Nils Bergeson

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

Nils Bergeson

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United Utah Party

Elections and appointments

Last election

November 3, 2020

Education

Bachelor's

Utah State University, 2006

Medical

Monterey Institute of International Studies, 2008

Personal

Birthplace

Oceanside, Calif.

Religion

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Profession

Executive director

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Campaign Twitter

Campaign Instagram

Personal Facebook

Personal LinkedIn

Nils Bergeson (United Utah Party) ran for election to the Utah House of Representatives to represent District 61. He lost in the general election on November 3, 2020.

Bergeson completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Nils Bergeson was born in Oceanside, California. He obtained a bachelor's degree from Utah State University in 2006 and a master's degree from the Monterey Institute of International Studies in 2008. Bergeson was a Peace Corps volunteer. His professional experience includes working for 10 years as a U.S. Diplomat with the U.S. Agency for International Development, working and living in eight different countries. As of 2020, he was the executive director of the United Utah Party.

Elections

2020

See also: Utah House of Representatives elections, 2020

General election

General election for Utah House of Representatives District 61

Incumbent Marsha Judkins defeated Nils Bergeson in the general election for Utah House of Representatives District 61 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Marsha Judkins (R)	79.7	11,893
	Submit photo	Nils Bergeson (United Utah Party)	20.3	3,034

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 14,927
= 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 primary election

Republican primary for Utah House of Representatives District 61

Incumbent Marsha Judkins defeated Kenneth Grover in the Republican primary for Utah House of Representatives District 61 on June 30, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Marsha Judkins	64.4	3,773
	Submit photo	Kenneth Grover	35.6	2,082

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 5,855
= 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 61

Incumbent Marsha Judkins and Kenneth Grover advanced from the Republican convention for Utah House of Representatives District 61 on April 25, 2020.

		Candidate
✔		Marsha Judkins (R)
✔	Submit photo	Kenneth Grover (R)

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	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.

Campaign themes

2020

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Nils Bergeson completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Bergeson'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.

I am a former diplomat who as returned home to Utah to make a difference in politics at the local level. I believe that reform to our ethical and electoral systems is our first priority - if we want to see improvement in other areas, we need a system that elects individuals who represent their constituents, rather than a party or special interests. I am married and have four children, and have lived in eight different countries.

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?

• Reform First!
• Change has to start somewhere.
• You can't spoil a system that is already rotten.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Electoral Reform, particularly ranked-choice voting, open primaries, and more non-partisan elections. Ethics reform, including campaign finance, lobbying, and general transparency. I care about improving education through an evidence based system. I care about sustainable, smart economic growth.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

I look up to my grandfather. He was an Air Force pilot across four major wars and military operations, but taught me to always search for the truth in all things.

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

I look at their character and competency above all. Are they able to function in meaningful relationships with others? Are they eager to implement new and innovative ideas?

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

Truly understanding what makes good government.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

To ensure that our laws are best representative of both the will of the people and the best practices of good government. To ensure that partisan and special interests do not come before good government.

What legacy would you like to leave?

One who put best practices and good policy above partisan or special interests every time. Helped push through some key reforms to build a better structure of government going forward.

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

I remember the 1988 election. I was in kindergarten at the time.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

I worked at the Olive Garden while in college. Later, I worked for Dupont at a hologram factory until I graduated.

Every state besides Nebraska has two legislative chambers. What do you consider the most important differences between the legislative chambers in your state?

In Utah there is not much of a difference, but it does provide an opportunity for two deliberative bodies and a second check and balance to our system. Right now both have (and have had for more than three decades) Republican supermajorities. I would like to see both the house and the senate form non-partisan coalitions.

Do you believe that it’s beneficial for state legislators to have previous experience in government or politics?

I do think having experience in policy is valuable, but I think it is always good to have a variety of voices and experience in all levels of government.

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

Managing growth in a sustainable yet effective way.

What do you believe is the ideal relationship between the governor and the state legislature?

I believe that legislation should be only with the legislature, and that the governor need not be involved other than signing or vetoing bills.

Do you believe it’s beneficial to build relationships with other legislators? Please explain your answer.

Yes. I especially believe this is necessary in an effort to have coalitions that are not based on a party. I hope to be part of the first non-partisan majority coalition in the Utah State government.

What process do you favor for redistricting?

I believe that standards based on geography and population should be codified. I don't believe we should be splitting counties or cities unless they are bigger than the district they are to represent. And even then, it should be based on natural geographic boundaries - either city/neighborhood lines, major roads, or natural features like rivers. I do believe that proposed districts should come from an independent source, and not partisan elected officials themselves.

If you are not a current legislator, are there certain committees that you would want to be a part of?

I would want to be part of the government operations committee, particularly because a lot of key reform issues (ranked-choice voting, redistricting, etc.) will be coming up in the next few sessions.

If you are not currently a member of your party’s leadership in the legislature, would you be interested in joining the leadership? If so, in what role?

I would be the first member of our new party elected, and would look at building a governing coalition between Republicans, Democrats, and the United Utah Party.

Are you interested in running for a different political office (for example, the U.S. Congress or governor) in the future?

At this point, I am focused on the state legislature, because they are the branch and level which oversees electoral, finance, ethics, and other key reforms that impact all levels and branches of government.

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

2020 Elections

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Government

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External links

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Footnotes

[show]

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)