FLIPPABLE: Oscar Mata for Utah-HD08
I’m running for the Utah House of Representatives to give a voice to the people of House District 8. My life has instilled a work ethic that has given me great fortunes and a commitment to build coalitions and serve my community. I am ready to expand this service to the Utah House of Representatives.
I was born and raised in Utah with my brother, Brayden. My father (a Republican) immigrated to this country from Honduras when he was in his early 20’s. He has worked in retail and manufacturing. My mother (a Democrat) was a single parent who received her bachelor’s degree at the age of 30 and opened the first substance abuse treatment center in Utah County in the late 1990’s. She grew her small business that started out with a $1,000 loan to having 8 locations statewide.
My parents instilled the idea in both my brother and I that hard work and being a man of your word is more than words, it is something one must act on daily. One of my first jobs was working at my mom’s company during the school year and working at Lagoon Amusement Park during the summer. I worked 4 jobs my junior and senior year until I graduated from DaVinci Academy.
hortly after graduating high school I opened my first business, a substance abuse treatment center. It has been an absolute joy to work with those who are wanting to better themselves and fight a nasty addiction that has ruined too many Utah families. Through building relationships with clients, attorneys, and the courts we have grown our company to be the only substance abuse company that offers services statewide.
My parents are both active in their community and had the same expectations for my brother and I. I started volunteering for local Democratic candidates once I was 13. However, with age and experience, I started getting to know Republicans who I was able to work with very well, and Democrats who seemed to be just as partisan and unwilling to get things done as some of the Republicans I had grown to be tired of. After a lot of soul searching I decided to open up a political and marketing consulting firm that focused on helping good candidates, regardless of party politics. We have helped elect over a dozen Republicans and over a dozen Democrats to elected office.
In 2017 I founded and eventually co-chaired the group Weber County Forward with the late Mayor/Major Brent Taylor. Brent and I both thought it was time to study our form of county government and make sure that the citizens of Weber County were well represented. We knew this was not going to be an easy task and we would have to bring both parties together. Brent and I working together were able to build the largest coalition of republicans and democrats (including most elected officials) to find common ground on this idea. This also included at one point all 13 mayors in Weber County. I later Co-Chaired this group with former County Commissioner Jan Zogmaister. I saw first hand that members of differing parties could come together and what we could get accomplished. When working toward the same goal, we were able to overcome special interest and corruption to get the initiative on the ballot.
This past year I was asked by DaVinci Academy to create and oversee a new project they wanted to start, partnering up with the Ogden-Weber Tech College. By working with the President and Vice Presidents of OTECH we have launched a new program to help students receive a trade certificate by the time they graduate from DaVinci Academy. I have really enjoyed coordinating this partnership and see this program that started out as an idea become a reality. Most of all I love working with the students and helping them succeed in their education and career goals.
I have been shaped and my successes have come from the support I have had from my community. I have had the privilege of being able to repay the favor by taking on leadership roles in my community, my church, and my county.
-Service Coordinator, Willowbrook Ward
-Commissioner, Ogden City Diversity Commission
-Asst. Soccer Coach, DaVinci Academy of Science & Arts
-Treasurer, Weber County Hispanic Caucus
https://oscarforhouse.com/about/