While the far right has been making grounds in school boards, one county has just made history by electing a gay school board member, the first out LGBTQ+ official in that role. At 19 years old, Jackson Lewis also happens to be Utah’s youngest elected official.
Over November’s election cycle, Lewis won a seat on the Canyons School Board in Utah, which oversees his former high school. But according to a new interview in The Advocate, he had no idea at the time that he was making history. He was just focused on delivering for his community.
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“I thought there was no better way to get involved, not just in my own community … but just getting involved in just the election process,” Lewis said. “I wanted to represent the teachers that got me through high school, my peers, my friends, my family.”
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Lewis is passionate about local bread-and-butter issues like addressing student absenteeism and improving safety for student pedestrians. But he also hopes to inspire Gen Z into positive involvement in the political process.
“We’re the generation that was raised predominantly after 911,” Lewis explained. “Most of us don’t remember that. Most of us don’t remember the wars. Most of us don’t remember the recessions. What we do remember is 2012 and on. A lot of us got introduced into politics due to the 2016 presidential election, for better or worse.”
Given the current political climate, Lewis plans to channel his lived experience into his platform. Although he was raised by lesbian parents, Lewis knows firsthand that coming out to your peer group in a red state is no easy task.
“I went through elementary school, middle school, and a good half of high school as a closeted kid,” Lewis recalled. “It was not good for my mental health. I did not like most of my time in school. When you feel like you have to hide yourself — even if it’s not for any particular reason — it still is a scary thing.”
“It fills my heart whenever I see queer people take hope from this race,” he added. “Being a queer kid in Utah, it was hard, but it made me who I am.”
In rooms where lawmakers can have a real impact on queer lives, it pays to have someone speaking from lived experience. It’s why Lewis urges other queer people to make their voices heard. “I worked for the Utah State Legislature for this 2024 session,” Lewis recalled. “A lot of really bad pieces of legislation were passed during that time, especially regarding queer people.
“I know it does make a difference when people go and testify. Whether or not you’re changing lawmakers’ minds, the media is in the room and your voice is going to be projected on TV, radio, publications on the internet, all across the country.”
“You don’t have to be an elected official to be involved,” he continued. “Go talk to your local city councilor, join your local organizations, attend marches, attend meetings, attend everything. Sometimes the best thing that can be done is just queer people being involved, being in the space, because then it shows that we’re just normal people.”
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