Kurt Schrader, Democratic representative from Oregon’s 5th district, held a town hall meeting on Jan. 9 at Gladstone Senior Center to discuss his fiscal priorities in Congress. After presenting a Powerpoint with facts and figures about the federal budget, and his plan for reducing the deficit and preventing the dismantling of Medicare and Social Security, a question and answer session was held.

I approached our congressman shortly after the meeting, which lasted about an hour, to ask him about how the political climate might change if a Republican were elected president this year.