| Jackie Biskupski | |
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| Member of the Utah House of Representatives from the 30th district |
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| In office January 1999 – June 2011 |
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| Preceded by | Gene Davis |
| Succeeded by | Brian Doughty |
| Personal details | |
| Born | January 11, 1966 [1] Hastings, Minnesota |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Residence | Salt Lake City, Utah |
| Occupation | Insurance |
Jackie Biskupski (born January 11, 1966) is a former member of the Utah House of Representatives, representing the 30th District in Salt Lake County from 1999 to 2011. She resigned in June 2011 when she moved out of the district.
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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.[2] Since her election, she has been joined by two others: Senator Scott McCoy (appointed 2005; retired 2009) and Representative Christine Johnson (elected 2006; retired 2010).
Biskupski's political career began in 1996 when Patrice Arent asked her to run her campaign for the Utah House of Representatives. Arent won election.
In 1997, she ran for Salt Lake City Council and won the primary, but lost in the general election.
In 1998, twelve-year state Representative Gene Davis (D) of Utah House District 30 announced his intention to run for the Utah Senate and asked Jackie Biskupski to run for his vacated seat.[3] 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, Utah Eagle Forum president Gayle Ruzicka. The Utah County activist sent out over 6,000 fliers making explicitly homophobic statements to the district's voters. Irving distanced himself from the tactics. Biskupski won the election by a nearly 2-to-1 margin and has been re-elected every two years since. Her campaigns have frequently won the backing of the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund.