Jay Seegmiller (politician)

Jay Seegmiller (born May 29, 1958) is an American politician from Utah. He has served as a member of the Utah House of Representatives and was the Democratic Party's nominee for Utah's 2nd congressional district in the 2012 election.

Jay Seegmiller
Member of the Utah House of Representatives
from the 49th district
In office
2009–2011
Preceded byGreg Curtis
Succeeded byDerek Brown
Personal details
Born (1958-05-29) May 29, 1958 (age 65)
Salt Lake City, Utah
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseMichelle Seegmiller
ResidenceSandy, Utah

Early life, education and career edit

Seegmiller was born in Salt Lake City, Utah. He graduated from South High School and attended the University of Utah. His 2nd great-grandfather William Henry Seegmiller was Mayor of Richfield, Utah and served in the Utah Territorial Legislature as Speaker of the House.[1] Seegmiller married his wife Michelle in 1978 and has four children and four grandchildren. He is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Seegmiller worked for the Union Pacific Railroad from 1976 to 1987 as a brakeman, conductor, and yardmaster. In August 1987 Seegmiller went to work for Amtrak as a conductor.[2]

Utah State Legislature edit

In 2008 Seegmiller ran against and defeated Utah Speaker of the House Greg Curtis; no sitting speaker had been defeated in Utah in 40 years.[3] Seegmiller was elected to the Utah State Legislature in 2008 and served from 2009 to 2011. During that time he served on the Transportation and the Workforce Services and Community and Economic Development Standing Committees, the Public Utilities & Natural Resource Interim Committee, and the Transportation, Environmental Quality, and National Guard Appropriations Committee.

Congressional campaign edit

Seegmiller was one of three Democratic candidates for Utah's 2nd congressional district in the 2012 election.[4] He defeated Dean Collinwood and Mike Small outright at the convention, proceeding to the general election without a primary.[5] The 2nd district was held by Democratic Congressman Jim Matheson, who opted to run in the newly created 4th congressional district, and is now held by Chris Stewart, who defeated Seegmiller.[6]

References edit

  1. ^ Robert Earl Seegmiller (1997). Legacy of Eternal Worth: A Biographical History of the Seegmillers of North America. ISBN 0961699248.
  2. ^ Montero, David (September 19, 2012). "Jay Seegmiller: Candidate wants to bring common touch to Congress". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved July 24, 2019.
  3. ^ Robert Gehrke (2008-11-08). "House Speaker Curtis concedes; Democrat takes his seat". Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved 2012-02-21.
  4. ^ "Federal Election Commission". Federal Election Commission. Retrieved 2012-02-21.
  5. ^ "2012 Utah State Democratic Convention | Utah Democratic Party". Archived from the original on 2012-04-24. Retrieved 2012-05-16.
  6. ^ "Matheson to Run in new Utah District". Roll Call. 15 December 2011.