Town Hall audience a Mich cross-section

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) - The audience for the Town Hall meeting with Gov. Rick Snyder was selected using a number of methods to provide a cross-section of residents able to share their concerns and questions about the state.

24 Hour News 8 had help from Jeremy Pyne at GVSU's Community Research Institute, who collected and crunched census data from our 14-county coverage area - from St. Joseph and Branch counties north up to Oceana and Newaygo counties and all along the Lakeshore.

The data was used as a guide to help us compose an audience that reflected West Michigan and its diverse population, and span the ages between 15 and 86.

Political affiliation was also balanced. An increasing number of people call themselves "Independents." When audience members used that term, they were asked which way, Republican or Democrat, they generally leaned.

Hundreds of people submitted questions for the governor via email and the WOOD TV8 Facebook page. The 24 Hour News 8 staff searched for common themes and clear, concise questions - and some of the questioners were invited to be part of our audience.

24 Hour News 8 also reached out to various community groups and asked them to help identify potential audience members. Those groups included, but were not limited to, The Area Agency on Aging of West Michigan, The Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce, The state of Michigan AFL-CIO, The Ottawa County Farm Bureau, Disability Advociates of Kent County, Grand Rapids Fire Department, the union representing Michigan Corrections Officers, GVSU, Calvin College, Grand Rapids Public Schools and Michigan's Freedom to Work, a right-to-work advocacy group.