Mark A. Wheatley
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Mark Archuleta Wheatley is a Democratic member of the
Utah State 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 cont ...
, representing the 35th District since 2004. He lives in Murray, Utah, with his wife Josie.


Education

He earned a bachelor's degree from Westminster College in
Salt Lake City 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 ...
.


Political career

Wheatley was first elected on November 2, 2004. In 2012, Wheatley challenged his wife, Josie Valdez, to run for the State Senate in 2012 after the incumbent senator retired. Were she to win the race, it would have been the first time in Utah history that a husband and wife would serve together in the legislature. However, Valdez lost to Republican Brian Shiozawa 56.8% to 43.2%. During the 2016 general session, he served on the Business, Economic Development, and Labor Appropriations Subcommittee, the Higher Education Appropriations Subcommittee, the House Economic Development and Workforce Services Committee and the House Judiciary Committee. In the 2022 general session, Wheatley served on the Administrative Rules Review Committee, the Higher Education Appropriations Subcommittee, the House Business and Labor Committee, the House Ethics Committee, and the House Judiciary Committee.


Political Positions and Significant Legislation

In 2022, Rep. Wheatley sponsored a bill "that would have required that vehicles pass a muffler inspection as a prerequisite for registration." The bill failed to pass on the House floor by a 35-39 vote. In 2018, Rep. Wheatley sponsored a bill that would prevent the Attorney General and other high-level elected officials in Utah from campaign fundraising during the legislative session. In defending his bill, Wheatley said that "We don't want the Capitol to be a place where people come up and raise funds, especially when we're in session and doing the people's work." The bill passed unanimously in the Legislature and was signed by the Governor into law. In 2017, Rep. Wheatley sponsored a bill that "would allow employees with discrimination claims to seek civil lawsuits and action through the state court system, and not rely solely on the Utah Antidiscrimination and Labor Division." The bill was held in committee unanimously. In 2018, Rep. Wheatley wrote an opinion editorial praising Rep. Rob Bishop for supporting reauthorization of the Land and Water Conservation Fund, saying that "the only 'special interest' the Land and Water Conservation Fund serves is that of everyday Utahns."


Elections

* 2014 Wheatley was unopposed in the Democratic convention and won the general election against Republican Eileen Lentz and Libertarian Chelsea Travis with 3,202 votes (63.7%). * 2012 Wheatley was unopposed in the Democratic convention and won the general election against Republican Casey Fitts and Libertarian Chelsea Travis with 4,780 votes (53.8%). * 2010 Wheatley faced Rob Alexander again, winning re-election with 2,553 votes (53.1%). * 2008 Wheatley faced Republican nominee Rob Alexander in the general election, winning re-election with 4,670 votes (63.1%).


2016 sponsored legislation

Wheatley passed one of the three bills he introduced, giving him a 33.3% passage rate. He did not floor sponsor any legislation during 2016.


Personal life

Unlike the majority of the Utah legislature, who are members of
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 ...
, Wheatley is a
Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
."With Utah Legislature's Mormon supermajority, is it representative of the people?" Salt Lake Tribune, 12/12/16
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References


External links


Utah House of Representatives - Mark Wheatley profileProject Vote Smart - Mark Wheatley profileProfile at Followthemoney.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wheatley, Mark Living people Democratic Party members of the Utah House of Representatives Westminster College (Utah) alumni People from Murray, Utah Catholics from Utah Place of birth missing (living people) Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American politicians