Our state Legislature’s extreme supermajority became an even greater disappointment when I read George Pyle’s recent opinion piece about livable cities.
He cited Nicholas Kristof, of The New York Times, who argued that we all lose (liberals and conservatives) when a supermajority of one party controls decisions about major issues. Kristof, a Pulitzer-Prize-winning journalist, points to both coasts to prove his point, arguing that West Coast liberals have a supermajority that has not dealt nearly as effectively with homelessness, crime and mental illness as East Coast liberals, who have reduced all three, besides providing better schools. The main difference is between voting power “to keep Democrats from going off the deep end.”
Our Utah Legislature can’t see past their ambition for total control in governing the state, and they have proposed in their recent special session to once again ignore the voice of the people.
This November we must make it clear that a one-party system weakens the outcome for all citizens, as well as for our natural resources. Gerrymandering voting districts to eliminate fair elections is both immoral and illegal. We must all vote “No” to their attempt to reverse the Peoples’ Ballot Initiative in the coming election. Our Supreme Court agreed with us, as they recently ruled to sustain the legality of the citizens’ initiative to restore fair boundaries.
Voting “No” in November will remind our leaders that their best decisions come when they represent the people, rather than themselves. It is imperative that we strengthen Utah’s two-party system in which each will be able to hold the other accountable.
Giles Florence, Salt Lake City
