Once again, LoBiondo skips Town Hall: "No one here is surprised."

EGG HARBOR CITY, N.J. — No one inside Teamsters Local 331's hall was surprised that, not counting the cardboard replica that had been set up, U.S. Rep. Frank LoBiondo was missing from a town hall meeting put on by constituents Wednesday night.

LoBiondo, a Republican from South Jersey's Second Congressional District, has made it clear on many occasions that while he will meet with groups of constituents in his office, return calls, or respond on social media, he will not do a town hall. No YouTube moments, he said.

Further, he told organizers, he was traveling this week on a classified CIA trip as part of his duties on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. LoBiondo is chairman of the House CIA Subcommittee.

Undeterred, about 75 constituents representing various groups from a district that stretches from Southern Ocean County to Salem County held the 90-minute town hall without him. It was the second such event in his district that LoBiondo has passed on.

They looked the cardboard replica in the eye and spoke about health care, tax returns, climate change, defense spending, Planned Parenthood. and, in a common theme, their desire that LoBiondo take a more vocal role in the national debate during a Trump presidency that they consider an emergency.

"When are you going to speak up and say, 'Enough is enough'?" said Rosa Borenstein of Barnegat.

"I'm asking you, LoBiondo," said Ruth Shropshire of Vineland. "When are you going to tell the president to stop using hateful rhetoric? You mean to tell me if somebody has dark skin, they can be attacked and it's OK? What's your answer, LoBiondo?"

"It's time to put country ahead of party," said Rick Goldberg of Galloway. "We have a gentleman who, in one week, undermined an alliance we've been working on for 65 years. This is just unacceptable.  I think we need you to go to the White House and ask some serious questions."

They held up green (yes) and red (no) cards to respond to questions. There were green cards for "Do you personally think Trump is guilty of obstruction of justice?" and red cards for "Do you support pulling out of the Paris Climate Accord?" There were green cards for "Who'd like to see Mr. Trump's tax returns?"

LoBiondo, 71, who has been in Congress since 1995,  was one of 20 Republican congressmen to vote against the health-care bill that narrowly passed the House on May 4, an action that pleased many of his constituents on the left but led to some flak from the right.

John Carlson of Egg Harbor Township said LoBiondo had said to him, explaining his opposition to attending the town hall meetings, "Do you know what goes on at these things?"

"Yes, Frank, I do," Carlson said. "This meeting has been respectful and polite. But I want you to know, I'm mad as hell. I'm sick of the way this country's going. I'm sick of you contributing to it. You've got to end it, you've got to resist it, you've got to do it now."

Tamar Sherer of North Beach, Long Beach Island, a retired  executive with JPMorgan Chase, said that despite LoBiondo's vote, she was worried about his future role in Congress during a Trump presidency.

"I personally asked him if he thought it was important that he take more of a leadership role, be more visible," she said. "He told us a long time ago about not wanting to hold town halls. I think a town-hall venue is democracy."

Alison Arne of  Buena Vista Township was one of several who urged LoBiondo to support continued funding of Planned Parenthood. Recounting her experience going to a clinic while pregnant, she said abortion information was one of three options discussed there. "My daughter will be attending kindergarten in the fall," she said.

Organizers and speakers stressed that they were all constituents and not paid protesters. Many had met with LoBiondo during office meetings.

The Progressive Coalition for NJ-2 livestreamed the event, and organizers said they would deliver a video of the event to LoBiondo's office and hoped for responses to the questions raised. The full video will also be posted on BlueJersey.com, organizers said. The coalition is also working to support a challenge to LoBiondo, who has won every re-election with relative ease.

LoBiondo spokesman Jason Galanes said no staff of the congressman's attended the event.