NORWICH — U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy wrapped up his first day of a week-long walking trek across Connecticut with a "pop-up" town hall-style meeting Monday night at the Greeneville fire station.
Murphy, D-Conn., began the walk earlier in the day in Voluntown, and walked 11 miles through Griswold and Preston before arriving at the station at about 7 p.m. for the meeting, which lasted about an hour.
Murphy said he's doing the walking tour as a way to get feedback from Connecticut residents.
"I'm going to start heading west and see how far I get in the next six days," he said. "The idea is to see Connecticut from a different perspective."
He said he hopes especially to reach people "who never had a thought to email me or write my office or visit."
In June, Murphy held a nearly 15-hour filibuster on the Senate floor to force a vote on gun control measures.
At the Norwich meeting Murphy, dressed in a Red Sox cap, blue T-shirt, shorts and sneakers with neon green laces, answered questions on topics ranging from the opioid addiction crisis to electricity rates, transportation and education.
He also touched on issues he hopes Congress will tackle when it returns briefly after Labor Day and before the election.
"I hope we come to terms with the fact that Zika is real. It's a real emergency, and the more we learn about it, the scarier it is," he said.
Along his walking route, Murphy made several stops, including at Fleming's Feed and Hardware and the Blueberry Intervale farm stand, both on Route 165 in Preston. He also got an ice cream at the Buttonwood Farm stand in Griswold.
