Salt Lake City’s first openly gay mayor sworn into office
Jackie Biskupski, left, is sworn in as mayor next to her fiancée, Betty Iverson, during a ceremony on Monday, Jan. 4, 2016, in Salt Lake City. Biskupski is Salt Lake City’s first openly gay mayor. Scott G Winterton/The Deseret News via AP
SALT LAKE CITY, United States— Jackie Biskupski has been sworn in as Salt Lake City’s mayor, becoming the first openly gay person to hold the office.
The 49-year-old former Utah lawmaker said Monday she is humbled by her history-making election but said more needs to be done for LGBT rights.
Biskupski is no stranger to making history in the state. In 1998, she became Utah’s first openly gay lawmaker.
She served in the state House until 2011. Since then, she has worked in the Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Office.
Biskupski defeated two-term incumbent mayor Ralph Becker in November by winning 52 percent of the vote in the state’s liberal capital city.
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