Community service award winner: Arlyn Bradshaw

Salt Lake County Councilmember Arlyn Bradshaw will receive the Kristen Ries Community Service Award at the Utah Pride Festival this year in honor of over 20 years of service to Utah’s LGBTQ community.

Bradshaw began his service to the LGBTQ community in 2001 while a student at the University of Utah and co-chair of the Lesbian and Gay Student Union. While at LGBU, Bradshaw began working with the ASUU Diversity Board to create the UofU LGBT Resource Center, hosting a dinner to raise the initial funds.

Bradshaw served as president of the UofU College Democrats and was the first openly gay executive director of the Utah Democratic Party. He served as staff member and aide to several Democratic leaders.

As an advisor, Bradshaw was integral in Salt Lake County Councilmember Joe Hatch’s efforts to pass an LGBTQ-inclusive non-discrimination ordinance in 2010 and expand county benefits to cover partners of LGBTQ employees.

In 2010, Bradshaw was the first openly gay person to be elected to a seat on the Salt Lake County Council, which he has held for 12 years. As council member, he sponsored an ordinance creating the mutual commitment registry in the county before samesex marriage was legalized. He was successful in his work to expand benefits for county employees and their families to include transgender-inclusive and gender-affirming insurance coverage. He lobbied the Utah State Legislature for statewide non-discrimination protections, the prohibition of “conversion therapy,” and the repeal of Utah’s “Don’t Say Gay” policies.

He also championed the creation of the PrEP clinic at the Salt Lake County Dept. of Health and fought for funding through the council. He serves on the Visit Salt Lake board and its LGBTQ outreach committee and their efforts to bid for the Gay Games and other national LGBTQ events coming to the county.