Despite gaslighting from the governor’s office, LEARNS town halls are very much Republican, invite-only events.
We’ve been saying it for a while now, but a leaked email from ARGOP Director Seth Mays to White County GOP chair Billy Kurck confirms LEARNS town hall events are shared exclusively with members of the Republican Party — not the public.
Matt Campbell of Blue Hog Report broke the news on Twitter today and posted screenshots of the email from Mays, who asks GOP county chairs to share the invite with their members. “These town halls are very instrumental in dispelling myths about Arkansas LEARNS and educating the public,” Mays wrote.
However members of the public were not notified of the upcoming Heber Springs LEARNS town hall or any previous town halls, for that matter. Sign up links for town halls have never been available to the public.
Recently we registered for and attended a LEARNS town hall in Siloam Springs. We acquired the registration link after editing past URL events until we found a working signup. Alexa Henning, the governor’s spokesperson, has razzed members of the public for asking about the invite-only links. But despite repeated appeals to make the town hall links available, Henning and the Sanders administration have ignored the requests.
Until Sanders and the Department of Education provide public links to LEARNS town halls, the events are nothing but rah-rah Republican rallies.
