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Jason E. Chaffetz (born March 26, 1967) is the Republican member of the United States House of Representatives for Utah's 3rd congressional district. The district is based in Provo and includes large portions of central and west-central Utah.
[edit] Biography[edit] Early life and educationChaffetz is the half-brother of John Dukakis. He attended Brigham Young University (BYU) on an athletic scholarship. He was the starting placekicker on the BYU football team in 1988 and 1989, and still holds the BYU individual records for most extra points attempted in a game (10), most extra points made in a game (10), and most consecutive extra points made in a game(10).[1] While at BYU, Chaffetz became a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.[2] He graduated from BYU with a Bachelor of Arts in Communications. Chaffetz grew up as a Democrat. While a student at BYU, he was a Utah co-chairman for Michael Dukakis's 1988 campaign for U.S. President. His father had previously been married to Dukakis' wife, Kitty.[3] He became a Republican after meeting Ronald Reagan in 1990, when Reagan came to Chaffetz's employer, Nu Skin, as a motivational speaker. However, his political views had been drifting more to the right even while working for Dukakis.[1] [edit] CareerAfter college, Chaffetz joined the local business community. His work included being a spokesman for Nu Skin International. [4] In 2004, Chaffetz was the campaign manager for Jon Huntsman. When Huntsman took office in January 2005, Chaffetz became his chief of staff.[5] After briefly serving under Gov. Jon Huntsman as his Chief-of-Staff, Chaffetz returned to the private sector in November 2005, managing his own company, Maxtera Utah, which offers services in the areas of corporate communications and marketing. In 2007, Chaffetz was appointed by the Governor, and unanimously confirmed by the Utah State Senate, as a Trustee for Utah Valley State College. He has also served as the President, BYU Cougar Club-Utah County, member of the Highland City Planning Commission, and as the Chairman for the Utah National Guard Adjutant General Review. Chaffetz also appeared on the "Better Know A District" segment of The Colbert Report in 2008 , where he was defeated by Stephen Colbert in leg wrestling.[6] [edit] 2008 Congressional campaignIn June 2007, Chaffetz announced he would challenge the 3rd District's six-term incumbent, Chris Cannon, for the Republican nomination. Chaffetz said that Cannon “has failed us for not instituting conservative principles," specifically mentioning stronger measures to prevent illegal immigration.[3] He continued to criticize Cannon during the campaign on the issue of illegal immigration.[7] Cannon was one of the most conservative members of the House, but had been forced to fend off primary challengers running well to his right in recent years.[8] In May 2008, Chaffetz almost won the Republican nomination, competing against Cannon at the Republican State Convention. Chaffetz won 59 percent of the delegates; had a few more votes gone his way, he would have won 60 percent of the delegates and gained the Republican nomination without the need for a primary. [9] In the primary on June 24, 2008, Chaffetz defeated Cannon by a vote of 60% to 40%.[10] Chaffetz's victory was shocking on several fronts. Cannon was endorsed by George W. Bush[11], the state's two U.S. Senators (Orrin Hatch and Bob Bennett) and virtually all of the state Republican establishment. Cannon outspent him by 6 to 1,[12] had a paid staff, as well as the endorsement of all three of the local newspapers. In contrast, Chaffetz won no significant endorsements and refused to buy meals and trinkets for his supporters. He had unpaid staff and a grassroots organization of more than 1,000 volunteers. He received the bulk of his campaign contributions from individual donors, and his campaign was 100% debt-free.[citation needed] Chaffetz faced Democrat Bennion Spencer in the 2008 general election, along with Jim Noorlander from the Constitution Party. Chaffetz easily won election with 66% of the vote (to 28% and 6% for Spencer and Noorlander, respectively). Chaffetz also received the highest percentage (66%) of any of the three Representatives from Utah, with Rob Bishop (R, 1st District) winning with 65% and Jim Matheson (D, 2nd District) winning with 63% in their districts. However, the 3rd is one of the most--and by some measures, the most--Republican districts in the nation, and it was generally believed Chaffetz had assured himself of a seat in Congress with his primary win. [edit] In CongressChaffetz announced at the start of the Congressional term in 2009 that he would be sleeping on a cot in his office rather than renting a Washington, D.C. apartment.[13] Chaffetz said, "I'm trying to live the example that it doesn't take big dollars in order to get where we want to go. I can save my family $1,500 a month by sleeping on a cot in my office as opposed to getting a fancy place that's maybe a little bit more comfortable."[13] His family will continue to live in Alpine. "We are now $10 trillion in debt. $10 trillion. Those are expenses that have to be paid at some point," he said. If he can tighten his belt in these tough economic times, Chaffetz said, Congress should be able to as well. [13] In October 2009, Chaffetz appeared on Fox News and claimed that large number of door-to-door census workers were guilty of manslaughter, child molestation, and rape.[14] Upon hearing that U.S. President Barack Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize on October 9, 2009, Chaffetz said he had "lost all respect for the award," claiming "it used to be one of distinction, but [now] it is hard to give it any credibility."[15] In November 2009 Chaffetz co-sponsored a bill in the House with Rep. Jim Matheson to block the importation of foreign nuclear waste into the United States, putting him directly at odds with Rep. Rob Bishop and Utah's Senators Bennett and Hatch who had historically supported importing foreign nuclear waste into Utah with restrictions. Chaffetz also surprised many in Utah by announcing he opposed the increase in troops in Afghanistan, and believed the best approach would be to bring the troops home from Afghanistan. [edit] Committee assignments
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Categories: 1967 births | American anti-illegal immigration activists | American football placekickers | American Latter Day Saints | Brigham Young Cougars football players | Living people | Members of the United States House of Representatives from Utah | People from Santa Clara County, California | People from Utah County, Utah | Players of American football from California | Utah Republicans | Utah Valley University | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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