I was interested to read the remark by John Curtis, newly elected to Congress from the 3rd District, that “if you’re not white, Mormon and male, I am still here for you.” As someone who fits two of those categories, I say more power to him.
I was, however, perplexed by his pledge “to serve the underrepresented,” and that by this, he meant rural Utah. The state is controlled and run primarily out of Utah County and by other legislative representatives of rural districts. If there is any group that is underrepresented in Utah it is, ironically, the residents of the capital city.
Republican gerrymandering has essentially disenfranchised Salt Lake City and Salt Lake County. If we dare vote for something a majority believes is in our best interest, the rural-controlled Legislature promptly passes a law reversing the will of the people of this city, this county, be it gun regulation, prison placement, or whatever.
The people who have no voice in this state are the residents of its main population center. So I hope Curtis will put his Salt Lake County constituents on his list of the underrepresented.
Michele Margetts, Salt Lake City
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