It’s a shame that the main thing Rep. Jason Chaffetz took away from his most recent town hall meeting was that “paid agitators” were responsible for his frosty reception. If he spent more time with his constituents in the Salt Lake Valley, maybe he would recognize them. The 1,000-plus constituents in the auditorium and the more than 1,500 outside and even more who left because they couldn’t get in certainly didn’t appear to me as “paid agitators.”
His premise that anyone who disagrees with him must be a “paid agitator” and is not one of his constituents is apparently just an excuse to avoid listening to the very real concerns expressed. Rep. Chaffetz heard concerns his constituents expressed about defunding Planned Parenthood, usurping public lands in Utah, destroying families through forced deportations of mothers, lack of oversight on our current administration, etc. In each case he listened and then proceeded to lecture his constituents as to why their concerns were incorrect — never providing any real possibility of addressing any of his constituents' concerns.
His constituents in Salt Lake Valley would like to see Rep. Chaffetz more often. I don’t think Rep. Chaffetz gets the same level of reality when information is filtered through his office help.
Robert Jacobs
Cottonwood Heights