Verona Sagato-Mauga is the newly elected Representative for Utah House District 31, making history as the first Samoan elected to the Utah legislature and the first Samoan woman elected to any legislature in the continental United States. A proud resident and advocate for West Valley and Taylorsville, Verona is a small business owner and the co-founder of Le Malu, an organization dedicated to empowering Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities in Utah. Her deep-rooted commitment to community, family, and service has shaped her advocacy for more accessible healthcare, economic growth, housing justice, and education equity. As a mother, she understands the importance of creating a safe and supportive environment, not just in her own family but throughout her district. In office, Verona aims to champion policy changes that ensure mental health support, protect LGBTQIA+ rights, and promote economic opportunities for all. Her leadership is marked by an unwavering dedication to uplifting her community and addressing the unique needs of marginalized and underrepresented groups.
After her historic victory in Utah, APAICS interviewed alumna Rep.-Elect Mauga (NLA ‘24) on her experience campaigning for office and her “why":
How has your participation in the APAICS National Leadership Academy influenced your own campaign?
It actually happened to be right in the middle of my campaign for the Utah State House of Representatives, and I almost didn't attend, but I am very grateful that I chose to go. Not only did I come back with so many new skills and ideas and new ways of strategizing and campaigning, but to be in a room with so many people who not just looked like me, but who also shared so many of my lived experiences, was so powerful, and to learn from leaders who look like me and share my experiences, I can't explain how meaningful that was to me—to be with people who understand our background, our struggles, our immigrant stories, our parents' immigrant stories. Because knowing that information changes the way you think, and it changes the way we campaign and the way we connect with people, and so again, that was such a meaningful experience for me, and really helped me towards the end of my campaign to just be rooted in who I am and rooted in my culture and my story and my parents' story and my son's story.
I can't say enough about my experience and my journey with APAICS. I can say though, that I know that what I came back with truly helped me out, because on November 5, we won our election. I am now a Representative-Elect for the Utah State House of Representatives in District 31 and I credit much of that to my experience and my time with APAICS. I hope that I can be of value and share what I've learned throughout the campaign and just learning from this group of excellent leaders. But I'm also excited that with APAICS, I now belong to this large network of people who have already done all the things and who are already serving in capacities that many of us have never been able to serve in. And so that's one of the neatest things about it. I know for sure that as I am legislating and bringing forth policy and advocating at the legislature, that I will rely on this new network that I have.
What is your "why" behind running for office?
My why? My why is you. It's our community. It's my neighbors, my family, school teachers, our schools, our children. I have worked in community for a very long time because I have been able to do that and be a mom and be a small business owner and have the background that I have, and have the stories that belong to me. I feel like I've been really able to see where the gaps are in our communities.
The two cities that I represent are Taylorsville and West Valley. West Valley is a minority majority city, Taylorsville is well on its way there. Our legislature in Utah does not reflect the people who live in the district, and so for me, it was important to run and hopefully be a voice for the many voices that go unheard, and to be able to take our experiences and our stories and the things that mean the most to us and the things that are bothering us to the legislature as important decisions and laws are being made. Truly, it has really just been about serving our community in a way that's meaningful and impactful when important decisions are being made.
Do you have any advice or inspirational words for other AA & NH/PI women who may be interested in public service roles or running for office?
If service is where it's at for you, if you care about your family and your children and your neighbors, and what happens to all people, run for office. I don't think that there will ever be a perfect time. I don't think that there will ever be a time where you're ready enough, or you're ever going to feel qualified enough. And I say that because, going into this, I never felt qualified enough, even as I was running for office, but I relied heavily on my desire to make things better for the people who I care the most about and so if you have that desire, if you have the time, if you can be committed to truly serving and campaigning hard, I say just do it. Because as Asian American, Native, Hawaiian and Pacific Islander women, it is innately within us to serve. We know how to do that. We don't have to have different certifications and things under our belt. We were born with this. Serving our family, loving our family, taking care of our children, our neighbors, our villages, our communities, is something we already do. It's time for us to have representation at all levels of government, because our communities and our people deserve it.
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