New Kearns Mayor Jesse Valdez – reportedly the first-ever Hispanic mayor elected in any Utah city – is a professional storyteller. Now, in his new “parttime” mayoral position, Valdez wants to do the same thing: shape the narrative about Kearns so people get to know his often-maligned community better. 

“People outside Kearns can paint a negative picture of our community; but I know there is so much good here,” Valdez said. “I want to take more control of our narrative. If we don’t, someone else will; they have. My campaign was not about me. It was about moving forward. I want to see a vibrant Kearns. And I hope to involve lots of people to make that happen.”

Street corner campaigning helped Jesse Valdez become the first elected mayor of Kearns since the former township became an official city in 2024. (Photo ourtesy Jesse Valdez)

The Utah State Legislature opened the door to Valdez’s election nearly two years ago with the unanimous passage of House Bill 35. With the sweep of Gov. Spencer Cox’s pen, Kearns, Magna, Copperton, Emigration Canyon and White City all lost their metro township status. All but one became Utah’s newest cities. Because its population is under 1,000, Copperton was designated a “town.”

The most practical two changes HB35 created for Kearns and the others is: a) residents now directly elect their mayor; and b) Kearns now has its own taxing authority. 

“Prior to the change in government, I entered my name on the ballot two years ago for the Kearns City Council District 1 seat,” Valdez explained. “I didn’t campaign at all. I just thought voters should have more than one choice. Despite not campaigning, I came within 10 votes of winning that race. After the change in government (just a few months after that November 2023 election), I started thinking about running for mayor.”

A 2010 Hunter High School graduate, Valdez, 33, has lived 17 years of his life in Kearns – and the other 16 just over the border on the south edge of West Valley City, when his parents moved the family there. The new mayor is the youngest of three brothers and three sisters. His roots are Hispanic – but both his parents and all four of his grandparents were born here in the United States.

Street corner campaigning helped Jesse Valdez become the first elected mayor of Kearns since the former township became an official city in 2024. (Photo ourtesy Jesse Valdez)

“I don’t speak fluent Spanish at all,” Valdez confessed. “But I’m learning it more and more every day.”

After earning his associate’s degree in mass communication from Salt Lake Community College in 2016, Valdez took a job as a videographer, or photo journalist, with KTVX channel 4 news. That’s when his storytelling profession began.

“I go out with a camera to tell stories,” Valdez explained. “Everyone has a story to tell. I work to make it fair and honest. I went out with KTVX reporters from 2016 to 2023, then accepted a position with the Utah Department of Corrections communication team to do essentially the same thing. We produced stories to show state legislators – and the public, through social media – how the Corrections Department is making good, effective use of Utah tax dollars.”

Barely one month after his mayoral election, Valdez made one more career move. He accepted a communication coordinator position with the Salt Lake City Police Department in mid-December.

The $50,000 per year Kearns mayoral position is parttime.

“I wasn’t thinking about the pay when I ran for mayor,” Valdez added. “I didn’t even know how much it was. Mostly I ran to encourage others in our community to become involved. It will take many of us working together to make the changes and improvements I know we can.”

Perhaps Valdez’s top priority entering his new position is public safety and policing. At one end of the issue, he wants the Kearns City Council to analyze the needs and costs for things like neighborhood street lights and speed bumps. At the other end of that public safety spectrum, Valdez wants to carefully evaluate exactly how police service should be provided in Kearns.

Kearns Mayor Jesse Valdez and his wife Ali are the parents of Ellie, 7, and Matthew, who turns 3 in April. (Photo courtesy Jesse Valdez)

“I plan to put all of our options on the table and evaluate them,” the mayor said. “Remaining with the Unified Police Department may seem like the logical choice. But I want to look at other options as well. Do we contract police work with Taylorsville City? With West Valley City? There might even be an option to partner with Magna City to create our own, joint police force. I believe we owe it to our citizens to evaluate all of the options.”

After public safety, Valdez says his next two priorities are to boost the Kearns business community and to provide citizens with more city government transparency.

“Kearns has very little tax revenue coming from businesses; it’s nearly all from residents’ property taxes,” he said. “We need to figure out how to get more businesses to come to Kearns and to STAY in our city. As for transparency in government: our city spending will be an open record. I want residents to see our numbers and results.”

As a part of this, Valdez reports an annual salary of up to $180,000 has been authorized to hire the first-ever Kearns city manager. But he’s not sure he’s on board with that – at least not as a first move.

Kearns Mayor Jesse Valdez and his wife Ali are the parents of Ellie, 7, and “almost 3” Matthew. (Photo courtesy Jesse Valdez)

“I’m not sure whether we need a city manager,” the mayor explained. “I want to explore other options. This role is a huge commitment. Right now, we have no city hall and have been meeting in different locations. It’s confusing to people. I want to establish a permanent meeting location – and figure out heat and electricity costs, if need be – before we focus on creating a brand-new city manager position.”

Soon after his election, then mayor-elect Valdez sat down with Taylorsville Mayor Kristie Overson to get acquainted.

“It was a delightful meeting; I’m very pleased he reached out to me,” Overson said. “We talked about how to be ambassadors for our cities. I’m not sure what combined projects the two cities might work on together in the future – but there will probably be some. It was a great first meeting and I wish him luck.”

Jesse and Ali Valdez were married on Leap Day (Feb. 29), 2020. Their daughter Ellie is 7, while son Matthew will turn 3 in April.

The same night Valdez was elected mayor, voters also welcomed in two new Kearns City Council members: Lyndsay Longtin in District 2 and Lorrin P. Colby Jr. in District 4. 

For now, the Kearns City Council meets just once each month on the second Monday. Their next session will be Feb. 9. 

For all the latest on what’s happening with Kearns government, check the city’s updated website at kearns.utah.gov.