Retiree to be honored as first Latino in Legislature

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South Ogden » There were no parties or recognition ceremonies.

When John Elias Ulibarri was elected the first Latino to serve in the Utah Legislature, he remembers only a newspaper reporter telling him he might be the first.

"We didn't grasp the importance of it at that time," said the Weber County Democrat. "I didn't realize I was the first."

More than three decades later, Ulibarri will be recognized for his place in Utah history Wednesday during the second annual Utah Hispanic/Latino Day at the Capitol. He served a two-year term in 1977.

Ulibarri, 70, will be honored in a legislative citation -- which does not require a vote -- initiated by the Utah Hispanic/Latino Legislative Task Force and the Utah Office of Ethnic Affairs. The citation is sponsored by Salt Lake City Democrats Sen. Luz Robles and Rep. Rebecca Chavez-Houck, two of the four Latinos currently serving in the Legislature, task force members said.

To discover Utah's first Latino lawmakers, task force member Josie Valdez -- who unsuccessfully ran for Utah lieutenant governor in 2008 -- researched state records for Latino surnames and interviewed community elders.

It's widely believed the late Sen. Pete Suazo -- the first Latino senator, who started in the House in 1993 -- was the state's first Latino lawmaker, said task force co-chairman Richard Jaramillo. Jaramillo, a 27-year-old state employee, said he and others were "shocked" to learn Ulibarri served so long ago.

"It surprised me that we had [a Latino] in there back then," he said.

The task force wants to honor Ulibarri and other Latinos because it's important that Utahns realize the long history of Latinos in the state, Jaramillo said. It's also crucial to remember Latino pioneers since they are still not equally represented in the Legislature, he said.

Latinos make up 12 percent of the state's population and four percent of the Legislature.

While the task force is happy to celebrate Ulibarri and Latino accomplishments, "we still have a long way to go," Jaramillo said. "It's still a fight to sometimes get the recognition and the respect."

A few years ago, Ulibarri also learned he was the first Latino to graduate with a bachelor's degree from Weber State University. The university, formerly a junior college, started issuing bachelor's degrees in 1964; Ulibarri earned a bachelor's degree in history and political science in 1966.

Ulibarri, a retired educator who lives in South Ogden, said he's honored to be recognized. But he said doesn't understand why he was the first to be a lawmaker when Latinos have been in the region for hundreds of years -- long before Mormon pioneers entered then Mexico, now Utah, in 1847.

Ulibarri said he has traced his ancestry to Juan de Ulibarri, who led Spanish expeditions in about 1700 in the areas that are now New Mexico and Colorado. His parents, who were born in New Mexico, moved from Colorado to Utah for work when he was a child.

The Legislature started meeting in 1896, when Utah became a state. But it took 81 years to elect Ulibarri and 101 years to elect Suazo.

"I'm proud of it, but I'm also sad because I was the first one," he said. "Why did it take so long?"

His only child, John Ulibarri II, said his parents "never discussed" his dad's status as a pioneer. "It's a fantastic thing," said the younger Ulibarri, 40, about the upcoming ceremony for his father.

Ulibarri said he hopes the event brings attention to the need for more Latinos to get involved in the community. There was a lack of Latinos in any leadership roles when he was growing up, so he looked up to his older brother, Richard, who served a decade on the Roy City Council in the late 1970s and 1980s and is a Weber Satate University professor.

As the Latino community grows in Utah, it needs to be better represented in public service, Ulibarri said. And younger Latinos "need to know people who look like them can achieve," he said.

Ulibarri said he unsuccessfully ran for a school board seat, and was later encouraged by Weber County Democrats to run in 1976 for the House seat, which represented a community where the majority were white and members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. An Assembly of God church member, Ulibarri doubted he would win because he was Latino and non-Mormon.

"You can't stop based on that," he said. "Bigotry has been alive and well in this country for years. You can't hang your hat on that."

Ulibarri won. But he barely got the chance to co-sponsor a few bills and his time was up. "I wasn't there long enough to make an impact," he said. Ulibarri lost his re-election bid, later tried again and lost.

"You always have regrets," he said. "But there's a point and time when you need to walk away."

John Ulibarri II, a Weber County chief deputy assessor, plans to run as a Republican for Weber County assessor in March. He said his father instilled in him the importance of public service.

"He never did anything for the public recognition," he said. "He did everything for the community."

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