This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

It is both spurious and disingenuous of our elected officials to claim "out of state" influence, "illegal alien votes" and/or "paid attendance" when they are confronted with opposing viewpoints.

I attended the Women's March in Salt Lake City and Rep. Jason Chaffetz's town hall meeting. The tone at both was certainly one of disappointment, frustration and anger. Anger at being ignored, anger at seldom being heard, anger at not being adequately represented by our elected officials, anger at development and mining concerns overwhelmingly taking precedence over conservation and preservation.

Of course we shouted, of course we booed when being patronized. What do they expect in light of the treatment we've had to bear since being gerrymandered out of existence?

Take note, I plan to attend a lot more functions, walks and protests, and to write a lot of letters to my state and federal elected officials in an effort to be listened to. I would enjoy a real dialogue with them, but will vigorously protest when I am patronized, discounted or ignored.

Meredith Saarinen

Cottonwood Heights