Jackie Biskupski

Upon taking office, Biskupski became Salt Lake City's 35th mayor, the city's first openly gay mayor, and the second female mayor (after Deedee Corradini).

Jackie Biskupski (born January 11, 1966) is an American Democratic politician, who served as the 35th Mayor of Salt Lake City, Utah.

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.

In 1997, Biskupski was elected to the Executive Committee for the Salt Lake County Democratic party as well as the Board of Directors for the YWCA of Salt Lake City.

When elected in 1998 to the Utah House of Representatives, she became Utah's first openly gay person elected to a state office.

She won by a two-to-one margin even though the Eagle Forum ran an antigay ad campaign against her.

She is also a former member of the Utah House of Representatives, representing the 30th District in Salt Lake County from 1999 to 2011.

In 2000, Biskupski unsuccessfully combated Utah's ban on adoption by same-sex parents and Utah's sodomy law in response to a 1998 bill sponsored by Utah Representative Nora B. Stephens, R-Davis County: H.B. 103 ("Amendments to Child Welfare").

In 2009, Biskupski adopted a son named Archie.

She was re-elected 6 times, serving in the legislature for 13 years before retiring in 2011.

Utah Governor Gary Herbert appointed Brian Doughty in 2011 to replace Utah Representative Jackie Biskupski, D-Salt Lake, when she resigned from the Utah House of Representatives.

In 2011, Biskupski helped found Utah's "Real Women Run" initiative, which has hosted numerous events to encourage female participation in civic leadership and political office.

She then went to work as an administrator for the Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office on January 31, 2015.

Biskupski was elected Salt Lake City Mayor on November 17, 2015, defeating two-term incumbent Ralph Becker with 51.55% of the vote, receiving 17,290 votes to Becker's 15,840.

During her transition, she called for the resignation of most City department heads, drawing criticism from former Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson and others.

During her first year in office as mayor, Biskupski made local air quality and climate change issues central to her platform, calling for Salt Lake City to be completely run on alternative energy by 2032 and a reduction in carbon emissions by 80% by 2040.

On August 14, 2016, she married longtime partner Betty Iverson, who also has a son.

She currently lives in the Sugar House neighborhood of Salt Lake City.

Biskupski holds a Bachelor of Science degree in criminal justice from Arizona State University.

After graduating from college, Biskupski opened her own private investigation firm and later went to work for the auto insurance industry.

In 2016, Mayor Biskupski called for the creation of the Department of Economic Development.

In September 2016, after a yearlong negotiation, Biskupski announced a new franchise agreement between Salt Lake City and Rocky Mountain Power in which both parties promised to work together to develop clean-energy projects that would enable Salt Lake City to meet its clean energy goals.

Biskupski also focused on finding long-term treatment solutions to Salt Lake City's growing homeless population.

In December 2016, the Mayor announced the creation of four new homeless shelters in the capital city, generating substantial controversy about where to put the shelters and the cost of land acquisition.

In 2016, Salt Lake City became the 16th city in the United States to formally adopt a 100% clean energy plan.

In 2016, Biskupski created Salt Lake City's Department of Economic Development.

In 2017, Biskupski approved Salt Lake City's first Transit Master Plan, which was designed to implement a frequent transit network (FTN), develop pilot programs and partnerships for employer shuttles and on-demand shared ride services, develop enhanced bus corridors, and implement a variety of transit-supportive programs and transit access improvements that overcome barriers to using transit.

In June 2017, Biskupski leads Sierra Club's "Mayors for 100% Clean Energy," and joined with the Sierra Club's "Ready for 100" campaign in a new effort to engage and recruit mayors to endorse the goal of transitioning to 100% renewable energy in cities throughout the country.

In June 2017, Mayor Biskupski joined 61 U.S. mayors in committing to adopt, honor, and uphold the Paris Climate Agreement goals.

In 2017, the U.S. Conference of Mayors made Biskupski vice chairwoman of Mayors/Business Alliance for a Sustainable Future.

In September 2018, Mayor Jackie Biskupski announced the formation of a Commission Against Gun Violence designed to explore policy questions regarding gun violence and to make funding recommendations to be shared with city, county and state officials, as well as the Salt Lake City School District.

In 2018, Biskupski was instrumental in the U.S. Olympic Committee selecting Salt Lake City to bid on behalf of the United States, potentially for the 2030 Winter Games.

Biskupski serves as co-chair of Sierra Club's Mayors for 100% Clean Energy.

In August 2018, Salt Lake City was selected to host the 68th United Nations Civil Society Conference, the first time a UN conference took place on US soil outside of New York City.

On November 19, 2018, Biskupski led a group of 21 mayors and council members from around Utah in submitting two amicus briefs with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, supporting the cases challenging President Trump's decisions to shrink Grand Staircase–Escalante (GSE) and Bears Ears National Monuments.

The two cases, The Wilderness Society, et al. v. Donald J. Trump and Hopi Tribe, et al. v. Donald J. Trump, will be heard in the D.C. Court after a federal judge denied the Trump Administration's attempt to have the cases moved to the Utah District Court in Salt Lake City.

In February 2018, Mayor Biskupski joined hundreds of mayors opposing Clean Power Plan repeal.

In July 2019, United States Conference of Mayors formally adopted Resolution 66 introduced by Biskupski, urging congressional action to combat the impact of climate change through a national price on carbon emissions.

In what was regarded to be a surprise, Biskupski announced on March 16, 2019, that she would not be seeking a second term in the 2019 mayoral election, citing a "serious and complex family situation".

Biskupski serves as co-chair of Sierra Club's Mayors for 100% Clean Energy.