Utah elects first lesbian mayor
Jackie Biskupski has made history in Salt Lake City as its first lesbian mayor
It’s official: Jackie Biskupski (D.) has made history in Utah as the first lesbian elected as mayor of a major city.
While the election was two weeks ago, it took until yesterday, November 17, for the results in the Salt Lake City mayoral race to be announced. Biskupski, 49, won’t have been surprised by her win, however — she led incumbent Mayor Ralph Becker (D.) by a wide margin in mail-in ballots counted at the time of the election.
According to the Salt Lake City Tribune, Biskupski netted 51.5-percent of votes, with 19,896 to Becker’s 18,702. Becker refused to concede defeat to Biskupski, demanding that every vote be counted, even though the likelihood of him being declared the winner was statistically impossible.
Biskupski is not only Utah’s highest profile LGBT politician, she takes control of a city notorious for being the home of the Mormon Church. The church opposes same-sex marriage and ostracizes gay members, but its influence in the state capital isn’t as high as it is in more rural areas, where almost two thirds are members of the Church of Latter Day Saints. That number drops to under half in Salt Lake City.
Equality Utah cheered Biskupski’s win, calling it a “powerful message to all LGBTQ Utahns that their sexual orientation will never be a limitation to public service. We look forward to working alongside Mayor-elect Biskupski to advance policies that will benefit all Utahns.”
In a news conference, Biskupski — who will be sworn as mayor in January — thanked Becker for “his years of service. His actions and programs have benefited Salt Lake City.” She then promised to improve “the culture” of Salt Lake City’s government.
“Every employee will understand that working for Salt Lake City is safe and respectful,” she said. “We will not tolerate harassment or discrimination.”
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