Michelle Kaufusi | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 45th Mayor of Provo | |
| Assumed office December 5, 2017 | |
| Preceded by | John Curtis |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Michelle Garrick October 14,1966 Provo,Utah,U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Steve Kaufusi |
| Children | Corbin and Bronson |
| Alma mater | Brigham Young University (BS) |
Michelle Kaufusi (born October 14,1966) is an American politician serving as the 45th and current mayor of Provo,Utah since 2017. [1] She is a member of the Republican Party.
Kaufusi was born and raised in Provo,Utah. Kaufusi is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Her mother is also a member of the church,and father left the family when she was six. She graduated from Provo High,where she served in student government and earned an academic scholarship to BYU. [2] She studied at Brigham Young University where she received a Bachelor of Science degree in Geography. [3]
After graduating from college,she moved to Pennsylvania to join her husband,who she had married a few months earlier,who was then playing for the Philadelphia Eagles. Her first two children were born in Pennsylvania. They then spent a few years in Salt Lake City while her husband studied at and coached at the University of Utah. They returned to Provo in 2002. Prior to her election as mayor,Kaufusi served as a member of the Provo School Board for six years.
On February 7,2020,former governor Jon Huntsman Jr. announced Kaufusi as his running mate in the 2020 Utah gubernatorial election. [4] In the Republican primary,Huntsman was narrowly defeated by Spencer Cox. [5]
Kaufusi is married to Steve Kaufusi who was formerly the defensive line coach for Brigham Young University. [6] Her son,Bronson Kaufusi,was a tight end for the Green Bay Packers while her other son,Corbin Kaufusi,played basketball and football at BYU and played for the San Francisco 49ers.
Provo is a city in and the county seat of Utah County,Utah,United States. It is 43 miles (69 km) south of Salt Lake City along the Wasatch Front,and lies between the cities of Orem to the north and Springville to the south. With a population at the 2020 census of 115,162,Provo is the fourth-largest city in Utah and the principal city in the Provo-Orem metropolitan area,which had a population of 526,810 at the 2010 census. It is Utah's second-largest metropolitan area after Salt Lake City.
Jon Meade Huntsman Jr. is an American businessman,diplomat,and politician who served as the 16th governor of Utah from 2005 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party,he served as the ambassador of the United States to Russia from 2017 to 2019,ambassador to China from 2009 to 2011,and ambassador to Singapore from 1992 to 1993.
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Sitiveni P. Kaufusi is a former American football defensive lineman in the National Football League (NFL) for the Philadelphia Eagles from 1988 to 1990. He was selected in the 12th round of the 1988 NFL draft.
The 2004 Utah gubernatorial election took place on November 2,2004. The incumbent governor was Republican Olene S. Walker,who had become governor following Mike Leavitt's resignation to join the George W. Bush administration. However,Walker placed fourth in the Republican primary,far behind Jon Huntsman Jr. Huntsman won the nomination and went on to win the general election,carrying 25 of the 29 counties and winning 57.7% of the overall vote. This was the last time that a Democratic nominee for any statewide office has received forty percent or more of the popular vote,and the most recent election in which a Democratic nominee carried more than three counties in the state.
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