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Brian Zehnder
Brian Zehnder (Republican Party) was a member of the Utah State Senate, representing District 8. He assumed office on January 16, 2018. He left office on January 1, 2019.
Zehnder (Republican Party) ran for election to the Utah State Senate to represent District 8. He lost in the general election on November 3, 2020.
Zehnder completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. Click here to read the survey answers.
Zehnder was selected by Utah Republican delegates on January 9, 2018, to succeed former officeholder Brian Shiozawa (R), who resigned in order to accept a position with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Zehnder was sworn into office on January 16, 2018.[1][2][3]
Biography
Brian Zehnder was born in Pontiac, Michigan. He received a bachelor's degree from Kalamazoo College in 1985, an M.D. from Wayne State University School of Medicine in 1989, and an additional degree from the University of Utah in 1992. Zehnder's professional experience includes being a family physician and a medical director and founding Utah Partners for Health.[4][5]
Elections
2020
See also: Utah State Senate elections, 2020
General election
General election for Utah State Senate District 8
Incumbent Kathleen Riebe defeated Brian Zehnder in the general election for Utah State Senate District 8 on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Kathleen Riebe (D) | 56.6 | 28,811 |
 | Brian Zehnder (R)  | 43.4 | 22,078 | |
| Total votes: 50,889 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic convention
Democratic convention for Utah State Senate District 8
Incumbent Kathleen Riebe advanced from the Democratic convention for Utah State Senate District 8 on April 25, 2020.
Candidate | ||
| ✔ | | Kathleen Riebe (D) |
| ||||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Republican convention
Republican convention for Utah State Senate District 8
Brian Zehnder advanced from the Republican convention for Utah State Senate District 8 on April 25, 2020.
Candidate | ||
| ✔ | | Brian Zehnder (R) |
| ||||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Endorsements
To view Zehnder's endorsements in the 2020 election, please [www.votebrianz.com/endorsements click here].
2018
- See also: Utah State Senate elections, 2018
General election
General election for Utah State Senate District 8
Kathleen Riebe defeated incumbent Brian Zehnder and John Jackson in the general election for Utah State Senate District 8 on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Kathleen Riebe (D) | 55.8 | 23,221 |
| Brian Zehnder (R) | 41.7 | 17,328 | |
 | John Jackson (United Utah Party) | 2.5 | 1,053 | |
| Total votes: 41,602 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Utah State Senate District 8
Incumbent Brian Zehnder defeated Jaren Davis in the Republican primary for Utah State Senate District 8 on June 26, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Brian Zehnder | 61.5 | 5,954 |
 | Jaren Davis | 38.5 | 3,732 | |
| Total votes: 9,686 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Campaign themes
2020
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Brian Zehnder completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Zehnder's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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As the medical director and full-time family doctor for a mission-driven medical facility, I lead over 100 committed staff, including 20 medical providers. I developed and built the first medical office building in an underserved community, a 39,000 square foot Patient-Centered Medical Home.
I am the founder and prior board chair of the Utah Partners for Health (www.upfh.org), a 501c(3) non- profit, whose mission is to provide healthcare for those in need. This is a unique model that enables patients to receive basic primary care services in private physician offices, rather than in an emergency room, saving millions of taxpayer dollars. UPFH pioneered the first mobile medical unit outreach trailer program in Utah. This non-profit also provides direct care in a federally funded community health center in Midvale.
I focus on solving problems rather than politics. Inclusion over divisiveness. Empathetic, respectful, and kind. I like people - even those who can sometimes be abrasive.
As a trail runner, I love to run daily in the Utah mountains - passionate about our environment, renewable energy, and drive an electric vehicle.- There are currently no doctors in the Utah Senate. When it comes to the current medical pandemic and your health, we need at least one to get us back on track.
- It's not about politics. It's about solving problems. Dr. Z uses science, data, and facts to make decisions. Smart voters do that too.
- We must protect the right to protest - not riot. We must hear the cries of the oppressed and improve the safety for all people.
All issues involve health. Take care of our health, and everything else recovers.
