When people are hired for part-time jobs that require them to serve away from a central office, they generally provide contact information for their boss or bosses in case they fall behind or lose sight of their job at hand.
But what if workers had free reign, answered to no one and ran amok while those whom they served had no way to contact them?
They’d fall out of touch with those who put them in power to begin with. Their desired ends would not fall in line with the results their employers expected.
This scenario may play out at the state Capitol, pending Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr.’s signature on House Bill 258.
On Friday, legislators-government employees and elected officials-approved a bill restricting access to their addresses, phone numbers and e-mail addresses.
Many legislators argued that doing so would prevent public access to their publicly funded BlackBerries so they could be used internally among lawmakers.
Legislators are elected by the people of this state to serve their constituency-to act as responsive receptors and efficient mouthpieces for the voices they represent in the various chambers and corridors on the Capitol Hill.
When the media and concerned citizens have no means of direct contact with the lawmakers whom they elect, we must start asking serious questions about the status of the democratic process.
Several of these 104 part-time legislators on Capitol Hill are adamant in their privacy-but, in reality, they should have no such expectations while serving their vast constituencies.
How are they to know how they should be voting when they cut off the lines of conversation with the very people who will be directly affected by their votes?
How is the news media to hold lawmakers accountable for their mistakes, praise them for their efforts or simply get comments on stories that will affect the entire state if they cannot get in touch with 104 of the most influential actors?
Some politicians-such as mayors, governors and presidents-are voted into office based on their ability to lead. Legislators, however, should set their own desires aside and act on behalf of their constituency.
By withholding their immediate contact information, these lawmakers are circumventing the very democratic process they hold so highly in their rhetoric on the House and Senate floor.
This is a dangerous step away from the fundamentals of democracy-of the people, for the people and by the people.