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]
Elizabeth Weight | |
---|---|
Member of the Utah House of Representatives 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 |
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] Since 2015, Weight has been a teacher 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]