John, I saw this on social media and wanted to share it with you.

A Native person who lives in Arizona’s First District attended Rep. O’Halleran’s town hall and was completely ignored. Here was her experience:

"I attended a town hall meeting in which Congressman Tom O'Halleran was speaking. During the question and answer part, I was quick to raise my hand. Everyone around me got their question answered including the man sitting next to me. I had my hand raised the entire time.

I was never allowed to ask a question. I was the only Native in the room. 

I'm voting for Eva Putzova for Congress. She always took the time to answer my questions in person or online."

Sadly, our government has ignored Native people and their needs for generations. The systemic effects of this are immediate and dire, and nothing has made it more clear than COVID-19.

COVID-19 was able to ravage the Navajo Nation because of the lack of basic infrastructure like running water and healthcare. Then, it took months for the Navajo Nation to see one cent of federal COVID-19 relief money, and when the federal government sent PPE, it was damaged and unsafe.

These systemic failures start from moments like these — the representative of the largest Native population in the country completely ignoring the only Native person at their town hall.

This will never, ever happen when I am in Congress. This land still belongs to Native people, and representatives should not only listen to what they have to say but actually prioritize their interests.

Together,

Eva Putzova