Donia Jessop

Donia Jessop
Donia Jessop
Mayor of Hildale, Utah
	Incumbent
	Assumed office ; January 4, 2018
Preceded by	Philip Barlow
Personal details
Born	1970 (age 50–51); Hildale, Utah
Political party	Independent

Donia Jessop (born 1970) is an American politician who serves as the current mayor of Hildale, Utah. Upon taking office, Jessop became the city’s first female mayor. For decades before Jessop's administration, Hildale was controlled by the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS Church). Jessop is Hildale's first mayor not endorsed by the FLDS Church.

Early life and career

Jessop was born in 1970 in the Short Creek Community, which is the area made up of the municipalities of Hildale, Utah and Colorado City, Arizona.[1] She grew up in the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS Church), one of the largest fundamentalist Mormon denominations. Her uncle, Leroy Johnson, was the president of the FLDS Church until 1986.[2] At age 17, Jessop married her high school sweetheart. Though the marriage was not condoned by the FLDS Church, she continued to stay in the community and raise a family.[3]

In 2002, Warren Jeffs became the leader of the FLDS Church and began to implement changes to life in the Short Creek Community, including excommunicating many church members. In 2012, Jessop, her husband, and all their children were excommunicated, except for one daughter. Rather than allow her family to be separated, Jessop and her family left the community and moved to Santa Clara, Utah, near the city of St. George.[3]

While living in the St. George area, Jessop worked at The Learning Center for Families, a non-profit organization focused on childhood health and development.[4]

Activism and political career

In July 2016, Jessop and her family moved back to Hildale. As an excommunicated member, she was treated with hostility by FLDS Church members.[1] This led her to cofound, along with other non-church members, the Short Creek Community Alliance, an organization to advocate for non-church members in the Short Creek Community.[4]

Though she did not have any background in politics, Jessop decided to run for mayor in the November 2017 election against incumbent mayor Philip Barlow. At that time, Barlow and all of the city council were members of the FLDS Church. On November 7, 2017, Jessop won with 129 votes to Barlow's 81.[5] On January 4, 2018, Jessop began her term as the first female mayor of Hildale, and the first mayor not endorsed by the FLDS Church.[4] Following Jessop's election, 11 city employees resigned on the grounds that they did to want to work with a woman or with someone who had been excommunicated from the FLDS Church.[6]

As mayor, Jessop has prioritized modernization, infrastructure, recreational facilities, and economic development.[2] In 2019, she made a deal with Infab, a manufacturer of medical equipment, to build a factory in the town.[7]

In 2020, USA Today named Jessop one of the ten most influential women in the history of Utah as part of its "Woman of the Century" series.[2]

References

Hannaford, Alex (2018-10-13). "The woman who escaped a polygamous cult – and turned its HQ into a refuge". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2021-01-03.
Yancey-Bragg, N'dea; DeMille, David (2020-08-13). "Utah Jazz owner and billionaire Gail Miller among Utah's influential Women of the Century". USA Today. Retrieved 2021-01-03.
Stoddard, Aspen (2020-08-21). "Hildale Mayor Donia Jessop recognized in USA Today list of 10 Utah Women of the Century". St George News. Retrieved 2021-01-03.
Sanders, Linley (2017-11-16). "A woman abused by a small-town Mormon cult has taken over its government". Newsweek. Retrieved 2021-01-03.
"Election Results - November, 2017". Washington County, Utah. Retrieved 2021-01-02.
Sanders, Ash (2018-05-23). "From Polygamy to Democracy: Inside a Fundamentalist Mormon Town". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2021-01-03.
Davidson, Lee (2019-05-09). "Hildale mayor hopes new factory, attracted by state incentives, will change its reputation as a polygamist hub". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved 2021-01-03.

External links

Political offices
Preceded by Philip Barlow	Mayor of Hildale, Utah 2018–present	Incumbent

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[:0-1] Hannaford, Alex (2018-10-13). "The woman who escaped a polygamous cult – and turned its HQ into a refuge". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2021-01-03.

[:1-2] Yancey-Bragg, N'dea; DeMille, David (2020-08-13). "Utah Jazz owner and billionaire Gail Miller among Utah's influential Women of the Century". USA Today. Retrieved 2021-01-03.

[:2-3] Stoddard, Aspen (2020-08-21). "Hildale Mayor Donia Jessop recognized in USA Today list of 10 Utah Women of the Century". St George News. Retrieved 2021-01-03.

[:3-4] Sanders, Linley (2017-11-16). "A woman abused by a small-town Mormon cult has taken over its government". Newsweek. Retrieved 2021-01-03.

[5] "Election Results - November, 2017". Washington County, Utah. Retrieved 2021-01-02.

[6] Sanders, Ash (2018-05-23). "From Polygamy to Democracy: Inside a Fundamentalist Mormon Town". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2021-01-03.

[7] Davidson, Lee (2019-05-09). "Hildale mayor hopes new factory, attracted by state incentives, will change its reputation as a polygamist hub". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved 2021-01-03.