Representative Thomas Peterson Contact information

Thomas Peterson is an American politician who serves as a member of the Utah House of Representatives from District 1. He stepped into this role after Joel Ferry was appointed to a state agency by Utah Governor Spencer Cox.

It’s worth noting that there was another notable figure named Thomas Mundy Peterson, who was the first African American to vote in the United States. Born on October 6, 1824, Thomas Mundy Peterson was a school custodian from Perth Amboy, New Jersey. His iconic vote came on the back of the adoption of the new Fifteenth Amendment, which gave every citizen of the United States the right to vote regardless of race, color, or previous servitude. Peterson cast his vote on March 31, 1870, one day after the ratification of the amendment. He voted in a local election at the Perth Amboy City Hall to revise the town’s charter. Some citizens wanted the existing charter to be revised but others wanted it abandoned altogether in favor of a township form of government. Peterson voted in favor of revising the existing charter and his side won 230 to 63. He was subsequently appointed to be a member of the committee of seven that made the revisions.

Peterson’s mother was a slave and his father worked for the Mundy family. In 1989, the school where Peterson worked as a custodian was named after him. To honor him as the first African-American voter, 70 dollars was raised by citizens of Perth Amboy and a medal was given to Peterson, naming him the “First Black Negro Voter,” during a Memorial celebration in 1884. Peterson passed away in 1904 and was buried at the St. Peters Episcopal Church Cemetery in Perth Amboy, New Jersey. When his grave was found years after his death, it was given a historical marker. March 31 is considered Thomas Mundy Peterson Day in New Jersey in commemoration of his historic vote.