Jackie Biskupski

Jackie Biskupski
35th Mayor of Salt Lake City
Incumbent
Assumed office January 4, 2016
Preceded by	Ralph Becker
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, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Betty Iverson (Fiance)
Children	Archie
Residence	Salt Lake City, Utah
Alma mater	Arizona State University
Occupation	Insurance Industry Private Investigator Activist Politician
Religion	Roman Catholic

Jackie Biskupski (born January 11, 1966) is an American Democratic politician, and the Mayor of Salt Lake City, Utah. Upon taking office, Biskupski became Salt Lake City's 35th mayor, first openly gay mayor, and second female mayor (after Deedee Corradini). She is a former member of the Utah House of Representatives, representing the 30th District in Salt Lake County from 1999 to 2011.

Early life

One of four siblings raised in Hastings, Minnesota, Biskupski, of Polish-American descent, says that her Catholic parents, Marvin and Arlene Biskupski, named her after former First Lady Jacqueline "Jackie" Kennedy Onassis. While learning about the civil rights movement in history class at St. Boniface School, she says she was immediately attracted to the idea of working one day to champion the rights of women and minorities.

Later in life her collegiate activities would earn her a B.Sc. in criminal justice from Arizona State University. Biskupski decided to stay in Utah shortly after visiting for a ski trip.

Biskupski is a single mother with an adopted son named Archie and has been openly gay since 1989. She lives in Sugar House and is planning a wedding to Betty Iverson, who also has a son (named Jack).

Career

She went to work in the auto-insurance industry, then became a private investigator. Biskupski decided to get involved in politics after a 1995 controversy erupted at East High School (Salt Lake City), when the Board of the Salt Lake City School District and the Utah State Legislature tried to eliminate a gay/straight student alliance club.^[2]

When elected in 1998 to the Utah House of Representatives she became Utah’s first openly-gay person elected,^[3] to a state office. She was re-elected 6 times after that, serving in the legislature for 13 years, before retiring in 2011. She then went to work as an administrator for the Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office on January 31, 2015.^[4]

Biskupski was elected to the office of Salt Lake City Mayor on November 17, 2015, defeating two-term incumbent Ralph Becker with 51.55% of the vote.^[5] During her transition she called for the resignation of most City department heads,^[6] drawing criticism from former Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson and others.^[7][8]

References

1. "Project Vote Smart - Representative Jackie Biskupski - Biography". Retrieved 2008-10-04.
2. Free, Cathy (November 5, 2015). "Salt Lake City Voters Elect the City's First Openly Gay Mayor Jackie Biskupski". People Magazine. Retrieved November 5, 2015.
3. Healy, Jack (November 1, 2015). "Gay Candidates Find Support, or at Least a Shrug, in Salt Lake City". New York Times. Retrieved November 4, 2015.
4. Smart, Christopher (November 3, 2015). "Biskupski leads Becker in early vote count". Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved November 4, 2015.
5. "Salt Lake City elects its first openly gay mayor". CBS News. Associated Press. November 17, 2015. Retrieved November 17, 2015.
6. McKeller, Katie (November 30, 2015). "Biskupski calls for resignations of nearly all Salt Lake City department heads". KSL News. Retrieved December 1, 2015.
7. Smart, Christopher (November 30, 2015). "Ex-Mayor Anderson: Biskupski’s call for resignations is 'arrogant'". Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved December 1, 2015. You're putting people through tremendous anguish. It's so arrogant and unnecessary," said Anderson, who supported Biskupski during the campaign. "Longtime employees have been using words like 'appalled,' 'shocked,' 'angry' and 'unprecedented.' 
8. McKeller, Katie (November 30, 2015). "Jeffrey D. Allred/Deseret News, File Photo Biskupski calls for resignations of nearly all Salt Lake City department heads". KSL News. Retrieved December 1, 2015. I don't remember on a city level such a comprehensive call for department heads to submit their resignations prior to a new mayor taking office

External links

• Project Vote Smart - Jackie Biskupski profile
• Follow the Money - Jackie Biskupski
  • 2006 2004 2002 2000 1998 campaign contributions