About Me | Karen for Utah SD 6

A Brief Bio

My husband, William, and I have lived in West Jordan for 22 years. We have four grown children, two sons-in-law, and the cutest grandbaby anyone could wish for.

I am a small business owner and understand the daunting hurdles that beset anyone trying to run a business.

I've volunteered as a state delegate multiple times and served on the Republican State Central Committee for two years.

I have a bachelor's degree from Brigham Young University, where I studied French, as well as Computers and Languages.

Why Am I Running for Office?

I believe in truly limited government, as envisioned by our Founders.

I believe the Constitution was created not only to limit the power of the federal government but to serve as a template for state and local government as well.

I subscribe to the adage, "That government governs best which governs least."

I believe Utah legislators should set an example for the rest of the country and that, instead of rubber-stamping most of the bills that come across their desks, they should strive to limit the number and scope of laws that are passed, particularly those that would restrict our personal liberties or increase our tax burden.

SB2001, the "food tax bill" that was passed in a special session right before Christmas of 2019, raised taxes on food and gas, and imposed new taxes on services such as movie streaming, home security monitoring, and even car towing. Because the bill made provisions for certain categories of people to apply for tax rebates, this bill was - and still is - touted as a tax cut. Increasing taxes on everyone and then providing government rebates to some is not my idea of good tax policy, and I opposed SB2001, gathering signatures and driving packets down to southern Utah so other counties could gather signatures as well.

In the face of statewide opposition to this bill, it was repealed, and calls for replacing the legislators who passed it were a key part in my decision to run for office in my district.

My Political Background

Like many of you, I have been involved in my neighborhood caucuses and served as a precinct chair, as well as a state delegate multiple times over the years.

I was a member of the West Jordan Citizens' Budget Committee, which was an ad hoc committee we organized to address some proposed tax increases in West Jordan several years ago. The city provided us with their budget reports, and we simply went through and tried to help them identify places where there was duplication or possible waste, in an effort to avoid the tax increases. We had no authority over the budget, but we served in an advisory role and made recommendations.

I served for two years on the Republican State Central Committee, which is the governing body for the entire Utah Republican Party. Back in 2010, the SCC essentially voted itself veto power over the state delegates in regards to changing the party constitution. In essence, they amended the party constitution so that even if the 3,000+ delegates (duly elected neighborhood representatives) voted for an amendment to that constitution, that amendment would still need to be approved by this powerful 70-member Central Committee. In other words, this small committee of GOP leadership now had the power to veto a super-majority - or even unanimous - vote by the delegates.

I was astonished at this overreach and reasoned that the best way to effect change would be to get on the committee myself, so I ran and was elected to the SCC. I joined with other members who strongly supported the delegates, and although we were in the minority, our small group did what we could to shine light on this and other problems. I don't know how influential we were, but I'm happy to note that the current party constitution no longer includes that provision requiring the SCC to approve of amendments made by a super-majority of elected delegates.

Karen Hyatt