Tim Walz speaks at People's Town Hall in Lorain (VIDEOS)

LORAIN — Nearly 2,000 people packed Lorain High School's performing arts center and gymnasium to hear from Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz on Tuesday. The town hall, hosted by the Ohio Democratic Party and the former vice presidential candidate, was billed as "The People's Town Hall" for constituents of U.S. Rep. Bob Latta, R-Bowling Green. Latta, whose district covers all of Lorain County and stretches east to the Indiana border, has not held a town hall in his district in some time and was the target of an "empty chair" town hall event in Norwalk last month. Former Ohio Supreme Court Justice Melody Stewart moderated the evening's question-and-answer format and introduced Walz, a Democratic congressman first elected the North Star State's governor in 2018. It was far from Walz' first town hall in a Republican-controlled congressional district. He has held similar events in Iowa, Nebraska, Texas and was in Youngstown on Monday. Tim Walz speaks at Lorain High School at People's Town Hall The Americans for Prosperity-Ohio bashed Walz' "tone-deaf" town halls in Zanesville, Youngstown and Lorain. The conservative, libertarian advocacy group called Walz' visits to Ohio towns a "Democrat Delusion Tour." "Why should (Ohioans) take advice from a governor whose own state is struggling with a crippled economy, rampant fraud and political dysfunction?" the AFP-Ohio's statement questioned. Latta did not respond to a request for comment on Tuesday. People's Town Hall/Tim Walz speaks to press As Walz took the stage Tuesday evening, the crowd in Lorain's auditorium erupted into cheers. "Thank you for doing this in a high school," Walz, a former teacher, quipped. "The only other place I'm more comfortable is in my living room." Education took center stage throughout the evening, as Ohio legislators consider a biennial budget that could cut funding from public schools while increasing funding for voucher programs. Simultaneously, President Donald Trump has ordered a dismantling of the Department of Education, which oversees federal aid for low-income school districts and for students with disabilities. Public schools are a foundational issue of the middle class, Walz told attendees, and said it has been a Republican goal to underfund and "voucherize" public schools. "You can either buy school buses or prison buses; you make the choice," Walz said. "They will pay a price for this. … Don't allow them to do this." Teachers in the audience on Tuesday asked Walz for advice as they faced a potential end to the federal department that oversees individualized education plans for children with disabilities and potential cuts to state library funding. Walz argued the idea of cutting taxes may be popular, but the policies Republicans are proposing are not. He recognized teaching has changed a lot since his time in the classroom 15 years ago, but the nobleness and faith people have in the profession has endured. The teachers in attendance must talk about their work, he said, as they are trusted by their community even when Republicans decry their unions or funding. He recognized how fractured the country has become, noting 2,000 frustrated people gathered on a Tuesday night cannot be ignored. Tuesday also marked the Guardians' home opener and a Cleveland Cavaliers' home game versus the Chicago Bulls. Turning to the economy, Walz said Trump's sweeping tariffs imposed on goods imported into the U.S. from countries across the world, including rates of up to 50 percent on some countries, will make it challenging to "protect the most vulnerable." While he said leaders at the state level might not have the capacity to mitigate the effect of tariffs, the role of Congress is to prevent such "interference into the market." He said he didn't understand members of Congress who have capitulated to the administration on the issue. "If they were proud of these proposals, they would be out here in front of their people bragging about them," Walz told the Chronicle-Telegram shortly before the town hall. "But none of them are showing up, and in fact their leadership is not going to show up." Trump's tariff plan formed an integral part of his campaign platform in 2024. Walz told attendees that Lorain County residents who voted for Trump were "deceived." "That's not on them, that's on him," Walz said. "What we need to do is figure out a way to make them believe that they can trust us and we can do better for them." Lifelong Lorain Resident Carlos Cardona questioned what Democrats are doing to return a middle-class reality to the next generation. He remembered his city's heyday, but since Ford, U.S. Steel and other industrial giants shuttered, it is a shell of its former self, he said. Walz said Trump excelled at identifying economic factors that caused strain for residents in areas, like Lorain, in which manufacturing industries provided accessible pathways to the middle class. The difference between Republicans and Democrats, he said, is that Democrats moved too slowly to enact populist policies when they wielded political power. He pointed to Trump's policy platform across his first three months and compared it to former President Barack Obama's first 100 days. To change that image, Walz said Democrats need to prove that they can deliver on policies he says are largely popular with Americans. "I ran for office, was elected, and that gives me the ability to do things that you can't do alone," Walz told the audience. "You win elections not to bank political capital, to win the next election — you win elections to burn political capital to improve lives as quickly as you can." Walz said Minnesota's governance was dominated by Republicans for decades. While he acknowledged stretches of time without noticeable Democratic inroads in a state could feel desperate, he said former Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland's administration showed Ohio could elect Democratic leadership. Strickland, who served one term as governor from 2007-2011, attended Tuesday's event. Walz implored those in attendance to bottle the energy in the room and bring local leaders into the movement. The country is in a constitutional crisis, Walz said, and it will take people making their demands heard — in the streets and with their wallets — to see change. "The legislature and your representatives are not going to be the check on this guy's power," Walz ended the town hall. "The courts are trying, but he's not going to listen to them. The final check is the people." Contact Carissa Woytach at (440) 329-7245 or cwoytach@chroniclet.com. Contact Richard Perrins at (440) 687-5172 or rperrins@chroniclet.com.