Letters to the Editor | April 4, 2025

I helped to plan the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s famous speech against the Vietnam War 68 years ago on April 4, 1967, at Riverside Church in New York. Over the years, since that speech and following King’s assassination, I have been asked repeatedly, “Where is Dr. King now?” At last, a simple answer: King’s legacy of nonviolent protest for the sake of justice will be on full view tomorrow during the “Hands Off!” day of action in hundreds of cities and towns across the nation — all this in opposition to the Trump/Musk policies. Thank you, Dr. King.

The Rev. Richard Fernandez, Philadelphia

Pennsylvania’s junior senator, Dave McCormick, held his first town hall meeting last week. Well, sort of. It was held over the telephone and, according to The Inquirer, “residents were identified like callers on sports talk radio — in a format featuring far less heated debate.” If you raised your eyebrows on the format, how about the fact the tele-town hall was advertised 30 minutes before it started via a post on McCormick’s X account? It lasted one hour. This week, at the “Mondays at McCormick’s” rally at the senator’s Philadelphia office, several of the people I spoke to weren’t aware there was a town hall, while others called in but were put on hold and never got through. Elected officials are elected to serve the public and therefore should be accessible by giving constituents a reasonable timeline so they can be informed and participate. Voters are entitled to a town hall with McCormick — and he should show up in person.

Peter Tobia, Philadelphia

The writer is a former journalist at The Inquirer.

I have seen reports Sen. Dave McCormick is absent and not meeting with his constituents — that cannot be further from the truth. Within 10 days of being sworn in, he opened all seven offices across the state, and we have hired a full staff who are working day in and day out to serve the needs of Pennsylvanians. He has been in Pennsylvania nearly every weekend, meeting with constituents, hosting roundtables with stakeholders, and doing the real work the people of Pennsylvania elected him to do. He hosts a weekly constituent coffee in Washington, D.C., where hundreds of constituents engage with him. At a recent coffee, I heard from several attendees that this was the best engagement they had ever experienced from one of their elected officials.

He hosts regular telephone town halls, where he can speak with thousands of constituents at once, taking hard questions from people all across the state, expressing his views, and explaining the work he is doing on behalf of the voters who sent him to Washington. And he has sent out more than 160,000 letters to constituents in response to their calls and emails. Finally, he is delivering on the promises he made during his campaign. From securing the border to stopping the scourge of fentanyl to unleashing Pennsylvania’s energy potential, Sen. McCormick is pushing policies that will benefit every Pennsylvanian. He is everywhere serving the people of this state. For the media to suggest otherwise is irresponsible and fake news.

Ryan Aument, state director for Sen. Dave McCormick, a former whip of the Pennsylvania state Senate, and former member of the state House of Representatives representing Lancaster County

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