Montoursville, Pa. — U.S. Rep. Dan Meuser addressed his Williamsport office's accessibility during an appearance at a Lycoming County Patriots meeting, telling attendees the office relies on direct contact with staff rather than fixed hours.
NorthcentralPa asked the congressman why the office is frequently unstaffed, as repeatedly pointed out by Action Together NEPA during their small "Fight Back Fridays" rallies outside of the office, and whether he planned to increase staffing there if reelected in November.
Meuser said Williamsport is the largest city in his district, which he described as stretching from near Wilkes-Barre, Hazleton, Reading, and to the New York border. He said Pottsville served as his original district office hub before the northern tier was added to the district, and that his office there was chosen in part because Williamsport lacked a presence.
James May joined Meuser's staff as a regional director in 2023, working out of the Williamsport office.
Meuser identified James May as his regional director based in Williamsport. May said he has met with the group of regular visitors outside the office "a couple different times."
May also said the office posts his cell phone number and email address so constituents can reach staff when the office is unmanned. However, visitors have said in the past that when they attempted to call the number, the voicemail inbox was full and they were unable to leave a message.
They are considering relocating the office to a shared space in county offices after the November election, May added. Meuser said that move could allow for part-time administrative staff, and that he would look at establishing more consistent office hours.
Persisting confusion, bitterness after 2018 redistricting
There was a bit of confusion from attendees regarding whether Meuser, Pennsylvania's 9th congressional district, actually even represented Williamsport, with some believing the territory belonged to Rep. Glenn "GT" Thompson's 15th congressional district.
Pennsylvania's congressional map was redrawn in 2018 after the state Supreme Court struck down the prior lines as an unconstitutional partisan gerrymander, reshaping several district boundaries in the northcentral region. As a result, when Meuser assumed office in 2019, his district included the City of Williamsport.
During the meeting, Meuser separately claimed the state Supreme Court justices who ruled on the case had "ran on redistricting" and should have been barred from participating in the decision. Before 2018, the 9th district scored as the most heavily Republican district in the state.
"They should have been recused from voting on anything to do with the integrity of our voting system, and we tried to file for that because they ran on it, which is an outrage," Meuser said.