Joel Shannon

jshannon@ydr.com

On Wednesday the York Daily Record reported that many locals are struggling to make their voices heard to U.S. Senator Pat Toomey. On Thursday, his office confirmed that it is struggling to keep up with the volume of calls and emails.



After the article published, Toomey press secretary Steve Kelly contacted YDR with a statement that read in part: "Senator Toomey’s staff in both Pennsylvania and Washington are taking an ‘all hands on deck’ approach in answering as many calls and emails as possible while also attending to other responsibilities .... Voicemail accounts are being emptied regularly, but with call volume as heavy as it is, mailboxes do fill quickly."

Kelly said in an interview that voicemails are recorded before they are erased and that "if people ask for a callback, we do our best to give them a callback."

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YDR reported that press secretary Melissa Ferdinand did not return calls on Wednesday. Ferdinand is no longer with Toomey's office, Kelly said, and the office has asked the U.S. Senate Periodical Press Gallery -- where her name appears as a Toomey media contact -- to update its listing.

Kelly's statement says that Toomey is "very much aware of the magnitude of the call volume and receives a roundup of constituent communications and their positions."

The statement recommends contacting Toomey through his website: toomey.senate.gov.

Reporter Abbey Zelko contributed to this report.