Glenden BrownThe Case Against Chris Buttars
The case against Chris Buttars begins and ends with the idea that holding public office is a position of trust and it is a trust he has broken repeatedly.
Holding elected office is complicated. You campaigned on a particular platform, you sought specific endorsements (in Buttars case, he might as well have been surgically attached to Gayle Ruzicka). Even though you won a majority of votes cast, those votes are not an actual majority of your constituents. But even if they are an actual majority of your constituents, you must still represent all of your constituents. That doesn’t mean agreeing with them, it means speaking effectively for them and their interests, it means putting their concerns ahead of your personal concerns. As someone in a position of trust, especially one you sought, you have a moral and ethical obligation to your constituents to first and foremost be their representative, to seek out the diversity of opinions in your district and even if you disagree and even if you speak for the majority in your district, to do so in a way that respects the integrity of the minority voices. Obviously, he has failed to do honor this aspect of public office. His continued use of terms he knows to be offensive demonstrates an ongoing unwillingness to respect all his constituents.
As a person in a position of trust, you may not use your office to threaten, demean or bully persons or institutions. Clearly, with regard to the city of Mapleton, Chris Buttars has demonstrated this value in the breach rather in honoring it.
Chris Buttars has utterly failed to treat his office as one of trust. He has shown a consistent disregard for all constituents. He has bullied and attempted to bully at least one judge and one city.
On a final note, examining the issues he’s advocated, you realize quickly that he is attempting to use his office to advance his personal opinions and values without regard to good social science or just good science. His advocacy of creationism demonstrates a woeful lack of education on his part. Teaching creationism would undermine the health of public shcools and the quality of Utah education, would harm our economic competitiveness by producing less well educated students.
