- Jesse Valdez was sworn in on Jan. 12 as mayor of Kearns, apparently the first Latino mayor in Utah history.
- Several other Latinos were also sworn into local posts around Utah, marking a step forward for Latino representation.
- Erika Carlsen was sworn in to the Salt Lake City Council, giving the body a Latino majority for the first time.
KEARNS — Voters in Kearns have elected the first Hispanic mayor to serve a Utah locale, apparently, while Latinos now account for a majority on the Salt Lake City Council.
Several Latino leaders who won in elections last November were sworn in to varied city posts around Utah this month, marking a step forward for Latino representation among the ranks of elected leadership in the state. Jesse Valdez, the first mayor of Kearns and, he thinks, the first Latino mayor in the entire state, emphasizes that he aims to serve everyone in the city, echoing comments from other Latino officials interviewed for this story.
At the same time, though, he noted the excitement during his swearing-in ceremony last Monday, Jan. 12, among some of the Latino audience members present. According to U.S. Census Bureau estimates, Latinos account for 41% of the population in Kearns, formally incorporated in 2024…