak via a lottery system. They shared concerns in response to the current administration’s plans threatening multiple federal jobs and agencies, and potential cuts specifically in the Medicaid healthcare program and in Social Security benefits.
“The cascade will be monumental,” one woman said. “A waterfall effect of people who will not be able to pay their bills.”
“Why do you and other members of Congress stand by and do nothing and allow Elon Musk to do what he is doing?” asked another.
The event showcased a cross-section of area residents that included military veterans and families of current military members to artists, parents, grandparents and great-grandparents. The gathering was organized by Indivisible ADK/Saratoga. Organizers said Stefanik was invited to attend the event.
A media statement provided by Stefanik’s team did not address the constituent concerns, and instead read, in part: “Congresswoman Stefanik has hosted thousands of events since she was first elected which is why she was consistently overwhelmingly re-elected for six terms earning the highest number of votes in the North Country in history for a Congressional candidate. This is the same failed playbook radical Leftist Democrats have used every cycle.”
Stefanik was first elected to the office in 2014. On Nov. 11, 2024, six days after Stefanik was elected to her sixth term to represent New York’s 21st District, President-elect Donald Trump picked the town of Saratoga resident to serve as his ambassador to the United Nations. A confirmation vote to serve as ambassador to the UN is anticipated to take place in the coming days, and a special election – expected to take place during this summer – will be held to fill the seat.