Our economy: Unemployed people have more depression and suicide. How about more employers provide for on-site daycare and counseling? Education: Parents are the experts for raising their kids. What do they need? Science, data, and facts. Data drives behavior. Teachers know it. So do we. Environment: Poor air quality causes health effects such as eye and lung irritation. Seeing patients tied to oxygen tubing motivates me to push for change. We need to incent things like solar and electric vehicles. Covid-19: It is worse than the flu. It kills. Treatment is limited. Will a vaccine rescue us?
We must prepare for the next pandemic. Let's bring supply chains home. When the next crisis occurs, we mobilize resources. Let's build a Utah storehouse for critical supplies, such as masks and gowns, so our workers can serve without fear. Elected leaders who fail to plan for "Covid-20" will cause us all to suffer.
I remember an incident one Saturday evening around closing. As my friend Mike and I were taking out the garbage, Mike was accosted by two burglars in the alley. More frightened for my friend than my own safety, I went to my friend's rescue and jumped on the attacker, though I was quite the smaller person. Fortunately, the Police arrived quickly to our aid. After that incident, Mike and I became friends for life.
It is filled with stories, leadership training, and thoughts that cause one to grow each and every day.
I found in the year serving that the most important characteristic to serve is a willingness to be transparent, accountable, and a hunger for learning. With every situation or relationship developed, I asked the same question: "What advice do you have for me in order to be successful?"
Growth requires careful and intentional planning, allocation of resouces, and creative ways to accomodate more people. Our environment is already at risk - air quality is a concern. Leaders need to look "around the corner" and anticipate necessary changes to infrastructure and other planning. Leaders need to make difficult decisions to plan for the needs of our children and the education system. Transporation challeges, especially up and down the canyons, are at the forefront of planning now and in the future. With growth comes more problems with housing affordability, so programs need to be available for low income housing and incentives for developers to provide that service for those in need.
It's not about politics; it's about solutions. It's not about divisiveness. It's about how we can move the needle forward so that our citizens are served better.
As someone never satisfied with the status quo, I am always looking for ways to make things better.
As a doc, I've always looked for better ways to help my patients get healthier.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
2018
Ballotpedia survey responses
- See also: Ballotpedia's candidate surveys
Brian Zehnder participated in Ballotpedia's candidate survey on July 12, 2018. The survey questions appear in bold, and Brian Zehnder's responses follow below.[6]
What would be your top three priorities, if elected?
| “ | Invest in Education Promote Physical and Financial Health |
” |
What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about? Why?
| “ | Health Care Reform is vital to our future. We deserve access to cost-effective affordable healthcare. As a Physician and Small Businessman, I understand the needs of my patients, my constituents, and the stakeholders that make the care possible.Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; invalid names, e.g. too many[8]
|
” |
Scorecards
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Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of Utah scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.
2022
In 2022, the Utah State Legislature was in session from January 18 to March 4.
- Legislators are scored on their stances on conservative fiscal policy.
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2021
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2021, click [show]. |
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In 2021, the Utah State Legislature was in session from January 19 to March 5.
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2020
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2020, click [show]. |
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In 2020, the Utah State Legislature was in session from January 27 to March 12.
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2019
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2019, click [show]. |
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In 2019, the Utah State Legislature was in session from January 28 through March 14.
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2018
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2018, click [show]. |
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In 2018, the Utah State Legislature was in session from January 22 through March 8.
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See also
2020 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ The Salt Lake Tribune, "Moderate Utah GOP Sen. Brian Shiozawa resigns to take federal health post; Dem Kathie Allen says she’ll run for his seat," December 11, 2017
- ↑ Good4Utah, "Brian Zehnder selected to serve on Utah State Senate," January 9, 2018
- ↑ KSL.com, "Magna doctor fills vacant seat in Utah Senate," January 20, 2018
- ↑ Exodus Healthcare Network, "Brian Zehnder, MD," accessed January 10, 2018
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on October 12, 2020
- ↑ Note: The candidate's answers have been reproduced here verbatim without edits or corrections by Ballotpedia.
- ↑ Ballotpedia's candidate survey, "Brian Zehnder's responses," July 12, 2018
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Brian Shiozawa (R) |
Utah Senate District 8 2018-2019 |
Succeeded by Kathleen Riebe (D) |
