BYU political science student and online political commentator Kai Schwemmer’s role in the Utah County Clerk’s Office has changed, following controversy and concerns raised by community members.
Schwemmer, 23, was initially appointed as Utah County’s chief deputy clerk. However, that role was changed on June 17 to confidential administrative associate.
Schwemmer has been a self-proclaimed “anti-universal-suffragist,” and has received attention from community members for his inflammatory comments made online.
Schwemmer said he was initially approached for the position by County Clerk Aaron Davidson.
“It wasn’t so much something that I kind of went in and applied for,” Schwemmer said.
Davidson is currently pursuing a second term as Utah County Clerk, running against Corey Astill in the Republican primary on June 23.
Astill stated that he does not approve of Davidson's recent appointment.
"This inappropriate hire further demonstrated why we need change in the County Clerk's office," Astill said.
Davidson became aware of Schwemmer from a speech he delivered at the Republican State Convention in April. After Davidson reached out and discussed the chief deputy clerk position, Schwemmer accepted the offer.
“I was really excited to be able to help out in a way that’s far more substantial than just online commentary, in a way that would also expose me to kind of the ins-and-outs of the election process,” he said.
One of Schwemmer’s primary objectives in the role was to engage younger voters across Utah County. However, the 23-year-old faced criticism from community members who questioned both his lack of election administration experience and his political extremism.
Darin Self, a BYU political science professor and chair of the Utah County Democratic Party, attended the town hall meeting where Schwemmer’s appointment was discussed. Self attended the meeting as the chair of the Utah County Democratic Party, and addressed several concerns with the appointment.
“Hiring someone so young without any experience in electoral administration is a major concern,” Self said.
Self also questioned Davidson’s decision to appoint Schwemmer.
“It’s not a concern that Davidson’s a Republican,” he said. “It’s more about who he chose and trying to understand that. That’s one of the questions that I asked, like, ‘Why him?’”
Self also stated that the comments that Schwemmer have made in the past are a major concern.
“If we’re talking about the right flank of the Republican Party, he’s way beyond the right part of the Republican Party,” he said. “I have absolutely no faith in Kai Schwemmer’s professionalism and integrity because of the things that he said.”
Several of Schwemmer’s past comments online have drawn significant criticism. This includes comments advocating for a “family vote system,” which has been interpreted as stripping married women the right to vote.
“That’s not at all the way I meant it,” Schwemmer said. “What I envision is actually a collaborative process where the political differences of husband and wife can be done away with in agreement and consensus.”
Schwemmer also noted that this idea is just hypothetical, and would not actually be feasible.
He also tweeted that “women generally don’t have what it takes to endure the pressures of public office” when Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene stepped down as a representative for Georgia due to repeated death threats.
Although Schwemmer argued that the tweet was taken out of context, he did not outright reject the stance he initially took.
“I do believe, however, that men and women have dispositional differences,” he said. “I think men broadly are better suited to handle very contentious environments, and I think the political environment is a very contentious one.”
Alan Jimenez, who is running as a Democrat to represent Utah House District 61, became aware of the comments made by Schwemmer and made a formal Honor Code review request to BYU.
“To me, it’s a big deal that we have someone who’s using BYU as a stepping stone to promote some of those hateful rhetorics,” Jimenez said.
Jimenez cited the BYU Honor Code in his request, stating that Schwemmer’s comments had violated the expectation that students “respect others, including the avoidance of profane and vulgar language.”
“I just want them to review it and see, you know, if that’s the type of behavior that should be allowed at BYU or if they’re going to stick to the Honor Code,” he said.
Upon reaching out to BYU on the comments made by Schwemmer, University Spokesperson Audrey Perry Martin stated that generally, BYU does not “comment on political activities or viewpoints of students.”
However, Jimenez argued that Schwemmer’s activity had extended beyond political activity.
“One thing is political views, another thing is hateful rhetoric,” Jimenez said. “I would be surprised to confuse sexism, homophobia and racism with actual political views.”
After Schwemmer’s appointment, many community members raised concerns about the responsibilities of his role and the expectations associated with the position. The town hall meeting drew several members of the Utah County Democratic Party, which canceled its scheduled meeting that evening so members could attend.
“As we went through the meeting, it was clear that he did not create clear expectations about what the job was, what limitations he had, and what his specific job was,” Self said.
Utah County Democratic Party Secretary Carren Crossley demanded that a written job description be made for Schwemmer by Tuesday, June 16 at 5 p.m. Davidson agreed to the demands, and committed to making the information publicly available.
Davidson updated the job description for Schwemmer, including a role change from chief deputy county clerk to confidential administrative associate.
As a confidential administrative associate, Schwemmer will perform “complex confidential administrative and strategic tasks,” including acting as a project manager, external liaison and key representative for the county clerk.
Schwemmer stated that he’s happy with this role change.
“I think that’s actually better,” he said. “It better reflects the years of experience that I have.”
Self stated that he was impressed and appreciative of the responsiveness of Davidson.
“I applaud clerk Davidson for holding the town hall and being responsive to the criticisms that he was facing,” he said.
However, Self stated that it doesn’t change his opinions on Schwemmer’s professionalism or integrity.
“Obviously, I’m not thrilled about Kai Schwemmer being in this position at all,” Self said.
Moving forward, Self stated that gaining public trust back will be difficult.
“He’s quite ambitious. I doubt he wants to be tied down in a way that would prevent him from capitalizing on the audience that he has,” Self said.
Schwemmer has responded to similar concerns made by other community members, stating that his political beliefs will not interfere with his ability to perform in his new role.
“I understand that I’m a controversial person and I’ve contributed to that by the nature of who I am, but that’s not my intention,” Schwemmer said. “And I look forward to showing people during my time in the role that I’m not trying to be an advocate or I’m not trying to be an activist in my professional role.”
Schwemmer’s role as confidential administrative associate will be effective Monday, June 22, and will include a performance review on September 2 to determine whether the role will continue.