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Letter: Evaluating Cox’s performance

(Trent Nelson | Tribune file photo) Republican Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox speaks while debating Democrat Chris Peterson in Salt Lake City, Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2020.

Lieutenant governors: We don’t hear much about them. What do they do, anyway? The one thing we know Utah’s lieutenant governor had on his honey-do list was to lead the coronavirus response. Now that the early shutdown is long over, the governor’s office seems to be just waiting for its term to end, while cases keep piling up, hospitals are filling up, and more than 500 constituents have gone belly up.

Spencer Cox has had one job that’s visible to the public: to lead us through a time of crisis, to find the balance of keeping businesses open and people safe. This is all we have to judge him on. But all that’s come from the governor’s office is, “I really kinda think you should all be wearing masks, and if you keep going around all bare-faced, I may have to take calcium supplements, grow a spine, and think about considering attempting the leadership thing.”

In November, we can give Mr. Cox a report card evaluating his performance at doing his one vital task. I vote “F,” as in “five hundred.”

Jim Hayes, Salt Lake City

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