Lynette Wendel

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Lynette Wendel

Democratic Party

Elections and appointments

Last election

November 8, 2022

Education

Bachelor's

Eastern Illinois University, 1989

Personal

Birthplace

Chicago, Ill.

Profession

Mediator

Contact

Personal Facebook

Lynette Wendel (Democratic Party) ran for election to the Utah House of Representatives to represent District 36. She lost in the general election on November 8, 2022.

Biography

Lynette Wendel was born in Chicago, Illinois. She earned a bachelor's degree from Eastern Illinois University in 1989. Wendel's career experience includes working as a mediator. She also worked in the admissions departments of post-secondary schools and as a center director for a supplemental learning facility.

Elections

2022

See also: Utah House of Representatives elections, 2022

General election

General election for Utah House of Representatives District 36

Incumbent Jim Dunnigan defeated Lynette Wendel in the general election for Utah House of Representatives District 36 on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Jim Dunnigan (R)	54.4	7,810
		Lynette Wendel (D)	45.6	6,537

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 14,347
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

The Democratic primary election was canceled. Lynette Wendel advanced from the Democratic primary for Utah House of Representatives District 36.

Republican primary election

The Republican primary election was canceled. Incumbent Jim Dunnigan advanced from the Republican primary for Utah House of Representatives District 36.

Democratic convention

Democratic convention for Utah House of Representatives District 36

Lynette Wendel advanced from the Democratic convention for Utah House of Representatives District 36 on April 9, 2022.

		Candidate
✔		Lynette Wendel (D)

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source
= 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.
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Republican convention

Republican convention for Utah House of Representatives District 36

Incumbent Jim Dunnigan advanced from the Republican convention for Utah House of Representatives District 36 on April 9, 2022.

		Candidate
✔		Jim Dunnigan (R)

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source
= 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.
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2020

See also: Utah House of Representatives elections, 2020

General election

General election for Utah House of Representatives District 39

Incumbent Jim Dunnigan defeated Lynette Wendel in the general election for Utah House of Representatives District 39 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Jim Dunnigan (R)	50.3	7,836
		Lynette Wendel (D)	49.7	7,752

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 15,588
= 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 House of Representatives District 39

Lynette Wendel advanced from the Democratic convention for Utah House of Representatives District 39 on April 25, 2020.

		Candidate
✔		Lynette Wendel (D)

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source
= 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 House of Representatives District 39

Incumbent Jim Dunnigan advanced from the Republican convention for Utah House of Representatives District 39 on April 25, 2020.

		Candidate
✔		Jim Dunnigan (R)

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source
= 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 Wendel's endorsements in the 2020 election, please click here.

Campaign themes

2022

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Lynette Wendel did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.

2020

Video for Ballotpedia

Video submitted to Ballotpedia Released July 17, 2020

Lynette Wendel completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Wendel's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Lynette Wendel is running for the Utah House of Representatives (HD39, Taylorsville/Kearns). After growing up in a diverse, working class neighborhood in the midwest, Lynette became the first college graduate in her family, earning a BA in psychology from Eastern Illinois University. In 1995, Lynette and her husband migrated to Utah, which they now proudly claim as their home.

Lynette has a rich professional history. With more than a decade working in education, she has a comprehensive understanding from the foundational years of school through higher education. Most recently, Lynette worked in mediation, teaching interpersonal communication and conflict resolution skills. In addition to her professional resume, Lynette has dedicated more than 18,000 hours volunteering in her community. She's been engaged in city planning, education, public safety, animal welfare, and environmental sustainability. Her decision to run for office was based upon these experiences in public service and advocacy. In fifteen years of public service, she has garnered respect as a non-partisan leader, someone who truly represents all stakeholders. Lynette has proven herself a skilled negotiator with a track record of facilitating civil and productive dialogue. Lynette listens to her community and will represent these grassroot voices at the Capitol.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• Fair and accurate representation. Ensure my community's priorites are reflected in legislative policy.
• Facilitate legislation that prioritizes people over politics and party.
• Invest public money wisely. Ensure transparency and accountability. Don't spend a dime to save a nickel.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

1. Healthcare- Every person's ability to contribute to our community is first determined by their health. Improving health resources for good nutrition, preventive care and mental health allows our families to maximize their engagement in school, work and community functions.

2. Education- Every child has a better chance to be successful if every child is given an equal education. It's time to improve performance, not decrease expectations. We have limitless potential when we work to eliminate the barriers that exist in our schools based on socioeconomics and geography.

3. Air quality- Every one of us is more likely to stay healthy and benefit from a strong economy when we have clean air. We begin by implementing strategic programs that give us the greatest long-term gains. All days should be safe days to breathe.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

As a community volunteer and advocate, I wholeheartedly appreciate and respect the elected officials who adhere to the call of public service. The only way to reflect your community is to take part in its daily activity. Of course, this mandates communication, responsiveness and accountability to the people they represent. Every day, exceptional work is accomplished by our community members; residents, professionals and business owners alike. Our community deserves elected officials who are receptive, inclusive and transparent. In doing this, the public will know if the elected official is prioritizing the well-being of the community over their personal interests.

