Troy

At a town hall-style meeting on Wednesday evening, U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York singled out the three Republican senators who recently crossed party lines in the middle of the night to kill the repeal of the Affordable Care Act.

The Democrat could be heard praising two of them from the stage, Sen. Susan Collins of Maine and Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska. If she also praised Arizona Sen. John McCain it could not be heard, however, as the mention of the senators immediately drew by far the single biggest applause of the night.

Among hundreds of people, a sole man in the rafters of the McDonough Sports Complex at Hudson Valley Community College could be heard loudly booing.

Democrats in 2010 faced anger during town halls when trying to pass the Affordable Care Act, but at this one, Gillibrand's ideas on health care received almost nothing but praise. If the guests had one critique, it was that the audio quality in the cavernous complex was so poor during the first 45 minutes of the hour-long meeting that the audience often strained to hear Gillibrand or her questioners.

Questions were taken at random through those selected by raffle tickets handed out at the door. Many focused on President Donald Trump, whose nominees for cabinet appointments Gillibrand has almost always voted against.

In response to one question, Gillibrand said she had concerns about attacks on the judiciary and the free press. She said if Trump tries to fire Justice Department Special Counsel Robert Mueller — who is investigating the Trump campaign's ties to Russia among other matters — it will create a "constitutional crisis" but she believes "our institutions are strong."

Gillibrand encouraged people to make their voices heard on climate change issues, arguing that using social media and writing letters to the editor at newspapers could sway minds. Trump in June pulled out of the Paris climate accord, a move derided by environmentalists.

"Explain to this White House that it's real," Gillibrand said. "Explain how many floods we have seen in the Hudson Valley and in the Capital Region."

Answering a question about jobs and economics, Gillibrand said there needs to be more job-retraining for positions in new industries for those that lost their jobs, more access to capital for manufacturing and start-up companies, and a "living wage" paid for all jobs so no one has to work more than one.

The appearance in Troy was one of several town halls that Gillibrand is holding around the state. The senator, who is a favorite to win re-election in 2018, asked at the end of the event for the audience's votes, to applause. She has also been mentioned as a possible Democratic presidential candidate in 2020, but she ruled out the possibility earlier this year.

cbragg@timesunion.com • 518-454-5303 • @ChrisBragg1