Elizabeth Weight | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of the UtahHouseofRepresentatives from the 31st district | |
| In office January 1, 2017 –December 31, 2022 | |
| Preceded by | Sophia M. DiCaro |
| Succeeded by | Quinn Kotter (Redistricting) |
| Personal details | |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Residence(s) | Salt Lake City,Utah |
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. [1] [2]
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. [3] 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. [4]
Weight was first elected in 2016,defeating incumbent Republican Sophia DiCaro. [5] Unlike the majority of the Utah legislature,who are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,Weight is a Unitarian. [6]
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. [7]
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. [8] [9] In 2018,Weight was planning legislation to require safe storage of firearms. [10] In November 2022,Republican Quinn Kotter defeated Weight by 127 votes in the newly-drawn District 26. [11]
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. [12]
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. [13] 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." [14]