Elizabeth Weight is a Democratic politician, who was a member of the Utah State House, representing the state's 31st house district, from 2017 through 2022.Elizabeth Weight's biography on VoteSmart
Early life and career Weight has a bachelor's degree in Secondary Education from Utah State University, and a Master's degree in Linguistics and Bilingual Education from the University of Utah. A trombone player, Weight was at one time an instructor and owner of the Alan Weight Music Studios. From 1984 to 2016, Weight was an English Language Arts teacher and Instructor at the Granite Technical Institute in the Granite School District. For a time, Weight was president of the American Federation of Teachers in the district.
Political career Weight was first elected in 2016, defeating incumbent Republican Sophia DiCaro."Utah legislature race decided by only three votes," Fox13now.com Unlike the majority of the Utah legislature, who are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Weight is a Unitarian."With Utah Legislature's Mormon supermajority, is it representative of the people?" Salt Lake Tribune, 12/12/16
During the 2018 legislative session, Weight served on the Business, Economic Development and Labor Appropriations Subcommittee, the Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice committee, and the Political Subdivisions Committee.Official Utah House page for Rep. Elizabeth Weight
Weight was reelected in November 2018 with 60.52 percent of the vote, defeating Republican Fred Johnson and United Utah Party candidate Brian L. Fabbi."Election results as of late Tuesday for Utah races, issues," Deseret News, Nov. 7, 2018 "Utah’s 2018 Midterm Elections Rundown," Daily Utah Chronicle, Nov 9, 2018 In 2018, Weight was planning legislation to require safe storage of firearms."Proposed Utah bill calls for safe firearm storage," The Daily Universe, August 3, 2018 In November 2022, Republican Quinn Kotter defeated Weight by 127 votes in the newly-drawn District 26."Utah House GOP will add to its supermajority in January," KUER, November 30, 2022
Political Positions and Significant Legislation
LGBT Issues
In 2017, Rep. Weight sponsored legislation that would prevent parents from expelling children from their home because of the child's sexual orientation. The bill was held in committee.
Native American Issues
In 2021, Rep. Weight authored a resolution that would encourage schools to change mascots that she considers racist toward Native Americans. The bill failed to pass in committee. She signaled her intention to write a new bill "allow more education on the topic of retiring or removing Native imagery or symbols as mascots."
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