Salt Lake City elects 1st openly gay mayor

SALT LAKE CITY — Former state lawmaker Jackie Biskupski has won Salt Lake City’s mayoral race, becoming the first openly gay person to hold the post.

Official election results released Tuesday show Biskupski defeated two-term incumbent Ralph Becker, who has served since 2007.

The victory by Biskupski marked a milestone for LGBT people in Utah who have made major strides in recent years.

However, that progress was temporarily marred last week when a judge ordered a foster child to be removed from a lesbian couple and placed with a heterosexual couple. The judge cited the well-being of the child as the reason for his order.

The ruling set off a firestorm around the state and nation. The judge quickly reversed his decision and took himself off the case.

Days earlier, the Salt Lake City-based Mormon church issued new rules targeting gay members and their children, prompting widespread backlash.

The new policy bans baptisms for children of gay parents until the kids turn 18 and disavow same-sex relationships.

Biskupski is not a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and said she hopes the faith reconsiders the policy. She told The Salt Lake Tribune that one of her first goals as mayor would be to meet with church leaders and discuss the policy.

The church and the LGBT community have “come so far in the last year to bridge the gaps between us, that this new policy feels confusing to many,” she said in a statement.

Earlier this year, the church endorsed a statewide anti-discrimination law that protected gay and transgender people from discrimination in housing and the workplace.

It’s a contrast from 1998, when Biskupski was elected and became Utah’s first openly gay lawmaker. She recalled that some of her colleagues in the heavily Mormon and conservative Legislature wouldn’t shake her hand.

LGBT issues didn’t define the tight race between Biskupski and Becker.

Salt Lake City is a liberal island in the state where no Republican has been elected mayor in four decades. Gay rights group Equality Utah endorsed both Becker and Biskupski.

Becker has been called an ally of the LGBT community, helping pass a 2009 city anti-discrimination ordinance. He also officiated dozens of the first gay marriages in 2013 in the hours after a surprising ruling overturned Utah’s same sex marriage ban.

Becker, 63, was hoping to win a third term as mayor but came out of election night 1,450 votes behind Biskupski. With just 5,000 votes left to be counted in recent days, Becker did not concede.

State law has prohibited any updated vote tallies until the official vote canvass is released Tuesday.

Salt Lake City voters also appear to have elected Derek Kitchen, who would be a second gay member of the City Council.

He and his husband, Moudi Sbeity, were one of three couples who sued to overturn the state’s same-sex marriage ban. Kitchen has declared victory in his council race, but the result won’t be official until Tuesday.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

Customers enter and exit the Costco on Dec. 2, 2022, in Lake Stevens. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Costco stores could be impacted by looming truck driver strike threat

Truck drivers who deliver groceries and produce to Costco warehouses… Continue reading

Two Washington State ferries pass along the route between Mukilteo and Clinton as scuba divers swim near the shore Sunday, Oct. 22, 2023, in Mukilteo, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Ferry system increases ridership by a half million in 2024

Edmonds-Kingston route remains second-busiest route in the system.

A view of a homes in Edmonds, Washington on Friday, Sept. 8, 2023. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Snohomish County to mail property tax statements this month

First half payments are due on April 30.

Ticket and ORCA card kiosks at the Lynnwood Light Rail station on Thursday, April 4, 2024 in Lynnwood, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Beginning March 1, Community Transit to reduce some fares

Riders eligible for reduced fares will pay $1 for a single ORCA card tap and $36 for a monthly pass.

The amphitheater at Deception Pass during the 2021 concert series. (Photo provided by Deception Pass Park Foundation Facebook page.)
Deception Pass Foundation seeks Adopt-A-Trail volunteers

If you’re looking for a way to get outside and… Continue reading

Robin Cain with 50 of her marathon medals hanging on a display board she made with her father on Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025 in Lake Stevens, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Running a marathon is hard. She ran one in every state.

Robin Cain, of Lake Stevens, is one of only a few thousand people to ever achieve the feat.

People line up to grab food at the Everett Recovery Cafe on Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Coffee, meals and compassion are free at the Everett Recovery Cafe

The free, membership-based day center offers free coffee and meals and more importantly, camaraderie and recovery support.

Devani Padron, left, Daisy Ramos perform during dance class at Mari's Place Monday afternoon in Everett on July 13, 2016. (Kevin Clark / The Herald)
Mari’s Place helps children build confidence and design a better future

The Everett-based nonprofit offers free and low-cost classes in art, music, theater and dance for children ages 5 to 14.

The Everett Wastewater Treatment Plant along the Snohomish River on Thursday, June 16, 2022 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Everett water, sewer rates could jump 43% by 2028

The rate hikes would pay for improvements to the city’s sewer infrastructure.

The bond funded new track and field at Northshore Middle School on Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024 in Bothell, Washington. (Courtesy of Northshore School District)
Northshore School District bond improvements underway

The $425 million bond is funding new track and field complexes, playgrounds and phase one of two school replacements.

A pedestrian is struck and killed by vehicle Wednesday in Everett

The pedestrian was a man in his 60s. The collision happened at 5:30 a.m. Wednesday.

Want coffee? Drink some with the Marysville mayor.

A casual question-and-answer session between mayor and constituents is planned for March 24.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.