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Letter: Sorry to hear that Reps. Owens and Maloy are confused by Utah’s new congressional districts

(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Rep. Burgess Owens and Utah Rep. Celeste Maloy at the Utah Republican Nominating Convention in Salt Lake City on Saturday, April 27, 2024.

My heart goes out to Utah’s Reps. Owens and Maloy.

On Feb. 3, The Tribune reported that they’ve been inconvenienced by Utah’s new congressional districts. They’re suing in federal court because these new districts somehow create “confusion” — enough confusion that they don’t know where to campaign for the next election.

Poor things.

Rep. Maloy, for instance, complains that she doesn’t know how to spend her time, whether in the area she currently represents or her potential new district. (Which she says is really big. Gosh.)

Here’s a novel idea, congresswoman: Why not spend your time actually representing your current constituents? That’s who voted you in, that’s who you’re supposed to serve, and that’s the reason you get a paycheck.

And while you’re at it, consider your complete failure to articulate, let alone act on, any coherent response to Donald Trump’s increasingly authoritarian, irrational, anti-democratic behavior. On the other hand, if you think government agents randomly murdering U.S. citizens at Donald Trump’s whimsical command is OK, then have the courage to say so. Your constituents might be interested to know.

Patrick de Freitas, Salt Lake City

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