Josh Kanter couldn’t help laughing when he heard the numbers, not because they are funny but because they’re so lopsided.
Only 3 percent came from individuals who live in the member’s district, a Salt Lake Tribune analysis of disclosure forms shows. This is a pattern seen over several years.
“It is certainly disheartening to me that so much comes from special interests,” said Kanter, chairman of the left-leaning Alliance for a Better Utah, which backs campaign-finance reform.
“Donations create access, and access creates a communications channel — and therefore that’s the perspective that they [lawmakers] are hearing,” he said.