David Campt: Your town hall is broken. Here’s how to fix it.
An empty chair was set up for Sen. Thom Tillis during a March town hall at College Park Baptist Church in Greensboro. The senator was invited but declined to attend.
Organizers of a June 10 town hall in Greensboro set out five chairs with the images of five lawmakers from Guilford and Rockingham counties who did not attend.
Earlier this year in the Triad, nearly 1,000 people showed up for a town hall expecting to question Sen. Thom Tillis. He never came — his office said he’d never planned to — but the crowd came anyway.
David Campt
They were not alone. Across North Carolina during the spring recess, residents in Charlotte, Raleigh and elsewhere held “empty chair” town halls, gatherings without the elected official they had hoped to see. These events are often dismissed as partisan theater. In truth, the Republican National Committee has advised members to avoid town halls, saying they’ve become stage-managed attacks. Some Democrats have been equally unwilling to attend town halls hosted by Republicans.
But what if we treated the “empty chair” not as a symbol of dysfunction, but as an opportunity for civic renewal? If a leader won’t come to the room, the community can still make that room matter.
Success even without the elected official?
For decades, I’ve worked with civic groups, cities, and activists to design public meetings that are fairer, more representative and more persuasive. Done right, a town hall can do more than vent frustration — it can connect neighbors across political divides, surface shared concerns and send leaders a message they can’t ignore.
It’s not enough to invite people to speak; we have to design the conversation so it reflects the full community, not just the loudest faction. That means making deliberate choices about how the mic is shared, how to ensure a balance of voices, and how to capture input in ways that can’t be twisted or ignored later.
Whether the chair is empty or occupied, these meetings can still move the needle — if they’re built around one or more of three key innovations.
Level 1: Fairer mic time through polling: Ask the audience a couple of quick-polling questions: one on the main issue being discussed, and one or two on demographics (like age, ZIP code or party affiliation). Use the results to ensure that speaking time reflects the diversity of opinion in the room. If 45% support a proposal, 45% oppose, and 10% are undecided, the mic time should match those proportions. Show how the room’s demographics compare to the broader community and highlight patterns — like where groups differ, and where unexpected agreement exists. This transparency builds trust and counters the idea that one faction has hijacked the narrative.
Level 2: Everyone gets a voice: Instead of letting only a few people speak, collect short written comments from everyone — on index cards, sticky notes or digitally. Summarize themes and lift up perspectives that might otherwise be missed. When people feel heard, they’re more willing to listen.
Level 3: Have real conversations: Break the room into small groups of three to six people and encourage sharing personal stories instead of rehearsed talking points. Stories connect us and are more persuasive than statistics alone. Minds rarely change because of charts, but they often shift when we hear a neighbor’s lived experience.
Why bother, if the chair is still empty?
Because democracy isn’t just about speaking to power — it’s about listening to each other. In an age of misinformation, mistrust and political no-shows, a town hall can still be a space where citizens hold each other accountable, find common ground and make their collective will visible.
A well-designed “empty chair” town hall can produce a report showing exactly who attended, where they stood, and what stories and priorities emerged. That report can be delivered publicly to the absent leader’s office and shared with the media. Even a silent chair can’t erase that record.
The spirit we need to renew conversation
Our democratic traditions rest on the idea that people who disagree — a little or a lot — can still meet face to face, trade perspectives and wrestle with tough issues in good faith. That spirit is fading, and empty chairs at town halls are both a symptom and a chance to fix it.
If we want leaders to re-engage, we have to show them that the people can convene with integrity, fairness and civility — and that doing so is politically rewarding, not risky. The first step is for liberal, conservative and libertarian organizers to co-host meetings, proving that these spaces can welcome everyone.
An empty chair is not the end of democracy. It can be the start of a better one — if we design for it.
Dr. David Campt of The Dialogue Company is a civic engagement specialist who splits his time between Rockingham County and Washington, D.C. Find more information about how town halls can be improved at www.ABetterConvening.com.
