Ron Wyden will receive an award Sunday for holding the most town halls of any U.S. senator this year.

Once Wyden holds planned town halls in Portland and Molalla this weekend, he will have had 80 such gatherings this year and 860 since he was elected to the Senate in 1996, according to his spokesman. While campaigning for the Senate, Wyden pledged to hold a town hall in every Oregon county every year, where constituents may ask any question they choose.

Wyden's 80 town halls this year far outpaces other members of the Senate, according to Town Hall Project, an organization that encourages face-to-face meetings between members of Congress and constituents and tracks town halls. The group plans to give Wyden its MVP Award during his town hall at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 3, at the Cleveland High School auditorium.

Nathan Williams, managing director of Town Hall Project, said that "Wyden sets the standard every year for accessibility and responsiveness to his constituents."

"With his 80th town hall of 2017, he has clearly earned our MVP award by holding more town halls by far than any other U.S. senator," Williams said.

Wyden said he is honored to receive the award "on behalf of all Oregonians who have shown the rest of the country how participatory democracy is alive and well in our state."

"It was clear from the start of 2017 there was unprecedented interest in events in Washington, D.C., and I am proud to ensure Oregonians in every part of the state had unprecedented access to voice both their concerns and ideas," Wyden said.

Along with his town hall on Sunday at Cleveland High School, located at 3400 S.E. 26th Ave. in Portland, Wyden will hold a town hall in Clackamas County at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 2, at the Molalla High School auditorium, 357 E. Francis Street, in Molalla.

-- Gordon R. Friedman

503-221-8209; @GordonRFriedman