Std-Ex Guest Commentary: Getting Your Voice Heard (By Your Lawmakers)

The "average Joe" can make a big difference in the legislative deliberative process

Over the course of the four years or so that we've been publishing Weber County Forum, we've frequently focused on legislation pending in various legislative bodies, such as the State Legislature, County Commission, and City Counsel, concerning issues of importance to our Weber County Community. During our 45-day state legislative sessions we pick up the pace quite a bit, as we've done during the current 2009 session.

With respect to bills which would have significant impact upon our local community, we often make recommendations, furnish legislative contact links and urge our readers to contact their legislators to express their opinions about the relative merits of bills which have been the focus of WCF article discussions. While some readers have at times questioned the effectiveness of such citizen/legislator communications, we believe that most legislators do listen to their constituents. It's in that connection that we link the following House Representative Brad Dee Guest Commentary, which appears in this morning's Standard-Examiner:

• Getting your voice heard

We've always believed that citizens can be highly influential when they directly contact their legislators to express their views. This morning's Brad Dee guest piece provides additional evidence of that, we believe.

And while we're on the topic, we'll make special note of a comment lodged last night in one of our earlier comments sections, wherein Ogden City Councilwoman Dorrene Jeske makes a special appeal for citizen action and input concerning an ordinance amendment matter which is pending on Tuesday's night's Council calendar. (We'll have more on this tomorrow, by the way).

Further evidence, we think, that our elected legislative officials are keenly interested in the opinions of the lumpencitizens.

We hate to nag our gentle readers. But the average lumpencitizen has far more political muscle than many of us sometimes imagine. The "average Joe" can make a big difference in the legislative deliberative process.

So what say our gentle readers about all this?