Thomas Peterson | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of theUtah House of Representatives from the 1st District | |
| Assumed office September 21, 2022 | |
| Preceded by | Joel Ferry |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Brigham City, Utah, U.S.[1] |
| Party | Republican |
| Spouse | Jodi[1] |
| Children | 4[1] |
| Occupation | State building official; electrician; contractor[2][3] |
| Committees | House Public Utilities and Energy Committee, vice chair;[4] Economic and Community Development Appropriations Subcommittee, vice chair;[5] Legislative Water Development Commission, House chair[6] |
| Website | house |
Thomas Peterson is an American politician and a member of theUtah House of Representatives from District 1. He replacedJoel Ferry after Utah GovernorSpencer Cox appointed him to a state agency.[8][9]
Peterson was born inBrigham City, Utah, and grew up in nearby Perry. He graduated from Box Elder High School and later served a mission forThe Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the South Africa Cape Town Mission. After returning, he trained and worked as an electrician and later operated a contracting business.[1][10]
From the mid-2000s, Peterson worked in local government roles in Brigham City and Box Elder County related to operations and building services.[1] He was elected to the Brigham City Council in 2013 and 2017, serving from January 2014 through December 2021, and resigned his council seat in January 2023 after joining the Utah House of Representatives.[11][12]
In state service, Peterson was hired in late 2015 as an assistant state building official with Utah’s Division of Facilities Construction and Management (DFCM) and, in 2019, became a state building official.[13][14][3]
Peterson was selected by local Republican delegates and sworn in on September 21, 2022, to fill the District 1 seat vacated by Joel Ferry’s appointment to lead the Utah Department of Natural Resources.[15] According to the House page, District 1 includes parts of Box Elder and Cache counties, and Peterson began legislative service on September 21, 2022.[7]
For the 2024–2025 period, Peterson has served as vice chair of the House Public Utilities and Energy Committee and vice chair of the Economic and Community Development Appropriations Subcommittee. He is also the House chair of the Legislative Water Development Commission.[16][17][18]
Peterson’s sponsored legislation has centered on construction and inspection standards, utilities and energy policy, water development and infrastructure, and disaster preparedness. Selected measures include:
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Thomas Peterson | 17,308 | 82.4 | |
| Democratic | Claudia Bigler | 3,707 | 17.6 | |
| Total votes | 21,015 | 100 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Joel Ferry | 11,781 | 82.1 | |
| Democratic | Joshua Hardy | 2,379 | 16.6 | |
| Write-In | Thomas Peterson | 128 | 0.9 | |
| Write-In | Ben Ferry | 40 | 0.3 | |
| Write-In | Karson Riser | 17 | 0.1 | |
| Total votes | 13,345 | 100 | ||