Tallahassee seniors protest outside Congressman Neal Dunn’s office over Social Security concerns
During the demonstration, Neal Dunn spoke with a few protesters in his office
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) - Over 70 senior citizens and other residents gathered outside Tallahassee’s City Hall Thursday to protest changes to Social Security alongside feared cuts.
The protest comes after the Social Security Administration (SSA) announced a plan last week to require in-person identity checks while also closing over 40 field offices in 18 states, including Georgia and Florida, the Associated Press reported.
Since then, the SSA has backtracked and announced Wednesday that people applying for Medicare, Supplemental Security Income, or Security Disability Insurance who aren’t able to use the agency’s online portal can complete their claim over the phone instead of solely in person, according to AP.
That did little deter the dozens of protestors outside Tallahassee City Hall.
“I started working when I was 14 years old. I paid into this system. I’m now 67 and I deserve that money,” Terry Farley, a retired Tallahassee resident, said.
The Thursday demonstration happened outside Congressman Neal Dunn’s office, where the congressman’s staff spoke with a few protesters.
However, organizers criticized Dunn’s decision to speak with the few activists, saying the congressman’s staff should have met with all the protesters in the open lobby.
“Normally an elective representative, especially when they’re running for office, would do anything to get in front of 50 to 75 people, but now that they’re in office they won’t take a stand to protect social security?” Leon County Commissioner David O’Keefe said.
Local city and county commissioners said they’re exercising their First Amendment right to petition the government.
“This is what democracy looks like. Coming to Congressman Dunn’s office to demand what we’ve earned. We’ve all paid into social security,” Tallahassee City Commissioner Jeremy Matlow said.
Only six protestors were allowed inside the city-provided office. At times, the shades were shut, leaving some to quip about “our hostages” as those gathered in the lobby could no longer see the six inside.
“They could stand up about four, five on that platform and speak to all of us, but to separate 2, 3, 4 of us and go into a room, I don’t know what they’re saying to each group,” Leon County Commissioner Bill Proctor said.
Matlow, Proctor and O’Keef joined Barbara DeVane with the Florida Alliance for Retired Americans, Tallahassee NAACP Branch President Adner Marcelin and Reverend Don Tolliver were all in attendance.
This protest comes after more than 100 senior citizens and democrats protested outside Tallahassee’s Social Security office last week over feared Social Security cuts.
Yen Bailey, a Democrat challenging Dunn for his seat, said she wouldn’t run the office this way.
“Absolutely not,” Bailey said. “One of the reasons why I decided to run for this was because I want to give a voice to the people of this district.”
DeVane said more than 170,000 people use Social Security across the congressional district that includes Tallahassee.
Dunn posted a statement on Facebook that said in part, “Today, my team met with several of our constituents who participated in a peaceful protest in front of Tallahassee City Hall. I would like to thank City Hall officials, security, and police officers who kept everyone safe during the event.”
WCTV offered Dunn a one-on-one interview about Social Security. If he accepts, we’ll bring that to you.
Dunn previously told WCTV he supports Social Security as a program, calling it “indispensable.” At the same time, he said he would investigate “waste, fraud and abuse,” which he said would actually streamline the program for seniors.
Still, Farley said she didn’t hear a clear message from the congressman’s staff.
“Even though we got to speak with three staffers, none of them were able to explain what his stance was,” Farley said.
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