Outside Roberto's at the Ironstone on Wednesday were members of the Southern Tier Tea Party Patriots and TARA, True Americans Restoring America.
Though the dozen individuals with signs looked like protesters, they really just had one question for U.S. Rep. Brian Higgins, D-South Buffalo - why hasn't he met with them on issues such as health care reform?
Higgins was at Roberto's for the Chautauqua County Chamber of Commerce's Federal Congressional Lunch.
"His office reports a record number of phone calls and letters, but he can't schedule a town hall meeting," questioned Linda Gregory, a Southern Tier Tea Party Patriots member. "It really appears arrogant. He thinks he's too busy to meet with constituents, so we would like to remind him that we would like to do that."
The majority of the signs held by the Tea Party and TARA members addressed Higgins about not holding town hall meetings. However, other issues were also represented, such as one sign addressing the second amendment and another about cutting taxes.
"It seems like he always has the time to come here for photo opportunities, when he's bringing in the money that he took," Gregory said. "That's why we're here today. That and just, overall, cutting spending, cutting taxes, rolling back this huge government bureaucracy an giving us back more freedoms."
