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Stacy Bernal is running for Utah Senate District 3.
Photo provided, Stacy Bernal/Ben Hayes
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Utah Sen. John Johnson stands in the Senate Chamber at the Utah State Capitol in Salt Lake City on Thursday, Feb. 23, 2023.
Photo provided, Utah Senate
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Ogden School Board Member Stacy Bernal announced on November 10, 2023, her intention to run as a Democrat for the District 3 seat in the Utah Senate. John Johnson, a Republican from North Ogden, now holds the seat.
Photo provided, Stacy Bernal/Brian Nicholson
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Stacy Bernal is running for Utah Senate District 3.
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Utah Sen. John Johnson stands in the Senate Chamber at the Utah State Capitol in Salt Lake City on Thursday, Feb. 23, 2023.
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Ogden School Board Member Stacy Bernal announced on November 10, 2023, her intention to run as a Democrat for the District 3 seat in the Utah Senate. John Johnson, a Republican from North Ogden, now holds the seat.
OGDEN — Stacy Bernal has officially declared her candidacy for the Utah Senate District 3 seat, as announced Thursday in a campaign release.
The Ogden school board member seeks to “bridge the gap between residents’ personal experiences and policy actions taken, emphasizing a commitment to service, resilience and equity,” according to the release. She could not be reached for comment for this story.
Bernal had announced plans run for the Democratic seat in November.
“I feel like we need a representative who brings a little different perspective,” Bernal said at the time. “I want to uplift our families and our residents.”
According to the release, Bernal's foray into public service was inspired by an encounter with a single mother through her work with the school board in 2022. Amid a $2 million budget shortfall affecting the special education funding, the board implemented a tax increase. Bernal connected with the woman during a public comment session.
“I saw myself in this woman,” Bernal said in the release. “Our residents and families are rightly concerned about real issues: paying the bills, feeding their children and keeping their families safe. They don't care about political issues or culture wars. They deserve better.
The District 3 seat is currently held by North Ogden Republican John Johnson. According to the release, Bernal's personal experience contrasts sharply with Johnson's, reflecting “those of the families she seeks to represent.”
“I know what it's like to have struggled as a single mother, working multiple jobs to support my family. In fact, I understand the experiences of voters and families in our riding. My experience is not unique, but within the legislature it would be,” Bernal said in the release.
In addition to his work on the school board, Bernal served as diversity, equity and inclusion officer. for the Utah Jazz professional basketball team. For his part, Johnson worked reduce these DEI programs at the state's public universities.
Bernal, who has an autistic son, also founded Awesome Autistic Ogden in 2018 and, according to the release, collaborated with the Ogden Police Department in 2022 to implement an autism registry database.
District 3 roughly covers the area north of 21st Street in Ogden, extending beyond North Ogden, Pleasant View and Harrisville, in addition to eastern Weber County, including the Valley of Ogden, and parts of Morgan and Summit counties, including Morgan, Coalville and Wanship.
Before switching districts last year, Johnson represented Utah's 19th District.
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