Stonewall Democrats Utah

Utah Stonewall Democrats is a Salt Lake City-based lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) political group affiliated with the Utah Democratic Party. The word "Stonewall" in the group's name refers to the Stonewall riots of 1969, a pivotal event in the history of protecting equal rights for LGBT people.

Stonewall Democrats Utah logo

History

The group was founded in 1990 by Utah LGBT activist David Nelson. The group was named Gay and Lesbian Utah Democrats from 1990 to 1997 and Utah Democratic Gay and Lesbian Caucus from 1997 to 2002. It has been named Utah Stonewall Democrats since 2002.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10]

Gay and Lesbian Utah Democrats

The group combined the work of a political party caucus, a fund-raising political-action committee and a lobbying group. At its first state-party convention in 1990, the group was called "a new political powerhouse" by KUTV Television news reporters, and became one of the largest caucuses in the party. The group's executive director from 1990 to 1994 was Dale Sorenson. The group's executive committee chairman from 1990 to 1997 was Michael Aaron. The group served from 1996 to 1997 as a National Stonewall Democratic Federation affiliate. The group accomplished the adoption of several LGBT-friendly state and local laws, ordinances, rules and policies, and several party policies. The group stopped its fund-raising and lobbying work in 1997, but remained a caucus, and was renamed as the Utah Democratic Gay and Lesbian Caucus.[11][12][13][14]

Utah Democratic Gay and Lesbian Caucus

The group continued the work of a party caucus. The group's executive-committee chairman from 1997 to 2001 was David Thometz. The group's executive-committee chairman from 2001 to 2002 was Michael Picardi. The group served from 1997 to 1999 as a National Stonewall Democratic Federation affiliate and since 1999 as a National Stonewall Democrats affiliate. Nelson retired in 2001 from the group leadership, and the group was renamed in 2002 as Utah Stonewall Democrats.[6][7]

Utah Stonewall Democrats

The group continued the work of a party caucus. The group's executive-committee chairman from 2002 to 2007 was Michael Picardi. The group's executive-committee chairwoman from 2007 to 2011 was Nikki Boyer. The group's executive-committee chairman from 2011 to 2015 was Todd Bennett. The group's executive-committee chairwoman from 2015 to 2021 was Becky Moss. The group's executive-committee chairwoman has been Jen Schwartz since 2021. The group has served since 2001 as a National Stonewall Democrats affiliate.[15][16][17][18]

See also

Notes
  1. "Fight for gay rights can be exhausting (Sidebar)". The Salt Lake Tribune. Salt Lake City: Kearns-Tribune Corp. 1995-03-27. pp. D–2. Retrieved 2013-01-15.
  2. Sillitoe, Linda (January 1996). Welcoming the World: The History of Salt Lake County. Utah State Historical Society. ISBN 978-0965185707.
  3. Rolly, Paul (1998-01-11). "How gay, lesbian politics came out of closet in Utah". The Salt Lake Tribune. Salt Lake City: Kearns-Tribune Corp. pp. AA–3. Retrieved 2013-01-15.
  4. Grossman, Steve; Gov. Roy Romer (1998-09-26). 1998 Lawrence O'Brien Awards: Recognizing Democratic Party achievement. Washington: Democratic National Committee. p. 22.
  5. "Gay Utahn wins Democratic honors". The Pillar. Salt Lake City: Pillar Publishing. October 1998. p. 18.
  6. "Gay and Lesbian Utah Democrats (GLUD), Gay and Lesbian Community Center of Utah records". Manuscripts. Vol. Accn 1918. Salt Lake City: Special Collections and Archives, J. Willard Marriott Library, University of Utah. 2001. Archived from the original on 2013-03-31.
  7. "Rules of the Stonewall Democrats of Utah GLBT Caucus". UtahStonewallDems.org. Utah Stonewall Democrats. 2002. Retrieved 2013-07-01.
  8. Peterson, Eric S. (2009-12-30). "Dave Nelson on the queer New Year". Salt Lake City Weekly. Salt Lake City: Copperfield Publishing Inc. pp. OL. Retrieved 2012-12-03.
  9. Bracken, Seth (2012-03-08). "Former Utah Democratic Party exec remembered by queer-rights leaders". QSaltLake. Salt Lake City: Salt Lick Publishing LLC. pp. OL.
  10. "David Nelson papers". Salt Lake City: Special Collections and Archives, J. Willard Marriott Library, University of Utah. 2013.
  11. "Gay Utah Democrats group to disband at end of year". Deseret News. Salt Lake City: Deseret News Publishing Co. 1996-11-05. pp. B–6. Retrieved 2013-01-15.
  12. "Gay Utah Democrats will fold organization". The Salt Lake Tribune. Salt Lake City: Kearns-Tribune Corp. 1996-11-06.
  13. "Michael Aaron". LinkedIn.com. LinkedIn Corp. 2011. Retrieved 2013-02-03.
  14. Williams, Ben (2012-02-29). "Lambda lore: A cautionary tale". QSaltLake. Salt Lake City: Gay Salt Lake Inc. pp. OL. Retrieved 2013-02-03.
  15. "Mike Picardi". LinkedIn.com. LinkedIn Corp. 2011. Retrieved 2013-02-03.
  16. Winters, Rosemary (2011-08-01). "LGBT FYI: Two openly gay candidates vying for Biskupski's seat". The Salt Lake Tribune. Salt Lake City: MediaNews Group. pp. OL. Retrieved 2013-02-03.
  17. "Utah LGBT Leaders". WDCUtah.org. LinkedIn Corp. 2011-09-20. Retrieved 2013-02-03.
  18. "Board of Directors". UtahStonewallDems.org. Utah Stonewall Democrats. 2015. Retrieved 2015-02-22.

References
  • "Gay and Lesbian Utah Democrats (GLUD)." Gay and Lesbian Community Center of Utah records. Accession number (Accn) 1918, boxes 31–33. Salt Lake City: Special Collections and Archives, J. Willard Marriott Library, University of Utah. 2001.
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