Doug Owens is an American politician from Utah that represents District 33 in the

Utah House of Representatives The Utah House of Representatives is the lower house of the Utah State Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Utah. The House is composed of 75 representatives elected from single member constituent districts. Each district conta ...

. He ran for Congress twice for Utah's 4th District. He was the Democratic nominee for Congress in this district in 2014 and 2016, and he was defeated by

Mia Love Mia, MIA, or M.I.A. may refer to: Music Artists * M.I.A. (rapper) (born 1975), English rapper and singer * M.I.A. (band), 1980s punk rock band from Orange County, California * MIA., a German rock/pop band formed in 1997 * Mia (singer) (born 1983 ...

both times.

Early life and career

Doug Owens is the second-oldest child of Wayne Owens, a former Utah Congressman. Owens is a member of the

LDS Church The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The c ...

, and graduated from the

University of Utah The University of Utah (U of U, UofU, or simply The U) is a public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is the flagship institution of the Utah System of Higher Education. The university was established in 1850 as the University of De ...

, and

Yale Law School Yale Law School (Yale Law or YLS) is the law school of Yale University, a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was established in 1824 and has been ranked as the best law school in the United States by '' U.S. News & World ...

. Owens spent twenty years as a practicing attorney in business and environmental law. When his father, Wayne Owens, ran for governor in 1984 (a race he lost to Republican Norm Bangerter), Owens managed the campaign.

Political campaigns

2014 and 2016 congressional elections

Owens announced his candidacy for

Utah's 4th Congressional District Utah's 4th congressional district is a congressional district created by the state legislature as a result of reapportionment by Congress after the 2010 Census showed population increases in the state relative to other states. Prior to 2010 rea ...

seat in the

2014 elections The following elections occurred in the year 2014. * 2014 United Nations Security Council election 16 October 2014 Africa * 2014 Algerian presidential election 17 April 2014 * 2014 Botswana general election 24 October 2014 * 2014 Comorian presi ...

on March 17, 2014. He lost the election in November to

, losing 50% to 47%. In July 2015, Owens announced that he would be challenging Love again. Love won re-election with 53% of the vote.

2020 Utah House of Representatives election

Owens was nominated by the Democratic Party in state House District 36 in the Millcreek /

Holladay Holladay is a city in central Salt Lake County, Utah, United States. It is part of the Salt Lake City, Utah Metropolitan Statistical Area and abuts the Wasatch National Forest. The population was 31,965 at the 2020 census, a significant increa ...

area to replace outgoing veteran Patrice Arent, who had announced she would retire. After winning the Democratic primary against three candidates, he defeated Republican Lisa Bagley in the November election, with 60% of the vote.

Political positions and significant legislation

Rep. Owens supports the Great Salt Lake preservation efforts. He said that "I hope people understand the urgency of the situation. It is nothing short of an emergency that we make sure we conserve that incredible place, not only for air quality, industry, and ecology, but it is part of our identity as a state." Rep. Owens called for all legislators to observe the conditions of the Great Salt Lake first hand from the air by helicopter, of which the Legislative leadership agreed. In 2021, Owens voiced his support for restoring the size of Bears Ears National Monument to the original size. He also sponsored a bill with Rep.

Phil Lyman Phil Lyman is a resident of Blanding, Utah who currently represents district 73 in the Utah House of Representatives. District 73 includes the counties of San Juan, Kane, Garfield, Wayne, Beaver, Piute, and part of Sevier. During the 2022 legi ...

"that would create a task force to explore the creation of a visitor center in the Bears Ears area." The passed the Legislature and was signed by the Governor into law.

Committee assignments

He served on the Public Utilities and Technology committee, the Economic Development & Workforce Services committee, and the Natural Resources, Agriculture & Environmental Quality committee in the 2021 legislature. During the 2022 Legislative Session, Rep. Owens served on the House Economic Development and Workforce Services Committee, the House Public Utilities, Energy, and Technology Committee, the Legislative Water Development Commission, and the Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Environmental Quality Appropriations Subcommittee.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Owens, Doug Living people University of Utah alumni Yale Law School alumni Latter Day Saints from Utah Politicians from Salt Lake City 21st-century American politicians Candidates in the 2014 United States elections Candidates in the 2016 United States elections Democratic Party members of the Utah House of Representatives Year of birth missing (living people)