On March 25, I went to Abe Hamadeh’s office in Surprise to request a town hall so that his constituents could express numerous concerns. I was there on legitimate civic business to see the congressman of my district, CD8.

Upon hearing he was absent, we joined the gathering of protesters on the sidewalk. Within minutes we were warned to move any cars from the congressman’s parking lot: a tow truck was targeting them.

I immediately turned around and headed back toward the lot behind the building where I had parked. There was absolutely no signage to indicate that parking was prohibited in that area, and I had not seen the memo from organizers that Hamadeh, our congressional representative, would tow visitors’ cars.

Only five minutes had passed since we arrived. My car was already hooked to the tow truck, which had been lurking in readiness, and I saw it floating away like a nightmare parade.

Police standing by had no idea which towing company was at work, but they contacted Hamadeh’s office manager to come talk to me. He also claimed not to know who had towed me but offered to find out and said that the property owner was the one who would have called for the truck, not his office. However, when I went to pick up my car, I was told twice by Western Towing that the call indeed had come from Hamadeh’s office.

Such an ugly ordeal could easily be avoided if Hamadeh truly is a representative of his community as he claims to be. He could at least post signs of warning — or better yet, call off the tow trucks entirely and have a town hall where he listens to the people.

I have heard Hamadeh claim that we protesters are not really his constituents at all, therefore he does not have to listen to our concerns because we are “paid protesters.”

Oh, please, not that outdated old song! No one would have to pay me to express my horror at funding for medical research being eliminated, or the U.S. postal system falling under Elon Musk’s private control, or the Board of Education being dismantled and risking children’s opportunity to thrive.

Pay attention, Congressman. The country’s future is calling you.