Walberg absent at OBBBA town hall as mayor confirms Dowagiac Hospital will remain open

Constituents of Representative Tim Walberg’s 5th Congressional District gathered last night for a town hall focused on the recently enacted budget reconciliation package, often referred to as the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” (OBBBA).

Rep. Walberg was invited but did not attend. While he has participated in interviews since then, he has not appeared at a town hall meeting since March 25, 2024, when comments he made about Gaza drew widespread attention and a clarifying statement from his office.

Despite his absence, the community room was filled to capacity, with attendees standing in the aisles. (PHOTO)

Michigan Democratic Party Chair Curtis Hertel fielded questions from Walberg’s constituents. Much of the discussion centered on rural healthcare and the possible effects of OBBBA on local hospitals.

When a resident asked about the future of the Dowagiac hospital, Mayor Don Lyons stood and told the audience he had authorization from Beacon Health to speak on the matter.

“I have been authorized by Beacon to speak on their behalf tonight — they are fully committed to remaining open,” Lyons said.

A community member followed up.

“We’re still gonna have a hospital, right?”
“Yes,” Lyons replied.

Lyons, who is running for re-election, spoke briefly about healthcare, OBBBA, and his work in the community. One audience member commented that his remarks sounded like a campaign speech.

While many attended hoping for clarity on the hospital’s status — rumors of closure had circulated online in recent days — the conversation also covered Walberg’s record on OBBBA and other national issues.

Hertel opened by discussing the importance of such public forums.

“This is an exercise of patriotism and democracy,” he said. “Republican leadership sent a memo to representatives not to do town halls.”

Hertel also addressed Walberg’s absence directly.

“I can understand why he doesn’t want to hear criticism regarding OBBBA, but that’s not the point,” Hertel said. “Your congressman should be here.”

Event organizers played video clips of Walberg, including a 2023 PBS interview on the debt ceiling and a House Floor speech praising OBBBA. Hertel and others noted Walberg later voted to eliminate funding for PBS’s parent organization, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting under the Rescissions Act of 2025.

Jim Pederson, president of the Michigan Alliance for Retired Americans, criticized the bill’s tax provisions.

“They say they have eliminated taxes on Social Security, they say they have eliminated taxes on tips, they say they have eliminated taxes on overtime — it’s a lie!”

Pederson encouraged the audience to repeat “It’s a lie” after he repeated each claim.

“The fact is, it’s a temporary deduction, whereas the cuts for billionaires are not,” he added.

Questions from the audience also touched on environmental policy, the Democratic Party’s future, and redistricting. Asked about the environment, Hertel pointed to the cancellation of a major development project.

“Michigan was in line to get one of the first semiconductor plans, and that was cut,” he said.

Michigan had prepared a 1,300-acre megasite in Mundy Township, investing more than $260 million and offering incentives worth over $6 billion, making it a leading candidate for a SanDisk semiconductor facility. But in July 2025, the company canceled the project, citing “massive economic uncertainty” and instability in federal tariff policy, as reported by the Associated Press.

On redistricting, Hertel highlighted Michigan’s Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission, noting the state had moved away from partisan map-drawing. He contrasted that with Texas, where Republicans advanced mid-decade redistricting.

“If Republicans bend the rules in the middle of a year, then I think Democrats should too. And it sucks that we’re here,” Hertel said.

In closing, Hertel urged Democrats to focus less on assumption and more on persuasion.

“We all bear responsibility. I think the Democratic Party has forgotten that we have to convince people we are right, not just assume it,” he said.

To illustrate, Hertel recalled going door to door and meeting a voter who said he believed marriage should only be between a man and a woman based on his Christian faith.

“Somebody opens the door and says marriage is only between a man and a woman. Somebody calls him a bigot, and that’s the end of the conversation,” Hertel said. “We’ve made many Americans feel like we don’t want to hear them.”

Maxwell Knauer is a staff writer for Watershed Voice.