Ask The Utah Bee
We recently received a question from a reader. We are answering it here. If you have a question you’d like addressed, please send it to hello@theutahbee.com.
I’m so mad at my state legislator. During this session I have been paying more attention to the votes my representative is casting. Most of the time he is voting as I would expect him to vote but there are some votes that are really under my skin, what could he be thinking?
I’m not sure what my options are. He was elected to represent me. How do I get my representative to vote how I would vote? I expect him to do what I would do. Please help.
-FEELING UNDERREPRESENTED IN UTAH
This is a great question and its one that anyone paying attention to her elected officials of any level will feel at one point or another. Establishing what you can do and what you are willing to do can be determined by thinking through a few points.
You should have 3-5 topics that are more valuable to you than any others. Identify those topics and learn how your representative feels regarding those topics. Is he with you, against you or neutral on these topics? If he is with you, great, how set is he? If he is against you, bummer, how set is he? If he is neutral, is he willing to be educated on the topics? If you can work to get your legislator on board with you on your top priorities, you will likely feel represented. If your representative is working against you on your top priorities, you may want to work toward change.
Your disappointment is clear. Have you reached out to your legislator regarding the issues and votes your are angry about? Have you established a relationship with your legislator prior to the session? Does he know how you feel? Open conversations to gather information and to share your frustration.
If the votes you are frustrated with are not part of your 3-5 top priorities, step back. It is very unlikely you will have a representative vote how you would vote 100% of the time. So having that expectation is going to lead to intense frustration. Having a representative vote how you would vote 70% of the time or more is healthy.
If you have determined that this rep does not line up with you on your top priorities and/or you have reached out without success and/or have realized he lines up with you less than 70% of the time, it is time to think about working to replace him. Consider asking someone to run. Support her with time, money, your vote and your talents.
Or throw your own hat in the ring and run against your legislator.
Being politically aware is very important in our system of government. Expecting perfection from those representing us is unrealistic, but we can have standards we expect them to meet. When they don’t meet those standards there are definitely things we can do.