UTAH: Democrats Elect Openly Gay Man As State Party Chairman

A very nice first for the state of Utah.

Utah Democrats made history Saturday afternoon, electing Jim Dabakis as state party chairman by a wide margin. He is believed to be the state’s first openly gay major party leader. Dabakis, who is an art dealer and co-founder of both the Utah Pride Center and Equality Utah, said his election shows how fair-minded the people of Utah are. “I visited all 29 counties during the last five months, and people were very interested in what kind of a job I would do and what my experience was,” Dabakis said. “The whole gay thing just simply did not surface as an issue. People are broad-minded in Utah, and they want to know if you can do the job or not.”