Residents of New York’s 23rd Congressional District held an “empty seat” town hall in Corning on Tuesday.
The empty seat was left for Republican Congressman Nick Langworthy.
More than a hundred constituents gathered at the United Steelworkers Local 1000 building in downtown Corning this week, calling on Langworthy to address their concerns about the actions of the Trump administration.
They are frustrated with Langworthy and said he refused to meet with them in person about what is happening in Washington D.C.
“We told him we had many, many constituents that would really appreciate having a meet and greet with him, especially since half of his telephone town halls get canceled last minute,” expressed Dora Leland, organizer of the event, speaking to the crowd. “And we got absolutely no response. Matter of fact, it was more like this…[crickets chirping].”
Leland is co-founder of the grassroots group Citizens for a Better Southern Tier.
Leland said the event empowers people to participate.
“I think we all really needed to see how much we have in common with our concerns and that we're not just alone in our fear and our concerns and, quite frankly, in our anger with the congressmen.“
Local leaders, officials and residents from several counties in the district attended the town hall. Langworthy represents Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Chemung and Tioga counties, as well as parts of Erie, Niagara, Schuyler and Steuben counties.
Participants spoke about cuts to Social Security, Medicaid, veterans’ benefits, and the unlawful deportation and imprisonment of Kilmer Abrego Garcia.
“Congressman, what are you going to do about POTUS defying a Supreme Court order, which is an impeachable offense, regarding the return of Kilmer Garcia? And how are you going to work for due process rights for all of us?” asked Jim Ferdell.
Garcia was deported earlier this year from Maryland to a foreign prison in El Salvador. The Trump administration has admitted this was an administrative error but refuses to return Garcia to the U.S. despite court orders from the U.S. Supreme Court and lower federal courts.
According to organizers of the “empty seat” town hall, Langworthy was formally invited to speak with his constituents but did not respond. Langworthy has not held an in-person town hall since he took office in 2023.
Some attendees spoke about unseating Langworthy in the next election.
“The way that the Democrats get back in the game is they need to flip the House,” said Democrat Bill Boland, Corning city mayor. “So, if you want to talk about where to put your money, where to put your energy, I would ask every single one of these people to focus in a laser-like fashion, to [beating] Nick Langworthy, to getting this district [to] flip.“
Cattaraugus County resident Aaron Gies announced he is considering challenging Langworthy in the midterm elections and received a thunderous applause.
“I’m Aaron Gies. I drove over from Olean and I’m exploring a run against Nick Langworthy.”
Gies is a professor of theology and Franciscan studies at St. Bonaventure University.
“I love being a professor,” said Gies. “I never considered being a politician. But it's time for people who are native citizens and [have the privilege] to do whatever they can to make sure that constitutional rights are still available in a few years.“
If Gies runs, he said he will seek the Democratic Party nomination.
WSKG reached out to Langworthy and received the following statement:
“Since being elected to Congress, I have held telephone [town halls] on a monthly basis and I will continue to do so. This has been a very successful and effective method of reaching all the constituents of NY-23. Each month, my office dials out to 100,000 phone numbers in addition to advertising the call-in number so virtually anyone can call in on their own as well.
“I am very transparent with my positions and communicate with our district on a constant basis not only with tele [town halls] but through a weekly newsletter, regular news interviews, and community events. My offices answers thousands of constituents every week with calls, emails, letters, and meetings so I am very in tune with the concerns and opinions of my constituents.
“As I have said, I will not participate in this nationally driven leftwing charade of fake town hall meetings being called together under mysterious, new organizations that all fall under the umbrella of the Indivisible network - a George Soros funded movement.”
Soros’ Open Society Foundations shows contributions to the Indivisible Project as recently as 2023. However, according to Citizens for a Better Southern Tier, it is not part of the Indivisible Project and does not receive any funding. The group said it is an "independent organization with no formal affiliations with other groups but will share information about other group’s events and programs on its social media."
Citizens for a Better Southern Tier was founded in 2017 by constituents of former Republican Congressman Tom Reed.
“We had a lot of frustration going to [Reed’s] office, getting him to listen,” said Dora Leland, one of the organizers of the town hall. “Particularly, he was voting to repeal the Affordable Care Act. And it started then, and it just kind of has emerged, and basically it's just a grassroots organization for the entire Southern Tier.”
Tuesday’s “empty seat” town hall comes amid protests and rallies held across the country over concerns about the Trump administration’s policies.