State Sen. Mike Chapman and Rep. Adam Bernbaum, Democrats from the 24th Legislative District, spent more than two hours as invited guests at an Indivisible Ocean Shores member meeting at Galilean Lutheran Church in Ocean Shores Tuesday evening.

The two lawmakers were invited to deliver remarks, answer questions and participate in door prize drawings.

Maria Van Horn of Indivisible Ocean Shores said the group has doubled in size since November and now boasts more than 400 members. In addition to regular Indivisible meeting business, Van Horn said that inviting the lawmakers was a good way to elicit feedback from constituents.

“We hope from the legislators that they will tell us about just the recent session,” Van Horn said. “Then we’re going to do questions and answers from the audience to see if there’s things that people specifically would like to get more information about.”

After drawing three tickets for door prizes, Bernbaum took to the microphone for his remarks. A few moments in, he was interrupted by a murmur in the crowd of 65 as the tsunami advisory started to hit attendees’ mobile phones. Undaunted, Bernbaum spoke of fighting for democracy yet trying to find common ground with people at the other end of the political spectrum.

“Democracy is a team sport, not a spectator sport, and you all are living that. I’m gonna steal something from (Washington State Treasurer) Mike Pellicciotti and say, if you want democracy, you should lean on the tools of democracy, if you want fascism, lean on the tools of fascism. What does that mean to me? I think the first is trying to build trust, not destroy trust,” Bernbaum said. “One of the biggest challenges that we have across levels of government is that institutional trust is at the lowest point as it has ever been in this country. As a consequence, it depends, on your flavor of expert or your flavor of authority, a lot of people have very little belief in things that experts of all stripes say, very little trust in institutions, and the consequences … It is getting harder and harder for us to build the types of communities that we want to live in, for us to make compromises and have honest conversations, to assume that the people that we are talking to are acting in good faith.”

Bernbaum discussed protecting Washingtonians from violations of due process.

“At the state level, we should do everything we can to protect Washingtonians from the actions of the federal government that violate basic decency. I am personally a freedom enthusiast, I think it’s a great thing. That is a profound American value. What is more inimitable to that value than masked thugs kidnapping people. It is 100% anti American. What is more anti-freedom in that? You can’t tell you are being kidnapped or arrested,” Bernbaum said. “Their due process rights are being violated. Stopping that from happening is about protecting all Washingtonians. In the places where we are pre-empted by federal law, we’re a nation of laws, we’re not going to break those laws. Everything else the state can do, we will do. And there are active groups that are meeting regularly to see what types of policies we can put in place, and what we can accomplish through the Attorney General’s office to protect people in Washington from that federal action.”

According to Bernbaum, it is difficult to develop empathy for people who are ideologically opposed, however, trying to find common ground is important.

“How do you build empathy and how do you build community strength and community trust when you feel like the people that you are talking to are completely in a separate universe? The first part of that is listening and being able to articulate with honesty empathy for the things that people say,” Bernbaum said. “You’ll find there’s a lot more to agree with when you’re talking to folks who support (President Donald J.) Trump than disagree with. People don’t internally think of themselves as bad people. Everybody has a version of the world where they are a good actor and things that they’re supporting are morally right. Finding the places where their vision of moral rightness overlaps with yours I think is really important. That’s something that we can all practice in our individual lives. That’s something that I’m working on practicing better myself. And when you do that, it gets an invitation from the person you’re talking to to have the same empathy for you.”

As he was at the Greater Grays Harbor, Inc., Business Forum Lunch: Legislative Wrap-Up in May, Chapman was a bit more gloom-and-doom. Chapman spoke of looming cuts to Medicaid and the tax cuts that are being afforded to the most wealthy.

“The horrible bill will cut Medicaid, will cut SNAP food assistance, and will cut our social safety network. We’re giving tax breaks to millionaires and billionaires. Ironically, many of them made it clear they didn’t need it, they don’t want it,” Chapman said. “The worst of it will be you folks being relieved from Medicaid services to Apple Healthcare in the state. You’ll be getting a letter from the state of Washington, not the federal government. Adam and I will be blamed. Adam and I and Steve (Tharinger) will be blamed when programs are cut.”

Chapman went on to say that he’s upset by attempts at gerrymandering, President Trump’s recent comments about the late Jeffrey Epstein and the president’s recent trip to Scotland. Chapman expressed his fears that free and fair elections are in jeopardy.

“We’re in a fight for our democracy and I think you all know that. That’s why you’re here tonight. You know what I’m saying. It’s true,” Chapman said. “And for those of you who know me, you know I don’t speak this way. I don’t even want to speak this way. I don’t want to think about it, but it’s all hands on deck.”

According to Chapman, engaging with voters in person at events like the Indivisible Ocean Shores meeting is mission critical to his role as state senator.

“It’s the most important part of the job. It’s vital. I live in Port Angeles, when I’m down here in Ocean Shores I need to hear from folks what they’re thinking, what they need, what they’re concerned about,” Chapman said. “I think the dialogue, where we can take questions and answers, a lot of times these things are set up where it’s one-sided and the politician just rambles on and then goes to their next meeting. I think that tonight, darn near two hours of give-and-take is exactly what we need more of in our democracy and I’m really glad to have participated.”

Chapman said that it’s important for constituents to hear from their elected officials directly and understand their stances on key issues.

“It’s important to listen and then make commitments in front of groups saying, ‘This is what I stand for, this is what I’m not going to rest until we fix,’ and not just give lip service,” Chapman said. “These people are looking for concrete answers and solutions and opportunities from their legislative leaders.”

Bernbaum echoed his colleague’s sentiments regarding meeting constituents where they live.

“I think it’s the best part of the job. It’s the thing that I enjoy doing most. I love to hear from people. I think it’s the only way that you can update your opinions,” Bernbaum said. “You talk to people in the community, hear what they’re passionate about, you hear what their opinions are. And that informs the votes that you take and what you emphasize in the budget going forward. You can also find out, top of mind, what people are thinking about, and what they need your help with.”

The freshman legislator has taken a keen interest in the North Beach area and Ocean Shores of late as he lends his weight to issues directly affecting residents.

“The big issue that I’ve been engaged on is the Wax Myrtle fire risk. I was meeting with (Mayor Frank Elduen) and (City Administrator Scott Andersen) earlier today to talk about it. We’re going to keep meeting with (the Department of Ecology) and try to get a brainstorming session down to lay all the options on the table,” Bernbaum said. “We’ve been considering a bunch of different paths, but we’re going to get a little bit more systematic and say, ‘Hey, here are the different options, be they local, state, federal. Here’s who needs to show up to get something done.’ It’s challenging. Ocean Shores has a lot of these sensitive, challenging ecology, pounding action from the ocean meets the shoreline with hotels and a lot of residences. They aren’t policy areas that are amenable to reactive takes, and stuff that we’ve got to think through to make sure we get it right.”

The meeting wrapped up with a spirited Q&A session.

According to Indivisible’s official website, the organization was “Brought together by a practical guide to resist the Trump agenda, Indivisible is a movement of thousands of group leaders and more than a million members taking regular, iterative, and increasingly complex actions to resist the GOPs agenda, elect local champions, and fight for progressive policies.”

The Indivisible Ocean Shores Facebook page states, “We are a local chapter of Indivisible National — a grassroots organization that advocates for democracy. We promote positive resistance and agendas that foster change.”