The fifth annual Women’s Pride Brunch, which took place at California Cuisine in Hillcrest prior to Saturday’s Pride parade, was held to benefit the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund and Leadership Institute, which helps qualified openly GLBT candidates win elections nationwide through monetary support and training workshops.

This year’s keynote speaker was Utah State Representative Jackie Biskupski, who spoke along with state Senator Christine Kehoe, San Diego County District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis and San Diego’s Deputy Mayor Toni Atkins.

“In 1995 we had a gay-straight alliance try to form in a Salt Lake City High School, and I was sitting at home with my partner at the time, watching all this happen on TV and on the news, wondering why my feet were on the coffee table and theirs were not,” Biskupski recalled.

“Here were some kids, you know, 16, 17 and 18 years old, taking on a very strong right-wing coalition group we have in Utah, and having to listen to some incredibly painful things being said to them, and that was it. I was done sitting on the couch,” Biskupski continued. “I hope you all have a moment like that, where you are aware of what’s happening and realize that, yeah, you have something to contribute, because you sure do.”

Biskupski first ran for office in 1997 but lost her bid for a seat on the Salt Lake City Council by less than 50 votes.

In 1998 Biskupski ran as an openly gay candidate for the Utah House of Representatives, in what she called “a vicious race.” Although the opposition attacked her based on her sexual orientation, she won the election with 62 percent of the vote, becoming the first openly gay representative elected in Utah.

In 2000 she was elected by her Democratic peers to serve in Democratic Leadership as caucus manager, and she served in that position for two years.

Biskupski is serving her fourth term. She currently serves on the Economic Development and Human Resources Appropriations Subcommittee; House Business and Labor Standing Committee; House Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Environment Standing Committee; Rules Committee; and the Privately Owned Health Care Task Force.

Since she has been elected to office, Biskupski has been honored with seven awards, from the YWCA of Salt Lake City, the National Organization for Women, Utah Issues, the state of Utah, JEDI for Women, Equality Utah and the Salt Lake County Democratic Party.

In her spare time she has served on several boards, and is serving her fifth year on the board of directors for the National Conference for Community and Justice. She also serves as a guest speaker in classrooms, from the elementary level through the university level. Last year much of her time was dedicated to helping the Don’t Amend Alliance work against the anti-gay Amendment 3.

“You don’t have to do it at the level I do it at, but you certainly have something to contribute,” Biskupski said. “I don’t do what I would do without hundreds of people standing behind me, helping me along the way, so do realize what your opportunities are.”