JERSEY SHORE – Crowds protested recent actions by the Trump administration, and they wanted to know where their congressman stands on the issues.
A head count from the two recent rallies noted more than 70 people each, most of whom carried signs in front of Toms River Town Hall on Washington Street where Congressman Chris Smith (R-4th) has a district office. The second rally was held this week.
The protestors chanted slogans and spoke in opposition toward President Donald Trump’s policies concerning immigration, LGBTQ+ rights, Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) cuts of federal employees, removing medical insurance programs to U.S. citizens and cutting foreign aid plus the administration’s recent actions in dropping support to the Ukraine.
The rallies were not organized by any one group but by area residents and members of the National Organization for Women (NOW), Manchester Democrats and a local Indivisible group who were present. Indivisible is a grassroots movement with a mission to “elect progressive leaders, rebuild democracy, and defeat the Trump agenda.”
A crowd of over 70 people came out to a recent rally opposing actions by President Donald Trump – and what they said was inaction of Congressman Chris Smith – in front of Toms River Town Hall. (Photo by Bob Vosseller)
Attendees of the rallies urged Smith to stand up against the Trump administration and voice objection against the Republican policies they expressed would hurt seniors, minorities and federal employees.
They also called for Smith to host a town hall meeting where he could receive questions about what is going on in Washington D.C. and what the longtime Republican’s views on these issues were. Smith’s staff members noted that he had not held a Town Hall meeting in some time. They recalled one held in 1992. Smith has held his seat in Congress since 1981.
Smith’s face appeared on several of the signs that attendees carried. His image was featured prominently on a sign carried by Diane Hurlburt of Point Pleasant who said she tried to reach out to the representative. “I was here last week and filled out a form and asked a staff member if he was going to have a town hall meeting and they said they had no idea. I’ve called for three weeks and only got a message that they took my number and name.”
When asked what concerns she had, she replied “There are so many but my main concern today is for Medicaid and Medicare, our immigrant population in New Jersey and (DOGE director Elon) Musk controlling things. I have family who work for the federal government and the morale of workers is so low. The whole thing is a mess and its embarrassing as an American and also how we are treating our allies,” she added.
NOW members Patty Villani of Point Pleasant and Linda Fote of Toms River came out for the Friday afternoon rally for similar reasons.
Fote said, “the cuts in Medicaid will really impact women. Medicaid covers about 20% of pregnancies in this country. It also covers a lot of nursing homes for the elderly who run out of their benefits. We are really here to speak up for women’s issues about Medicaid.”
Diane Hurlburt of Point Pleasant holds up a sign illustrating her view that Congressman Chris Smith needs to be more responsive to the needs of his constituents during a rally held in Toms River. (Photo by Bob Vosseller)
Sporting a red, white and blue jacket adorned with a Captain America shield emblem and Avengers symbol, Frank B. Oarodowski of Jackson stood out in the crowd. “I was concerned about Congressman Smith’s recent vote on the Medicaid bill.”
“This is going to affect millions of Americans. There are 70 million plus Americans on Medicaid and many of them are his constituents so I can’t understand why he would willfully neglect many of his constituents?” he asked.
Oarodowski said, “It’s just unbelievable. I’ve reached out to his office but I haven’t had the chance to talk to Mr. Smith. He seems pretty absent. Hopefully we’ll get his attention. I’m not optimistic but hopeful that we’ll make some noise here.”
South Toms River resident Debra Di Donato, who is running for state assembly in legislative District 10, was pleased with the turnout. “It is very heartening to see the amount of people that this has brought out.”
“I have a genetic predisposition to breast and ovarian cancer and research funding for various diseases disorders and cancers (which have recently been cut in funding) are very important. Without that I wouldn’t have been able to have the knowledge for the genetic testing to undergo for the preventive necessity of a hysterectomy that could be life saving for people,” she added.
Didonato said, “as a nurse I see the cuts of Medicaid and Medicare are very detrimental to care in our state and throughout the country. It is going to flood our emergency departments by the people who should be otherwise receiving care from their primary care doctors. I am out here today in hopes that we can bring some awareness to the issues that we are seeing right now.”
Other concerns focused on getting Musk’s “hands off our data” as one chant put it during the afternoon. Drivers on Washington Street slowed down to cheer on the protestors some of whom took to the sidewalk with their protest signs.
After the rally, Congressman Smith’s office was contacted by Jersey Shore Online.com to address the concerns that the protesters brought up. His office replied with a statement that was virtually identical to a press release posted on his website two days before the first rally:
“The House took the first critical step to tackle our huge $36 trillion debt – a crushing burden that we cannot sustain or survive as a nation. Most Americans are shocked to learn that the daily interest payment on the national debt is $2.6 billion. Yearly interest payments on the debt alone will rise to $952 billion in 2025 and will climb to over $1 trillion in 2026 – and that interest payment will total $13.8 trillion over the next decade,” Smith said.
A rally of more than 70 people came out to express their view that “enough is enough” regarding recent cuts to Medicare and Medicaid, federal workers, and actions that hurt minorities, seniors and the LGBTQ+ community. The event was held in front of Toms River Town Hall. (Photo by Bob Vosseller)
“This means the federal government already spends more on debt servicing than it does on defense spending or Medicaid. “Our children and grandchildren should not be burdened by the ever-increasing national debt. We must begin to address it today,” he said.
“The bill we passed is a budget blueprint. After extensive conversations with colleagues and House leadership, I have received commitments that we will seek to cut waste, fraud, abuse, and misdirected spending while protecting Social Security and Medicare and critical safety net programs like Medicaid that New Jersey’s seniors and most vulnerable–including individuals with disabilities – desperately need and rely upon,” Smith added.
There are no current plans for Smith to host a town hall meeting. U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson has actually urged fellow Republican lawmakers to avoid public town hall meetings with voters after some events turned emotional over the president’s actions firing federal workers, defunding government programs and instituting tariffs on America’s two closest neighbors, Canada and Mexico.
The congressman, who is a longtime advocate on veterans’ issues, did not respond to a question about the projected cuts to the Department of Veterans Affairs that the Republican administration is making, which has been estimated between 70,000 and 80,000 employees.
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