Jackie Biskupski

Jackie Biskupski
Member of the Utah House of Representatives
from the 30th district
In office
January 1999 – June 2011
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.

Early life and career

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 was joined by two others: senator Scott McCoy (appointed 2005; resigned 2009) and representative Christine Johnson (elected 2006; retired 2010).

Political career

Biskupski's political career began in 1996 when Patrice M. Arent asked her to run her campaign for the Utah House of Representatives. Arent won election.

In 1997, she ran for the Salt Lake City Council and won in the primary election, but lost in the general election.

In 1998, twelve-year representative Gene Davis (D) of Utah House District 30 announced his intention to run for the Utah Senate and asked 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 was re-elected every two years until her resignation. Her campaigns frequently won the backing of the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund.

Biskupski announced on January 31, 2015 she is running for mayor of Salt Lake City.[4][5]

References

  1. ↑ "Project Vote Smart - Representative Jackie Biskupski - Biography". Retrieved 2008-10-04.
  2. ↑ Gehrke, Robert (13 June 2011). "Utah’s first openly gay legislator resigns". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved 29 September 2011.
  3. ↑ Shoemaker, Joel (2005-01-20). "Out in Front — Utah’s Only Openly Gay Legislator". Salt Lake Metro.
  4. ↑ "Jackie Biskupski for Salt Lake City Mayor". jackieformayor.com.
  5. ↑ "Biskupski makes it a three-way race in Salt Lake City mayor’s contest".

External links