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

I have always prioritized service to others personally and professionally. I embrace hard work knowing the outcomes are worthwhile and am not deterred when conflict arises. By identifying strong leaders and listening to all stakeholders, my mediation skills allow me to be productive when others hit roadblocks or dead ends. It's an especially privileged form of trust when people allow you to represent their interests. I will respect and honor that privilege at all times.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

I remember the polarizing messages of the Vietnam War. I was five or six years old and was confused if the war and our returning soldiers were good or bad. At that age, there isn't any nuance in right from wrong. It's just one or the other. I grew up in a diverse, working class neighborhood. Everyone was extremely patriotic and yet I got the sense people wanted us out of the war. The draft was scary and many young men were dying or coming home injured. Previously, soldiers were considered heroes in our country. Our Vietnam War veterans were often treated very differently.

Because of that, I have always remembered to treat an individual for who they are and not assign blame or place judgement because of a group or circumstances that are larger than what they personally control.

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

"Here Comes the Sun" by the Beatles

What do you perceive to be your state’s greatest challenges over the next decade?

Population growth poses the greatest challenge to our quality of life and resources. Utah will double in population by 2040. Responsible community planning will ensure plentiful and affordable housing choices, transportation options and clean air. This growth can also be well managed with improvements in education and healthcare.
We have long prided ourselves on our multigenerational communities. We can continue to do this by applying our time-honored values to modern day demands.

What process do you favor for redistricting?

To achieve good governance, we must remove personal and party interests in redistricting. Gerrymandering emboldens incumbent elected officials when they can "choose" whom they represent and minimizes the voices of all of us. We deserve fair and accurate representation. I fully supported Proposition 4 (2018) which called for an Independent Redistricting Commission. Fair redistricting promotes representative democracy. Nonetheless, the Utah Legislature did not fully implement what the voters passed thus ensuring its ability to retain the final vote on districting maps.

Both sitting legislators and candidates for office hear many personal stories from the residents of their district. Is there a story that you’ve heard that you found particularly touching, memorable, or impactful?

Food security is so much more than "peanuts." While I was collecting referendum signatures to overturn the 2019 tax reform bill, I met a woman who told me her "peanut" story and what life was like for her as a student. At that time, she calculated her budget to the penny every week. This budget included 99 cents to buy a bag of peanuts for lunch every day. She signed the referendum because the increase in food sales tax in the recently passed tax reform would make that small purchase impossible for a student in the same position. Although this woman could now afford her lunch, the hardship of those days still resonated. We made a pact that neither of us would forget the "peanuts" or the people who depend on those pennies every day.

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.

See also

2022 Elections

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Government

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Newsletters

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External links

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Footnotes

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Current members of the Utah House of Representatives

Leadership

Speaker of the House:Mike Schultz

Majority Leader:Casey Snider

Minority Leader:Angela Romero

Representatives

District 1

Thomas Peterson (R)

District 2

Mike Petersen (R)

District 3

Jason Thompson (R)

District 4

Tiara Auxier (R)

District 5

Casey Snider (R)

District 6

Matt Gwynn (R)

District 7

Ryan Wilcox (R)

District 8

Jason Kyle (R)

District 9

Jake Sawyer (R)

District 10

Jill Koford (R)

District 11

Katy Hall (R)

District 12

Mike Schultz (R)

District 13

Karen Peterson (R)

District 14

Karianne Lisonbee (R)

District 15

Ariel Defay (R)

District 16

Trevor Lee (R)

District 17

Stewart Barlow (R)

District 18

Paul Cutler (R)

District 19

Raymond Ward (R)

District 20

Melissa Ballard (R)

District 21

Sandra Hollins (D)

District 22

Jen Dailey-Provost (D)

District 23

Hoang Nguyen (D)

District 24

Grant Miller (D)

District 25

Angela Romero (D)

District 26

Matt MacPherson (R)

District 27

Anthony Loubet (R)

District 28

Nicholeen Peck (R)

District 29

Bridger Bolinder (R)

District 30

Jake Fitisemanu (D)

District 31

Verona Mauga (D)

District 32

Sahara Hayes (D)

District 33

Doug Owens (D)

District 34

Carol Moss (D)

District 35

Rosalba Dominguez (D)

District 36

Jim Dunnigan (R)

District 37

Ashlee Matthews (D)

District 38

Cheryl Acton (R)

District 39

Ken Ivory (R)

District 40

Andrew Stoddard (D)

District 41

Gay Lynn Bennion (D)

District 42

Clint Okerlund (R)

District 43

Steven Eliason (R)

District 44

Jordan Teuscher (R)

District 45

Tracy Miller (R)

District 46

Cal Roberts (R)

District 47

Mark Strong (R)

District 48

Doug Fiefia (R)

District 49

Candice Pierucci (R)

District 50

Stephanie Gricius (R)

District 51

Leah Hansen (R)

District 52

Cory Maloy (R)

District 53

Kay Christofferson (R)

District 54

Kristen Chevrier (R)

District 55

Jon Hawkins (R)

District 56

Val Peterson (R)

District 57

Nelson Abbott (R)

District 58

David Shallenberger (R)

District 59

Mike Kohler (R)

District 60

Tyler Clancy (R)

District 61

Lisa Shepherd (R)

District 62

Norman Thurston (R)

District 63

Stephen Whyte (R)

District 64

Jefferson Burton (R)

District 65

Doug Welton (R)

District 66

Troy Shelley (R)

District 67

Christine Watkins (R)

District 68

Scott Chew (R)

District 69

Logan Monson (R)

District 70

Carl Albrecht (R)

District 71

Rex Shipp (R)

District 72

Joseph Elison (R)

District 73

Colin Jack (R)

District 74

Neil Walter (R)

District 75

Walt Brooks (R)

Republican Party (61)

Democratic Party (14)