Gay activist to join Senate

In an upset victory — all the more surprising because he didn't even decide to run till the night before — gay rights activist Scott McCoy was chosen Saturday to replace Paula Julander as state senator.

Julander, who is stepping down due to poor health, had requested that her husband be her replacement on the Hill, and many Democrats expected Rod Julander to win Saturday's election by party delegates from the 2nd Senate District.

"It's a bit of a surprise," said Utah Democratic Party Chairman Donald Dunn, about McCoy's 44-41 victory. McCoy is best known for heading the Don't Amend Alliance, which opposed last fall's Utah constitutional Amendment 3 banning same-sex marriage.

The appointment now goes to Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. Tammy Kikuchi, the governor's spokeswoman, told the Deseret Morning News Saturday that the governor fully intends to approve the appointment first thing Monday morning,

If approved, McCoy will be the second openly gay elected official in the state Legislature, and the first in the Senate.

McCoy, an attorney who was Democratic chair of his voting precinct, has never run for elected office before Saturday. "But I'm certainly no stranger to politics," he said, citing his six years as a staff member of the U.S. House of Representatives agriculture committee and his work on the contentious Don't Amend campaign.

He said he decided Friday night to make the bid to represent District 2, which includes Capitol Hill, the Avenues and Central City to 3300 South. That decision was quickly followed by late-night e-mails to his district's 183 delegates, and phone calls to delegates he thought might back him.

"I respect Sen. Julander," he says. "She's a model legislator. She's effective and compassionate. . . . I would be hard pressed to find a vote I'd disagree with her on. I will continue her work, and try to secure her legacy legislatively."

Although Julander had hoped that she would be replaced by her husband, McCoy said, "My running wasn't meant at all to be disrespectful to her."

"I thought, this is an opportunity to step forward and kind of bring a new generation of leadership into not only the seat but the Democratic Party."

Senate Minority Leader Mike Dmitrich, D-Price, said he was surprised by the vote's outcome. "I thought Rod was going to win. When they called me today and told me, I thought 'Well, that's just the way the process is supposed to work, and there's nothing wrong with that.' "

Rep. Jackie Biskupski, D-Salt Lake, the state's first openly gay legislator, said Saturday she was thrilled to learn that she will have a colleague in the Senate. "I'm glad. The Senate side really needs an education."