The Capitol in Salt Lake City is pictured on Monday, May 6, 2024. (Photo by Spenser Heaps for Utah News Dispatch)
Imagine you have $2 million you and your neighbors collected to better your community in any way; how would you spend it?
Perhaps you would choose to invest more in our children’s education. Perhaps you envision how that money would clean our air, create safer streets, or help homeless neighbors get back on their feet before winter. Utahns know how to care for our communities, so it is safe to say that money would be well spent.
This money isn’t just yours, mind you, it’s everyone’s. It has been collected from your whole community and entrusted to you to spend for public good. Imagine the weight of responsibility you must feel to make the best decision possible. You would want to be thoughtful, diligent, and caring with this sum.
Now imagine instead, you spent the money on a bigger house, and a huge fence to surround yourself with. Imagine you spent it on yourself — on amassing more power, and using any means necessary to defend that power.
If this sounds like a sick joke, it isn’t. It is exactly what your elected representatives are doing, and they are doing it with your tax dollars.
The Legislature does not seem to mind using taxpayer dollars to benefit itself, despite the waste of money. The Legislature spends $66 million to run the Utah Attorney General’s office — essentially a giant law firm tasked specifically with representing the state of Utah, including the Legislature. Instead of the AG, they opted for the attorneys of Consovoy, who have fought for extreme legal positions all over the United States.
It’s not just their hourly bill to the taxpayers that’s concerning: one of these attorneys is listed as an administrative trustee of the shadowy right-wing group Marble Freedom Trust. Called the “dark money ATM of the right”, Marble Freedom Trust funnels money to extremist groups and has spent millions to secure the appointments of ultra-conservative justices at the U.S. Supreme Court and elsewhere in the federal judiciary.
A power grab is bad enough. But a legislative power grab financed by taxpayers and fueled by right-wing extremism? That is legislative malpractice.
Is it any wonder that Utahns don’t feel heard by their representatives? Is it any surprise that 70% of respondents to the Utah Foundation agreed that “Utah’s politicians are too beholden to […] special interests and ignore the will of the people”? These legislators are chosen to represent us, by us. Why do so many of them act as though we are too foolish to understand, or too blind to see their selfishness? We know what we want in our government: fair and just leaders who take their responsibility seriously.
Many legislators are insulated. They’ve drawn themselves secure voting districts that make it nearly impossible to vote them out. And they will spend any amount of taxpayer money to keep it that way.
It began with gerrymandering. It continued with reproductive rights and public education funding. Then Amendment D posed the biggest threat to Utah’s democracy in modern memory. Defending it was a deeply insulting use of tax dollars. We must be vigilant this legislative session to ensure the legislature doesn’t attack the judiciary for daring to check their power appropriately.
Extremist legislators thrive on our ignorance. They prey on our fears, wrap their attacks on civil liberties in nationalism, and waste our money. They do so trusting no one will notice. The only solution is to bring their deeds into the light, and hold them accountable. Know your local representatives and how they vote. And ask yourself: Do their actions align with my values?
If they won’t listen to our voices, we must make sure they see our votes.