More than 200 people with posters, placards and bullhorns gathered outside Texas Sen. Ted Cruz's downtown office Tuesday afternoon to urge him to meet with constituents who don't agree with him, his policies or his president.

"Do your job, Ted Cruz," was the opening chant outside the Esperson Buildings on Travis. The group invited him to attend an evening town hall meeting.

"His office has not been responsive to our calls," said Linda Morales, organizing coordinator for the AFL-CIO union whose group, with others, hosted the town hall later Tuesday without the senator. "We are his constituents. We are voters in his district and we at least expect him to pop in and say something to us. He was able to pop in in the Valley and make a presentation there. … We are concerned about a lot of issues that pertain to us - that pertain to working families."

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The gathering was among a growing number across the nation organized to speak out to members of Congress who have returned to their states and districts for the February recess. Many legislators have faced loud opposition at town halls; others, such as Cruz, have not hosted the meetings at all.

Rev. James Caldwell, director and founder of Houston's Coalition of Community Organizations, told demonstrators they have a right to speak to their elected representatives in person.

"We do not work for them. They work for us. That's why we're out here," he said.

The chants rose in unison: "Vote Ted out," and "This is what democracy looks like."

Cruz did not attend the town hall meeting later Tuesday, but just minutes after the hourlong afternoon demonstration he met with some members of the crowd upstairs in a conference room, according to Cruz spokeswoman Catherine Frazier. The meeting also was confirmed by SEIU Texas spokesman Eli Magaña.

"He doesn't hesitate to engage with people who might disagree with him," Frazier said. "He is more than willing to share why he thinks his policies are best for the state. ... He realizes he represents all Texans whether they voted for him or not and that they felt their voices are not heard."

Frazier said Cruz has no planned town hall meetings this week while Congress is in recess. A planned press availability Tuesday afternoon with Cruz in the Texas Medical Center was canceled after an active shooter scare at Ben Taub Hospital.

The demonstrators made plenty of noise, however, with chants of "Dump Trump, Lose Cruz."

Jan Kaufman, a retired designer who lives in west Houston, started a grass-roots neighborhood organization called "Voters Taking Action" a few months ago after experiencing sleeplessness because of the presidential election results.

"Now we're over 100 people strong," the 62-year-old said. "I'm passionate about this because I feel like more than half of the people voted for someone other than what we got. We need to have our voices heard because we are the majority."

Amber Griffiths, 36, wore an "unpaid protestor" badge on Tuesday and brought her 4-year-old daughter to the demonstration. She participated in the Austin Women's March and a protest outside Republican Sen. John Cornyn's office.

"If you're unhappy with something, you can't be passive and you have to act," Griffiths said. "I've been making phone calls every single day to my senators and congressman."

Gaelyn Godwin and Audrey Charlton attended the Women's March in Washington the day after President Trump's inauguration.

"We have to stay together and get our message across that we want to have a fair country with democratic principles," said Godwin, 65, an abbot at the Houston Zen Center. "The sad things that's happening in Washington and here in Texas with Sen. Cornyn and Sen. Cruz is that they aren't acting like they represent all the people."

Charlton, 69, a retired consultant who lives in Houston, said she simply wanted Cruz to hear their side.

"What's important for me is to make sure that those people who currently have power understand that there are other voices and if you're going to be governing, you need to govern all the people which means listening to all the voices," she said.

The "town hall" meeting Tuesday evening was attended by about 100 people, and included greetings from U.S. Rep. Al Green, a Democrat whose district includes parts of Houston. The congressman urged the audience to continue to contact their representatives by calling or writing a letter and he shared his personal cell phone number.

"Don't give up, " Green said. "Be persistent. People will eventually respond to you."

Brooke Lewis and Andrew Kragie contributed to this report.