This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Someone is not happy about how this year's Utah Legislature turned out, and has taken his anger to a satirical form by putting up his representative on eBay.
Bidding opened this morning for Sen. Jerry Stevenson, R-Layton, with an opening minimum of one penny. (It's possible that eBay will have taken down the page by the time you read this, so the screengrab can be seen above.)
The product description begins:
So the 2011 Utah Legislative session concluded at midnight last night. I need to get rid of some things around the house, so I thought I could list my representatives for sale on Ebay. I don't need them anymore. They evidently never needed me.
The seller lists the bills Stevenson voted for that prompted such ire: SB270, which would have raised the sales tax on food; HB477, which guts Utah's open-records law; HB220, the bill to make sure schoolkids are taught that America is a republic, not a democracy; SJR9, to put control of the state school board directly under the governor; and SB165, which prohibits electronic signatures in petition drives.
The listing continues:
Buyer beware. This toy is broken. I wish it would be recalled. It is a representative that does not represent. Well, it represents it's party well, but for the people it is supposed to represent, it just doesn't work. I will consider a trade for a representative that does represent the people of its district well. ... Local pickup only though I know some of you would pay extra to have him stuffed into a box.
Proceeds would go to the Utah League of independent Voters, which advocates open primaries and non-partisan redistricting.
UPDATE: The seller has been ID'd as Randy Miller, president of the Utah League of Independent Voters. He's had such success with selling Stevenson that he put up three more lawmakers — Rep. Brad Wilson, R-Kaysville, and Sens. Curtis Bramble, R-Provo, and Stuart Adams, R-Layton — on the market.