Dan Liljenquist
Encyclopedia
Dan Liljenquist is the Republican
member of the Utah State Senate
representing the state's 23rd senate district
in Davis County
.
to Dr. John E Liljenquist and Colleen Redford Liljenquist, he spent most of his childhood in Idaho Falls. After a football injury sidelined him as a high school junior, his attention turned to politics. He served as the student body president of his senior class at Skyline High School in Idaho Falls, Idaho
.
He attended Brigham Young University
(BYU) on a one-year renewable scholarship with a minimum 3.9 GPA required. Liljenquist was able to renew his scholarship annually and in 1998, graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics. After graduation, he attended the University of Chicago law school
graduating with his Juris Doctorate in 2001.
Already an experienced entrepreneur, Liljenquist spent the summer between his first and second years of law school interning for the Institute for Justice Clinic on Entrepreneurship. He provided free law help as well as business consulting aimed at helping fledgling businesses get off the ground. During his internship, he was told by a Chicago alderman
that "he didn't want his constituents going into business for themselves because it might lead them to believe they could become self-sufficient."
Between his second and third year, he interned for Kirkland & Ellis
where Ken Starr was the lead counsel. Before starting his final year of law school, he interviewed with Bain & Company
. Out of 250 applicants from the University of Chicago Business and Law Schools
, only he was chosen from the law school.
where he worked for the internationally renowned global management consulting firm as a strategy consultant from 2001 to 2003 dealing with multi-million dollar accounts.
In 2003, he joined Affiliated Computer Services
, a Fortune 500 Business Process Outsourcing leader. He served as Director of Operational Strategy for the $3B Commercial Solutions Group, working out of their Sandy, Utah
office.
In 2006, he joined FOCUS Services, LLC and currently serves as its president and chief operating officer. A privately owned call center founded in 1995 with 2 employees, it now has just under 1500 employees working in 7 facilities around the world.
After the June primary, Liljenquist was traveling in Guatemala with CHOICE Humanitarian when his plane crashed in a field. Eleven of the fourteen people aboard the aircraft died. Liljenquist broke his right leg and left ankle in multiple places. Talking about the crash and the friends who died, Liljenquist said "For those families, I just try to make it count. I just try to make my life count for something. I just feel like I owe that to my friends."
In the November election, he received 70.40% of the vote to Democrat
Richard Watson's 26.2% and Constitution Party
candidate, Jorgina Hancock's 3.3%.
In 2010, Liljenquist tackled pension reform with SB 63, moving Utah to a defined contribution state maxing out at 10%. Spurred by a 30% loss to the state retirement fund in 2008, Liljenquist focused on changing the system for new hires entering after July 1, 2011, moving away from a defined benefit program to a defined contribution plan. He also successfully sponsored a companion bill, SB 43 that does away with the so-called practice of "double-dipping".
In 2011, Liljenquist was the sponsor of Utah's Medicaid
reform. SB 180, which passed unanimously, proposes block granting Medicaid funds to Utah, switches from a fee-for-service model to a managed care system and made Utah the first state in the nation to cap Medicaid growth. The reforms are estimated to save $2.5 billion on total funds in the first 7 years of its implementation.
Governing Magazine
named him a 2011 "Public Official of the Year" for his work on both pension and Medicaid reform.
Standing:
Interim:
. He also said that he believes SCHIP, one of Hatch's signature legislative accomplishments, is unconstitutional.
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
member of the Utah State Senate
Utah State Senate
The Utah State Senate is the upper house of the Utah State Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Utah. The Senate is composed of 29 elected members representing an equal number of constituent senatorial districts. Each senatorial district is composed of approximately 91,000 people...
representing the state's 23rd senate district
23rd Utah Senate District
The 23rd Utah Senate District is located in Davis County. The current State Senator representing the 23rd district is Dan Liljenquist. Liljenquist was elected in the 2008 election.-Previous Utah State Senators :...
in Davis County
Davis County, Utah
Davis County is a county located in the U.S. state of Utah. As of 2010 the population was 306,479, a 28.2% increase over the 2000 figure of 238,994. It was named for Daniel C. Davis, captain in the Mormon Battalion. The county is part of the Ogden–Clearfield Metropolitan Statistical Area as...
.
Early life, education, and legal career
Born in NashvilleNashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
to Dr. John E Liljenquist and Colleen Redford Liljenquist, he spent most of his childhood in Idaho Falls. After a football injury sidelined him as a high school junior, his attention turned to politics. He served as the student body president of his senior class at Skyline High School in Idaho Falls, Idaho
Idaho Falls, Idaho
Idaho Falls is a city in and the county seat of Bonneville County, Idaho, United States, and the largest city in Eastern Idaho. As of the 2010 census, the population of Idaho Falls was 56,813, with a metro population of 130,374....
.
He attended Brigham Young University
Brigham Young University
Brigham Young University is a private university located in Provo, Utah. It is owned and operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , and is the United States' largest religious university and third-largest private university.Approximately 98% of the university's 34,000 students...
(BYU) on a one-year renewable scholarship with a minimum 3.9 GPA required. Liljenquist was able to renew his scholarship annually and in 1998, graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics. After graduation, he attended the University of Chicago law school
University of Chicago Law School
The University of Chicago Law School was founded in 1902 as the graduate school of law at the University of Chicago and is among the most prestigious and selective law schools in the world. The U.S. News & World Report currently ranks it fifth among U.S...
graduating with his Juris Doctorate in 2001.
Already an experienced entrepreneur, Liljenquist spent the summer between his first and second years of law school interning for the Institute for Justice Clinic on Entrepreneurship. He provided free law help as well as business consulting aimed at helping fledgling businesses get off the ground. During his internship, he was told by a Chicago alderman
Alderman
An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members themselves rather than by popular vote, or a council...
that "he didn't want his constituents going into business for themselves because it might lead them to believe they could become self-sufficient."
