Jani Iwamoto is a former Democratic member of the

Utah 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, each representing one senate district. Each senate district is composed ...

, representing the 4th District. Previously she served as a council member of the Salt Lake County Council.

Personal life, education, and career

Iwamoto was born and raised in Salt Lake County. She graduated from Highland High School and got a degree in mass communications from the

University of Utah The University of Utah (the U, U of U, or simply Utah) is a public university, public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. It was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret (Book of Mormon), Deseret by the General A ...

. She then obtained a legal degree from

University of California at Davis The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a public land-grant research university in Davis, California, United States. It is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The institution was ...

. After graduation she practiced law as a partner and litigator in northern California. After living in California for several years she moved back to Utah. Once back in Utah she became more politically active. She first began working with the No! coalition, which sought to keep high level nuclear waste out of Utah. Later she was appointed by Governor

Jon Huntsman, Jr. Jon Meade Huntsman Jr. (born March 26, 1960) is an American politician, businessman, and diplomat who served as the 16th governor of Utah from 2005 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the L ...

to serve on the Central Utah Water Conservancy District Board of Trustees, and the Court of Appeals Judicial Nominating Committee. Iwamoto is married and has two children, she currently resides in Holladay, Utah.

Political career

Iwamoto's first elected position was serving on the Salt Lake County Council as a councilmember. She served from 2009-2013. In 2014 she ran for the Utah State 4th district Senate seat, and won. Since 2014 she has been serving as the senator for this district. In 2018 she was elected Assistant Minority Whip by the Democrats in the Utah Senate. In 2016, Senator Iwamoto served on the following committees in the legislature : * Executive Offices and Criminal Justice Appropriations Subcommittee * Senate Ethics Committee * Public Education Appropriations Subcommittee * Senate Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Environment Committee * Senate Economic Development and Workforce Services Committee

Electoral history

Legislation

2016 sponsored bills

Notable legislation

In 2016 Senator Iwamoto sponsored a bill that would have charged a dime for the use of plastic or paper bags. The bill did not pass, but Senator Iwamoto has said she will bring the bill back and attempt to pass it again during the 2017 legislative session.

Honours

Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Rays (2023)

References

External links

Jani Iwamoto

Jani Iwamoto Election Results

Biography Project Vote Smart
{{DEFAULTSORT:Iwamoto, Jani Living people Politicians from Salt Lake City Democratic Party Utah state senators University of Utah alumni American politicians of Japanese descent Asian-American state legislators in Utah American women of Japanese descent in politics Women state legislators in Utah University of California, Davis alumni 21st-century Asian-American women politicians 21st-century American women politicians 21st-century Asian-American politicians Year of birth missing (living people) People from Holladay, Utah 21st-century members of the Utah Legislature