Margaret Dayton

Margaret Dayton
Member of the Utah Senate from the 15th district
In office 15 January 2007 – present
Preceded by	Parley G. Hellewell
Personal details
Born	Spokane, WA
Political party	Republican Party
Spouse(s)	Lynn
Residence	Orem, UT
Occupation	Homemaker
Religion	The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Website	Legislative Website

Margaret Dayton is an American politician from Utah. A Republican, she is a member of the Utah State Senate, representing the state's 15th senate district in Provo and Orem since 2007. Dayton also served in the State House of Representatives for District 61 from 1997 to 2006.

Personal life, education, and career

After earning her Bachelor of Science in Nursing at Brigham Young University, Dayton worked for several years as a Registered Nurse.^[1] She is married to Lynn T. Dayton, a retired physician.^[1] Shortly after her marriage, Margaret chose to put aside her career as an RN in favor of being a full-time, hands-on mother and wife.^[1] Margaret and Lynn have 5 children, Barbara, David, John, Joseph, and Perry.^[2]

Along with her work at home, Dayton has always been involved in community service efforts, including:

• Service as a once-a-week elementary classroom volunteer for 15 years
• Served on the Board of Trustees for College of Eastern Utah for 8 years (Board Chair for 2 of those years),
• Terms as County President and State Board Member of the Medical Alliance (the service arm of the Utah Medical Association).
• Advisory board member for UVSC and Alpine Adult Education Advisory Board

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Margaret has also been continually involved in both church and community service. She is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.^[1]

Boards and affiliations

• Utah Valley University Executive Advisory Board
• College of Eastern Utah Board of Trustees
• Honorary Doctorate from USHE
• Utah Medical Association Alliance
• Utah Hospital Association Annual Recipient
• Guardian of Small Business Award
• Defender of Free Enterprise Awards
• Friend of Taxpayer Award, Utah Taxpayers Association
• Member of the National Rifle Association

Political career

In 1996, she was appointed by Utah governor Mike Leavitt to fill out the remaining four months of the term of Rep. Lee Ellertson in Utah House District 61, a seat for which she was already running.^[3][4] She defeated Independent American Party candidate Gordon Norman with 90% of the vote in the election to retain the seat.^[5]

In 2006, Dayton ousted Republican incumbent Parley G. Hellewell to win the Republican nomination for the Utah Senate, and handily defeated Democrat Bethanie Newby in the November 2006 general election.^[6] Senator Dayton won reelection in 2014 with over 80% of the vote against her Democratic challenger.^[7]

In 2016 Senator Dayton served on the following committees:

• Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Environmental Quality Appropriations Subcommittee
• Retirement and Independent Entities Appropriations Subcommittee
• Senate Government Operations and Political Subdivisions Committee (Chair)
• Senate Retirement and Independent Entities Committee
• Senate Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Environment Committee

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Senator Dayton has been awarded an Honorary Doctorate from the Utah System of Higher Education, is a recipient of the Friend of Taxpayer Award and is included annually in Top Business Friendly Legislators.

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Election

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Legislation

2016 sponsored bills

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Notable legislation

In 2013, Senator Dayton ran a bill that would require Utah to collect data on women who undergo abortions, including their race and their reason for doing so. Dayton, who is known for her fierce opposition to legal abortion, wants to restrict the pathway to abortion in Utah.^[11] She used this bill as another means of helping protect the rights of the fetus.^[11] The Governor signed the bill on 22 March 2013.^[12] In 2016, Senator Dayton questioned whether the state should be providing housing to the homeless through House Bill 346, asking if the "bill is based on the assumption that housing is a right the governments is obligated to provide? Is that why we are providing tax payer money for that?" Senator Dayton voted against the bill; however, it still passed both chambers and was signed by the Governor on March 25, 2016.^[13]

References