Salt Lake City Just Elected Itself an Openly Gay Mayor
Meet Jackie Biskupski, the openly gay mayor of Salt Lake City who just won the election campaigning on municipal issues, of all things.
This is big news—because Biskupski is a lesbian—in Utah—no joke! Utah, the state with all the Mormons. Where that judge who didn’t like lesbians lives.
And sure, none of that really concerns Salt Lake City, a liberal pocket tucked into Utah’s conservative denim dress that hasn’t elected a Republican mayor in almost 40 years. And sure, she campaigned on issues like “economic growth, affordable housing, bike-patrol police, and parking meters,” and sure, “LGBT issues didn’t define the tight race.”
But with her election, she becomes the first openly gay mayor of the city. And people are acting like it’s no big deal: voters—at least 52 percent of them—support her. The gay rights group Equality Utah endorsed both her and her opponent, two-time incumbent Ralph Becker, who reportedly “showed no reaction and later congratulated Biskupski and vowed to work with her to ensure a smooth transition.” What a time to be alive.
