Jim Dabakis is an
American politician
The politics of the United States function within a framework of a constitutional federal republic and presidential system, with three distinct branches that share powers. These are: the U.S. Congress which forms the legislative branch, a bi ...
from
Salt Lake City, Utah
Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...
. While now a
Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
for primary voting purposes, he served as a member of the
Utah State Senate
The Utah State Senate is the upper house of the Utah State Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Utah. The Utah Senate is composed of 29 elected members representing an equal number of senate districts. Each senate district is ...
as a
Democrat
Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to:
Politics
*A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people.
*A member of a Democratic Party:
**Democratic Party (United States) (D)
**Democratic ...
, where he represented the state's
2nd senate district.
Early life, education, and career
Born into a
Greek-American
Greek Americans ( el, Ελληνοαμερικανοί ''Ellinoamerikanoí'' ''Ellinoamerikánoi'' ) are Americans of full or partial Greek ancestry. The lowest estimate is that 1.2 million Americans are of Greek descent while the highest es ...
family from
Springfield, Massachusetts
Springfield is a city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States, and the seat of Hampden County. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers: the western Westfield River, the ...
, Dabakis is the son of a machinist. Raised
Greek Orthodox
The term Greek Orthodox Church (Greek language, Greek: Ἑλληνορθόδοξη Ἐκκλησία, ''Ellinorthódoxi Ekklisía'', ) has two meanings. The broader meaning designates "the Eastern Orthodox Church, entire body of Orthodox (Chalced ...
, he was baptized into
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...
at age 11. In 1971, he enrolled at
Brigham Young University
Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day ...
and sought guidance from
Mark E. Petersen
Mark Edward Petersen (November 7, 1900 – January 11, 1984) was an American news editor and religious leader who served as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 1944 un ...
, one of the Church's
apostles, about his homosexuality.
He was sent to the
San Francisco bay area
The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Go ...
as a
missionary
A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...
.
Dabakis dropped out of BYU, and later became a talk-radio and TV host in Salt Lake City. He also organized tours of the
Eastern Bloc
The Eastern Bloc, also known as the Communist Bloc and the Soviet Bloc, was the group of socialist states of Central and Eastern Europe, East Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America under the influence of the Soviet Union that existed du ...
. In 1991, he moved to
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
, Russia, where he taught business at a Russian university, developed an art business and provided micro-loans to a variety of emerging Russian entrepreneurs. He split his time between Salt Lake City and St. Petersburg over the next twenty years. His official web page lists his profession as art dealer. He is also the host of a local TV show in Salt Lake City called UP with Jim Dabakis
One of the co-founders of Equality Utah and the Utah Pride Center, Dabakis is openly
gay
''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'.
While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...
. On June 26, 2013, he proposed marriage to Stephen Justeson.
The two were legally wed by Salt Lake City Mayor
Ralph Becker at the Salt Lake County Clerk's Office on December 20, 2013, just hours after a federal judge ruled the state's same-sex marriage ban unconstitutional.
Political career
Senator Dabakis started his political career when he co-founded the Utah Pride Center and Equality Utah. He works closely with both of these organizations.
Dabakis was elected chair of the Utah Democratic Party in July 2011. He has made outreach to Mormons a focus of his tenure at the head of the party. In 2014, Dabakis stepped down as state party chair for health reasons and to spend more time with his husband, Stephen.
Dabakis was appointed to the Utah Senate by Democratic delegates in December 2012, following the election of senator
Ben McAdams to the mayoralty of Salt Lake County. Five candidates sought the senate appointment, with Dabakis besting
Peter Corroon
Peter Maitland Corroon (born July 16, 1964) is an American politician, former Utah Democratic Party chair, and the former mayor of Salt Lake County, Utah. He was the unsuccessful Democratic nominee for governor in the 2010 election. Corroon is a ...
, the outgoing mayor of
Salt Lake County
Salt Lake County is located in the U.S. state of Utah. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 1,185,238, making it the most populous county in Utah. Its county seat and largest city is Salt Lake City, the state capital. The cou ...
, by a vote of 67 to 61 in the final round of balloting. Senator Dabakis won reelection in 2014.
Senator Dabakis has his own caucus, called the Dabakis Kakis. He holds weekly meetings to keep people updated on the legislative session. He also has a blog during the legislative session: dabakisdiary.wordpress.com.
During the 2016 Legislative Session, Senator Dabakis served on the following committees:
*Senate Education Committee
*Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee
*Senate Rules Committee
In October 2015, Dabakis started a TV show and a PAC for liberals in Utah called Utah Progressives. The UP website went offline in late 2016, and redirected to Damn Dabakis in 2017.
He unsuccessfully ran in the
2019 Salt Lake City mayoral election.
Legislation
2016 sponsored bills
Source:
Notable legislation
Senator Dabakis sponsored bill SB141 in 2016, which sought to alter one of Utah's peculiar liquor laws, specifically it would remove
Zion Curtains from restaurants. The bill was held in committee and did not pass.
Notes
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dabakis, Jim
Year of birth missing (living people)
Living people
21st-century American politicians
American Mormon missionaries in the United States
Brigham Young University alumni
Gay politicians
Former Latter Day Saints
LGBT Latter Day Saints
LGBT state legislators in Utah
Politicians from Salt Lake City
Politicians from Springfield, Massachusetts
Democratic Party Utah state senators
State political party chairs of Utah
American expatriates in Russia
American people of Greek descent
Converts to Mormonism
Former Greek Orthodox Christians