Perry was born in Brigham City, Utah, and attended Columbia College, where he received his B.A. in criminal justice administration in 1999. He was also certified as police officer in 1990. He has worked for the Utah Highway Patrol/Department of Public Safety since 1998. He and his wife, Kathlyn, have four children.[2]
In 1984, Perry's older brother Brad Perry was murdered while working at a gas station in Brigham City. At the time of the murder, Brad was 22 and Lee was 17. The case went cold, but in 2005 the killer was identified as Glenn Griffin, who is serving a life sentence for the murder. Lee Perry has cited his brother's murder as part of his inspiration to work in law enforcement. [3]
Political career
Perry was first elected on November 2, 2010.
During the 2016 general legislative session, he served on the Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Environmental Quality Appropriations Subcommittee, as the committee chair of the House Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Environment Committee, and on the House Government Operations Committee.[4]
Elections
2014 Perry faced Democratic Party nominee Alan Yorgason in the general election, winning with 5,588 votes (77.82%) to Yorgason's 1,593 (22.18%).[5]
2012 Redistricted to District 29, and with incumbent Democratic Representative Janice Fisher redistricted to District 30, Perry and incumbent Representative Brad Galvez, who had been redistricted from District 6, were opponents for the June 26, 2012 Republican primary, which Perry won with 2,387 votes (60.7%);[5] Perry won the November 6, 2012 general election with 11,525 votes (79.8%) against Democratic nominee Heidi Bitton.[6]
2010 Perry challenged incumbent Republican Representative Ben Ferry and was chosen by the Republican convention for the November 2, 2010 general election; Perry won with 7,160 votes (80.2%) against Constitution Party candidate Becky Maddox.[7]
Perry passed five of the nine bills he introduced, giving him a 55.6% passage rate. He also floor sponsored six Senate bills during the 2016 legislative session.[8]
