My wife, Lucia, and I first moved to West Valley City as newlyweds in 2005. As adventurous college students, we didn’t plan on laying down permanent roots in Utah, but we’re still here nearly 20 years later and couldn’t be more proud to be raising our family in West Valley City.
I say “we,” but it was Lucia who chose our house. I wasn’t even in the country when she called to let me know she had found the “perfect place” for our family. She had lined up the inspections and paperwork and everything was basically ready for us to proceed, and I hadn’t even seen the house yet. But after I heard the story of how she picked the home, I knew it was exactly where we belonged.
She explained that after visiting several other listings, the real estate agent turned onto an ordinary looking street in a quaint neighborhood and stopped in front of a little brick rambler. As Lucia and our two daughters walked around, the neighbor kids to the north invited our girls to play, the neighbors to the south introduced themselves and the family across the street waved and smiled. Without knowing all the particulars about the property, she knew this was our “perfect place.”
The house did turn out to be great, but my wife didn’t pick it based on the features of the property, but because of who our neighbors would be and the sense of neighborhood that she and our daughters felt.
My name is Jake Fitisemanu. My home, this neighborhood and our community are the reasons why I’m running for Utah House District 30. I’m running because we need a stronger sense of neighborhood up on Capitol Hill.
I was encouraged to run for the West Valley City Council in 2017, after my wife and I got involved in community-led efforts to find better solutions for homelessness and to protect spaces for neighborhood playgrounds from being developed. I learned that working with government at the local, county and state levels was confusing, frustrating and often unwelcoming. Since then, my neighbors have elected me twice to represent them on our City Council, and I pride myself in being accessible and responsive so that my neighbors hopefully don’t have the same negative experience with local government that I initially had.
When I’m contacted about an issue that I don’t necessarily agree with, I still bring it forward for the council’s consideration because that’s what good representatives do — we raise the voices of the people, including people who disagree with us.
The same dedication and integrity that my community sees me demonstrate in West Valley is exactly what they can expect of me in the State House. I don’t want people to vote for me just because I’m a nice guy who listens, I want people to vote for me because they trust me to represent our community’s perspectives and experiences. We can’t say we believe in a government of, by and for the people if we’re unwilling to listen to and work with all of the people. Yeah, even the ones who don’t share our views or aren’t on our political team.
Despite being the second largest city in Utah, with outsized cultural and economic impact statewide, West Valley City is too often disregarded and overshadowed. We’ve been blessed by legislators in the past who were tireless advocates for the west side, and this is not the time to drop the ball. We need someone relentlessly representing us in the Legislature, someone who is going to stand up and speak out for all of us.
I want to make sure that every legislator on the hill understands that the growth and diversity we embrace in West Valley City represents the future of the state and our nation, and they need to take note. We may be the second biggest city in Utah, but we are second to none and our state government has a lot to learn from us.
Voters in West Valley City have a lot of crucial decisions to make on Election Day, and I hope the decision to elect me to the House of Representatives is an easy one. I’m ready to hit the ground running in service of the people — meaning all people — in the Legislature. I’m not just asking for your vote, I’m committing to service and solutions to ensure that everyone has a perfect place that they’re proud to call home.
(Jake Fitisemanu) Jake Fitisemanu is a husband and father who lives in West Valley City where he serves on the City Council.
Jake Fitisemanu is a husband and father who lives in West Valley City where he serves on the City Council. A public health professional and active community advocate, Jake is running for the Utah House of Representatives District 30.
