Derek Kitchen

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.

Derek Kitchen
Member of the Utah State Senate
from the 2nd district
Assumed office
January 1, 2019
Preceded byJim Dabakis
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(s)
Moudi Sbeity
​
(m. 2015)​
Alma materUniversity of Utah
Websitederekkitchen.com

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.[2] On November 6, 2018, Kitchen won the 2018 election for Utah Senate District 2 and was elected to serve in the 2019-20 Utah Senate Minority Leadership as Senate Caucus Manager.[10]

References
  1. "Salt Lake City Council chooses Analia Valdemoros to fill vacant Council District 4 seat". fox13now.com. January 23, 2019.
  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. https://www.slc.gov/district4/
  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. http://www.slcrda.com/about-the-rda/
  10. Jon Hennington. "Utah Senate Democrats Announce New Leadership Team". Utah Senate Democrats. Retrieved November 9, 2018.
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