Derek Kitchen
Member of the Utah State Senate
from the 2nd district
In office
January 2019 – December 2022
Preceded byJim Dabakis
Succeeded byJen Plumb (Redistricting)
Member of the Salt Lake City Council
In office
2016 – January 1, 2019
Preceded byLuke Garrott
Succeeded byAna Valdemoros[1]
Personal details
Born (1988-08-30) August 30, 1988[2][3]
Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse
Moudi Sbeity
​
​
(m. 2015; div. 2019)​
Alma materUniversity of Utah
Websitederekkitchen.com

Derek Kitchen (born August 30, 1988) is an American politician from Salt Lake City, Utah. He is a member of the Utah State Senate representing Utah's 2nd senate district, and formerly a Councilmember on the Salt Lake City Council representing Council District 4. In 2023, Kitchen was appointed by President Joe Biden to serve as Senior Vice President of Congressional and Intergovernmental Affairs at the U.S. Export-Import Bank.

Kitchen is also known for his appearance on Food Network's Diners, Drive-Ins, & Dives.

Education and career

Kitchen graduated in 2013 with a bachelor's degree in political science from the University of Utah.

Kitchen and his partner, Moudi Sbeity, opened Laziz Foods in 2012 to provide Lebanese food to local grocery stores and the Farmers Market in Salt Lake City. It was in 2016 they opened Laziz Kitchen, a Lebanese restaurant downtown. Laziz Kitchen has a partnership with the International Rescue Committee (IRC) to hire refugees and New Americans from Iraq and Syria.[4] Laziz Kitchen appeared on Diners, Drive-Ins, & Dives.

In 2019, Kitchen completed Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government program for Senior Executives in State and Local Government as a David Bohnett LGBTQ Victory Institute Leadership Fellow.

Kitchen v. Herbert

In 2014, Kitchen and his partner sued the State of Utah for marriage equality with Kitchen v. Herbert. This case legalized same-sex marriage in Utah and five other states in the western U.S., establishing a groundbreaking case-law that led to nationwide marriage equality in 2015. Following the lawsuit, Kitchen was the subject of a documentary about the lawsuit that legalized gay marriage, called Church & State.[5]

Salt Lake City Council

In 2015, Kitchen was elected to represent Council District 4 in Salt Lake City[6] where he led the effort to create a historic $21 million fund to create affordable housing in October 2016.[7] He also worked to expand housing options in Salt Lake City with an update to the Accessory Dwelling Unit/Mother-in-law ordinance in 2018.[8] He formerly served as a chair for the redevelopment agency.[9]

Utah State Senate

In 2018, Kitchen announced his bid for Utah State Senate District 2.[2] He was endorsed by the outgoing senator Jim Dabakis, then the only openly gay member of the legislature, and won the close Democratic primary in July, winning 53 percent to his opponent Jennifer Plumb's 47 percent.[10] On November 6, Kitchen won in the general election and was elected to serve in the 2019-20 Utah Senate Minority Leadership as Senate Caucus Manager.[11] In 2020, Salt Lake police searched Kitchen's Venmo account after he gave $10 to a woman who was accused by the police of buying paint. This was after protests against killings by police in which the street in front of the district attorney's office was painted red.[12] During his term, Kitchen proposed raising the minimum age for buying a gun from 18 to 21 and repealing the statute banning marriage for same-sex couples that is still on the books.[13][14] In July 2022, he received 49.6 percent of the vote to Plumb's 50.4 percent in the Democratic primary for the Utah Senate's new 9th district.[15]

Personal life

Kitchen and Moudi Sbeity met in 2009 and married in 2015. They divorced in 2019.[16]

References

  1. ↑ "Salt Lake City Council chooses Analia Valdemoros to fill vacant Council District 4 seat". fox13now.com. January 23, 2019.
  2. 1 2 Tim Fitzsimons. "The 0.1 Percent: Gay ex-Mormon Derek Kitchen looks to shake up Utah politics". NBC News. Retrieved November 2, 2018.
  3. ↑ Utah Senate (August 30, 2019). "Happy Birthday Senator Derek Kitchen and Senator Kathleen Riebe! Hoping your birthday is filled with happiness, joy and cake". Facebook. Retrieved October 25, 2020.
  4. ↑ Jennifer Dobner. "Derek Kitchen and Moudi Sbeity: Two entrepreneurs who make hummus and made history". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved November 2, 2018.
  5. ↑ Sean P. Means. "'Church & State' documentary tries to sort truth from myth in the story of how same-sex marriage became legal in Utah". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved November 2, 2018.
  6. ↑ "Council District 4 | Central City, Downtown, East Central".
  7. ↑ Tony Semerad. "'The solution to homelessness is housing': Salt Lake City sets aside $30M to address homelessness, affordable housing". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved November 2, 2018.
  8. ↑ Tony Semerad. "Concerned about housing costs, Salt Lake City loosens rules on 'mother-in-law' apartments". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved November 2, 2018.
  9. ↑ "About the RDA – SLCRDA".
  10. ↑ Stevens, Taylor (July 10, 2018). "Final election results show Salt Lake City Democrats Derek Kitchen and Jen Dailey-Provost won their close primary elections". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved July 1, 2022.
  11. ↑ Jon Hennington. "Utah Senate Democrats Announce New Leadership Team". Utah Senate Democrats. Retrieved November 9, 2018.
  12. ↑ Reavy, Pat (August 19, 2020). "Utah Sen. Derek Kitchen accused of helping pay for paint used by protesters". Deseret News. Retrieved July 1, 2022.
  13. ↑ Burningham, Grant (May 25, 2022). "The Daily Buzz: Why Utah's Sen. Kitchen wants to raise the age to buy a gun to 21". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved July 1, 2022.
  14. ↑ Schott, Bryan (June 7, 2022). "Worries about possible Supreme Court action has Utah lawmaker pushing to repeal the state's ban on same-sex marriage". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved July 1, 2022.
  15. ↑ Apgar, Blake (July 12, 2022). "Jen Plumb ousts Derek Kitchen with paper-thin margin in Democratic primary for Senate District 9". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved July 13, 2022.
  16. ↑ Rodgers, Bethany (September 29, 2019). "Sen. Derek Kitchen and his husband announce they are separating but remain proud of their fight for marriage equality". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved July 1, 2022.
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