Eric S. Jenkins

Eric S. Jenkins is an associate communication professor at the University of Cincinnati and founder of the #OneHourAWeek organization.

I am one of many Americans who were moved by the past few elections to get more involved in their democracy. Thousands of people who often watched from the sidelines are now organizing groups, calling representatives, and demanding accountability from their government. For anyone who believes in democracy as government by the people, it is truly inspiring.

Why, then, am I feeling discouraged about democracy here in Cincinnati? In a word, gerrymandering. In two words, Steve Chabot. Since 1994, he has represented the 1st District for all but two years – largely because of gerrymandering. The district is drawn to cut Cincinnati in half and put urban voters in the same district with rural voters nowhere near the city.

It works well if your idea of democracy is that you want your party to win. But it is a major impediment to the type of democracy America desperately needs, one in which the people, not politicians or lobbyists, control their government. Since the Republican candidate in the 1st District knows he will win, he doesn’t feel compelled to listen to the people.

During his many years in office, Chabot has developed many connections with lobbies but rarely responds to his constituents. I have called his office many times, asking questions that never get a response. I have emailed many times, as well, only to get a form letter that says it will take time to get back to me. I have heard from many others who have had the same experience, sometimes for many years.

His non-responsiveness has become such a problem that a group of citizens put together #WhereIsSteveChabotDay. On Feb. 2, hundreds of constituents looked around his district for him, tweeting with this hashtag and directing many tweets to his account. The hashtag trended in the Cincinnati region, yet we still have not heard a peep from “Representative” Chabot. I’ve started calling him #TheUnrepresentative. A group of us requested a meeting when Chabot is in town near the end of this month, only to be told that he doesn’t have time, even though he cleared time to meet with a corporate lobbying group, the Harrison Chamber of Commerce

Back in 2013, Chabot claimed, “One of my principal responsibilities as a Member of the House of Representatives is to keep in touch with the people I have the honor to represent.” We have repeatedly requested town halls, including via a petition that includes more than 450 signatures. Yet he has recently switched from holding town hall meetings to “tele-town hall” meetings, which require a landline to participate (yes, no cell phones). Chabot also screens the questions in advance. This leads to softball questions such as: “What’s Congress going to do about reining in President Obama’s abuse of executive orders?” These “town halls” do not give constituents the ability to ask what they want to know, nor do they give us a chance to speak. Chabot gets to talk, but his constituents can only listen.

Chabot’s unresponsiveness is far from the norm for other Ohio politicians. Republican Sen. Rob Portman and Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown respond with lengthy emails to my calls and emails. Republican Rep. Brad Wenstrup, in the 2nd District, has regular “coffee with constituents” meetings that recently got national attention when many constituents showed up.

So, you see, this is not a partisan issue. Republicans and Democrats alike are representatives of the people they serve, and most take efforts to listen and respond. This is what democracy requires. It is what we should expect from all our representatives. Democracy should be about compromise, negotiation and listening.

Citizens like myself are trying to make such a democracy a reality. Yet Chabot and gerrymandering are blocking us at every turn. Despite my growing frustration, I will keep calling. I know now not to expect much response. So I’m calling on you – people from any party who believe in democracy – to hold Chabot and Ohio representatives who support gerrymandering accountable. Together we can make democracy great again.