Jackie Biskupski
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Jackie Biskupski is a businesswoman and politician from Utah. She is currently a member of the State House of Representatives representing District 30 in Salt Lake County.
Born in Hastings, Minnesota of Polish-American descent, Biskupski has a criminal justice B.S. from Arizona State University. She then went on to work in the auto insurance industry.
She is a lesbian and was the first openly gay member of the Utah legislature.
[edit] 1998 Election
In 1998, twelve-year state Representative Gene Davis (D) of Utah House District 30 announced his intention to run for the State Senate. Biskupski announced her candidacy for the vacated district which includes parts of Sugar House and Central Salt Lake and South Salt Lake. In what was considered an exceptionally liberal district, Biskupski faced off against Republican Bryan Irving, owner of a construction company.
The election attracted controversy because of an attack campaign against Biskupski led by Utah arch-conservative Gayle Ruzicka. The Utah County activist sent out over 6,000 fliers making explicitly homophobic statements to the district's voters.
Biskupski won the election with nearly 2-to-1 and has been re-elected four times, still serving District 30 as of the 2007-8 session. Her campaigns have frequently won the backing of the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund.
