- Over 500 Utahns gathered to express frustration with Sen. Mike Lee by writing letters to his office.
- Concerns include Lee's public land sale proposal and response to Minnesota shootings.
- Participants criticized Lee's social media conduct and potential Medicaid cuts in legislation.
SALT LAKE CITY — Hundreds of letters are en route to Washington, D.C., from Salt Lake City, after more than 500 Utahns convened at a coffee shop Thursday to put their displeasure with Sen. Mike Lee in writing.
Although the letter-writing campaign was organized to let Utahns vent their frustrations with the current state of politics, those sprawled across several dozen tables at Publik Coffee Roasters were upbeat and cheerful, displaying a sense of tragic optimism.
"I wish I could be optimistic. I'm reading '1984' with my students and it's actually just like reading the news. There's basically no difference," said Camden Smith, an openly gay teacher who said Republicans like Lee are waging an open "assault on my lifestyle."
Smith paused for a moment before adding: "I'm optimistic, though. Things will get better. They will."
Some 542 people attended the event to write to Utah's senior Republican senator, and many penned multiple letters in the form of Christmas cards, "thank you" notes and postcards. The event, organized by Elevate Utah and the Alliance for a Better Utah, comes after Lee has made headlines in recent weeks for apparently mocking the victims of what is believed to be a pair of politically motivated shootings of Democrats in Minnesota and for sponsoring a bill to sell up to 3 million acres of federal lands in the West.
Several called his social media posts following the Minnesota shootings "inappropriate" and said Lee should resign because of them. Lee has since quietly deleted two of the most controversial posts from his personal X account, but offered no public apology and didn't respond to reporters' questions.
Much of the frustration was directed at those recent actions, but others remained angry about Lee's past efforts to overturn Joe Biden's victory in the 2020 presidential election and took issue with other policies in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act — the GOP's spending and policy package making its way through the Senate.
Jennifer Delman moved to Salt Lake City from Atlanta about a year and a half ago, in part because of the access to the outdoors.
"Protecting the land and making sure that it's not sold off for people to build apartment complexes and houses and big communities is so important and so I think it's really cool that people come together," she said. "I came here because of how special this place is. ... I think the bill is a shame, because it's so special."
Lee has defended his public lands proposal, saying it is meant to provide land to address an urgent housing crunch across much of the U.S., but many in attendance didn't trust his intentions, even as he has promised some changes are coming to limit the land eligible for sale.
"There's a lot going on, but if I had to pick one — the public lands, I think that was the final nail," said Matt Shine of Millcreek. "There's no reason to sell them. It's not going to make a dent in the deficit and once they're sold, they're gone forever. And let's be honest, they're not going to be sold for affordable housing. They're going to be sold to wealthy land and real estate developers."
Lauren Pierce said she felt "betrayed" by Lee's comments following the murder of a Minnesota Democratic state assemblywoman, when Lee falsely blamed the political left for the violence and apparently mocked the incident.
"I think the way that he behaves and the kinds of things he says — especially about other elected representatives and tragedies that have happened to their families — is not representative of the Utah voice and therefore is completely inappropriate," she said.
Evan Sugden wrote asking Lee to apologize for the posts about the shootings.
"It was very inappropriate," he said. "I don't know how to put it. I could be more rude, but I'm being nice, so — inappropriate."
Kayla Suisse said she disagrees with Lee on many policies, but her criticisms are based more on how he acts.
"Think before you speak. Also, act with dignity and respect," she said, describing the tone of several letters she wrote.
Another person's letter read: "Dear Mike, Before you tweet, THINK: Is it true? Is it helpful? Is it inspiring? Is it necessary? Is it kind?"
Missy Greis, the owner of Publik Coffee Roasters, said she volunteered her coffee shop after seeing the event promoted on social media.
"I don't consider myself political, but I pay attention and I vote. I care about Salt Lake City and I care about Utah and I do feel like we all need to step in right now and lean in," she said. "Events like this are really impactful."
Pierce works for a health care organization in Utah and was motivated by potential cuts to Medicaid funding in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that congressional Republicans are trying to pass before next week.
"My overall message is to advocate for Utah families and individuals, to represent our voices and to stand up to corporate greed," she said.
Dr. Ellie Hirshberg, who works in intensive care units, said any cuts will have damaging consequences for health care in Utah.
"The downstream effect of that is we end up being overworked, and a lot of people who could have really good care from excellent doctors out in the community are pushed towards the system and we can't give the time and resources that people need because we're too full all the time," she said.
Martha Taylor, of Millcreek, addressed a faux Christmas card to "Scrooge," saying the health care cuts would harm older and low-income Utahns.
"Your rich friends are rich enough already," she wrote. "Shame on you. Utah deserves better."
