Do you disagree with Project 2025? Do you believe people should have a say in reforming their own government? Do you dislike when lawmakers tell you what you can read, what you can do with your body, or what you can say
Regardless of how you feel about the presidential election, casting an educated vote for local and state government officials has a huge impact in our everyday lives. Many of our state and local elections come down to hundreds, or even dozens of votes.
Ken Ivory currently represents District 39, and is running for re-election this year. District 39 includes parts of West Jordan, South Jordan & Sandy.
He was a contributor to the infamous Project 2025, was a vocal supporter of the deceptive Amendment D in the August special session, supports book banning, and has been accused “engaging in a scheme that defrauds taxpayers and misleads local officials.”
He consistently has one of the worst scores on our progress report, which ranks legislators on their votes each legislative session in key issues areas of: Good Governance, Strong Communities, Sustainable Futures & Equal Rights. In fact, not only did he get an F last year, our of a possible 42 points, he received -14! That’s right, negative 14.
His opponent, Jess Wignallen is an unaffiliated candidate running to replace him. It’s going to be a close race and we want to make sure people know who the alternative is and what he’s done with his years in office.
Vote like your rights depend on it (because they do!)
View key dates and information on registering here.
Here’s a round-up of his worst hits of the last few years:
Project 2025 – Contributor
TL;DR– Ken contributed to Project 2025, the right-wing policy guide and plan to redo the American government in a conservative, Christian nationalist agenda. It’s bad.
Ken Ivory is listed under “Contributors” on page xxviii
If you haven’t heard of the absolutely bananas, terrifying game plan that the ultra right wing Heritage Project spearheaded, here are some of the impacts:
- Destroy the system of checks and balances upon which our democracy rests
- Enrich oil & gas elites at the cost of everyday Americans
- Threaten public lands and natural spaces
- Slash corporate taxes, leaving the burden of taxation on families
- Cut overtime protections for 4.3 million workers
- Eliminate the Department of Education
- Set up the Department of Health and Human Services to be influenced by Christian ideology
- Stop efforts to lower prescription drug prices
- Eliminate job protections for thousands of government employees, who could then be replaced by political appointees.
- Cut federal money for research and investment in renewable energy
- Limit access to food assistance
- End diversity, equity and inclusion programs in schools and government departments
And more!
Ken Ivory loved these ideas so much he volunteered to help write them into Project 2025.
Conflict of Interests
TL;DR – There are suspicious timelines that indicate that Ken may have personally financially benefited from his position in government.
Ken Ivory resigned his legislative seat in 2019 to “take an executive level job at a Silicon Slopes company that he helped hire for a special legislative project to appraise Utah’s public lands.” The same day he left was the day he started his job. That state contract that he helped secure was worth $700,000.” Whether that project instigated the public lands lawsuit that currently is costing taxpayers about $14 million dollars is unclear.
Federal Lands
TL;DR – Ken has gotten local government officials to give money to a charity he runs (and gets paid from) that seeks to force the federal government to turn over management of public lands to Utah, which would cost the states millions of dollars in management costs and impact recreation opportunities
In 2015, the Campaign for Accountability (CfA), requested that the attorneys general of Utah, Arizona and Montana investigate state Rep. Ken Ivory (R) for “solicit[ing] funds from local officials, falsely claiming the federal government can be forced to transfer public lands to the states.” It was called a “scheme that defrauds taxpayers and misleads local officials.”
Ivory is the past president and founder of the American Lands Council (ALC), a Utah-based organization, and the CfA accused him of using his position as a legislator to “enrich” his personal wealth and make “false or fraudulent representations to obtain money.”
CfA Executive Director Anne Weismann said in regard to their investigations request that “Rep. Ivory is a snake oil salesman, cloaked with respectability by his position as a legislator. Local government officials need to learn the truth about Rep. Ivory’s claims before they are suckered into parting with taxpayer funds.”
Amendment D
Ken Ivory voted in support of Amendment D and spoke in support of it during the “emergency” special legislative session.
Amendment D wanted to change the way citizen ballot initiatives are done and give legislators the power to repeal or edit laws that citizens voted on and passed on the ballot.
Ken Ivory is a threat to Utahns democracy and freedoms.
Look up voter registration and election information from the Utah government’s website here.