Between his second and third year, he interned for Kirkland & Ellis
Kirkland & Ellis
Kirkland & Ellis LLP is an international law firm with headquarters in Chicago, known for its profitability and its litigation, bankruptcy, intellectual property and private equity departments. Kirkland & Ellis is currently ranked as the ninth most prestigious law firm in the United States by...
where Ken Starr was the lead counsel. Before starting his final year of law school, he interviewed with Bain & Company
Bain & Company
Bain & Company is a global management consulting firm headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. Bain is considered one of the most prestigious consulting firms in the world, with 47 offices in 30 countries and over 5,500 professionals on staff globally...
. Out of 250 applicants from the University of Chicago Business and Law Schools
University of Chicago Law School
The University of Chicago Law School was founded in 1902 as the graduate school of law at the University of Chicago and is among the most prestigious and selective law schools in the world. The U.S. News & World Report currently ranks it fifth among U.S...
, only he was chosen from the law school.
Business career
After joining Bain, he moved with his wife Brooke to Dallas, TexasDallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
where he worked for the internationally renowned global management consulting firm as a strategy consultant from 2001 to 2003 dealing with multi-million dollar accounts.
In 2003, he joined Affiliated Computer Services
Affiliated Computer Services
Affiliated Computer Services Inc. provides information technology services as well as business process outsourcing solutions to businesses, government agencies, and non-profit organizations. ACS is based in Dallas, Texas and the current CEO is Lynn Blodgett. ACS is ranked at number 341 on the 2010...
, a Fortune 500 Business Process Outsourcing leader. He served as Director of Operational Strategy for the $3B Commercial Solutions Group, working out of their Sandy, Utah
Sandy, Utah
Sandy is a city in Salt Lake County, Utah, United States. It is a suburb of Salt Lake City. The population was 87,461 at the 2010 census, making it the sixth-largest city in Utah....
office.
In 2006, he joined FOCUS Services, LLC and currently serves as its president and chief operating officer. A privately owned call center founded in 1995 with 2 employees, it now has just under 1500 employees working in 7 facilities around the world.
2008 election
In 2008, incumbent Senator Dan Eastman did not file for re-election. Eight Davis county Republicans filed to take his place. At the 2008 Davis county Republican convention, Liljenquist emerged with 55% of the delegate vote. In the ensuing primary with Ron Mortensen, Liljenquist won with 64% of the vote to Mortensen's 36%.After the June primary, Liljenquist was traveling in Guatemala with CHOICE Humanitarian when his plane crashed in a field. Eleven of the fourteen people aboard the aircraft died. Liljenquist broke his right leg and left ankle in multiple places. Talking about the crash and the friends who died, Liljenquist said "For those families, I just try to make it count. I just try to make my life count for something. I just feel like I owe that to my friends."
In the November election, he received 70.40% of the vote to Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
Richard Watson's 26.2% and Constitution Party
Constitution Party (United States)
The Constitution Party is a paleoconservative political party in the United States. It was founded as the U.S. Taxpayers' Party by Howard Philips in 1991. Phillips was the party's candidate in the 1992, 1996 and 2000 presidential elections...
candidate, Jorgina Hancock's 3.3%.
Tenure
In his freshman year in the Utah Senate, Liljenquist sponsored SB 126: State Personnel Management Act Amendments that put performance over length of service when considering rehiring public employees, effectively eliminating tenure.In 2010, Liljenquist tackled pension reform with SB 63, moving Utah to a defined contribution state maxing out at 10%. Spurred by a 30% loss to the state retirement fund in 2008, Liljenquist focused on changing the system for new hires entering after July 1, 2011, moving away from a defined benefit program to a defined contribution plan. He also successfully sponsored a companion bill, SB 43 that does away with the so-called practice of "double-dipping".
In 2011, Liljenquist was the sponsor of Utah's Medicaid
Medicaid
Medicaid is the United States health program for certain people and families with low incomes and resources. It is a means-tested program that is jointly funded by the state and federal governments, and is managed by the states. People served by Medicaid are U.S. citizens or legal permanent...
reform. SB 180, which passed unanimously, proposes block granting Medicaid funds to Utah, switches from a fee-for-service model to a managed care system and made Utah the first state in the nation to cap Medicaid growth. The reforms are estimated to save $2.5 billion on total funds in the first 7 years of its implementation.
Governing Magazine
Governing Magazine
Governing is a national monthly magazine, edited and published since 1987 in Washington, D.C., whose subject area is state and local government in the United States. The magazine covers policy, politics and the management of government enterprises...
named him a 2011 "Public Official of the Year" for his work on both pension and Medicaid reform.
Committee assignments
Appropriations:- Retirement and Independent Entities Appropriations Subcommittee (Chair)
- Social Services Appropriations Subcommittee
Standing:
- Senate Business and Labor Committee
- Senate Ethics Committee
- Senate Retirement and Independent Entities Committee (Chair)
- Senate Rules Committee
Interim:
- Business and Labor Interim Committee
- Judiciary, Law Enforcement, and Criminal Justice Interim Committee
- Retirement and Independent Entities Interim Committee (Co Chair)
- Senate Health and Human Services Confirmation Committee
- Senate Retirement and Independent Entities Confirmation Committee (Chair)
2012 U.S. Senate election
Liljenquist will announce in early January 2012 on whether or not he will challenge longtime incumbent U.S. Senator Orrin HatchOrrin Hatch
Orrin Grant Hatch is the senior United States Senator for Utah and is a member of the Republican Party. Hatch served as the chairman or ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee from 1993 to 2005...
. He also said that he believes SCHIP, one of Hatch's signature legislative accomplishments, is unconstitutional.