Salt Lake City’s west quarters appear poised to elect new councilors as incumbents on the east side sail to major re-election victories Tuesday night, according to unofficial statements.
The city has five council races, all of which are decided by rankings. Here’s a district-wise look.
[Latest results: Visit the Salt Lake County’s election results page.]
District 1
(Courtesy photo) Victoria Petro-Eschler is a candidate for Salt Lake City Council in 2021 in District 1.
Victoria Petro-Eschler has an early lead in a race that is sure to give Salt Lake City Council a new face.
In this district, which includes the Rose Park, Westpoint and Jordan Meadows neighborhoods and part of the Fairpark area, there was competition between Petro-Eschler and Blake Perez.
Petro-Eschler has 52.4% of the vote to 47.6% of Perez. Richard DM Barnes, a geologist, finished third and was eliminated. In the ranked poll, those ballot papers were moved to the voters’ second election if the voter listed one.
This district has been represented by James Rogers for the last two terms. He decided not to run again this year and then resigned from his seat in early October to spend more time with his children.
Roger’s resignation means the winner of this race is likely to get an early start. The city council has already scheduled a meeting next Tuesday to elect the interim councilor for the remainder of this year.
Petro-Eschler has received confirmations from Senator Luz Escamilla and the former state representative Jen Seelig, among others. Petro-Eschler is the managing director of the Salty Cricket Composers Collective, a non-profit organization that brings modern classical music to a new audience. She is also a member of the city’s Historic Landmark Commission.
Perez was supported by Rogers along with other political leaders such as former US MP Ben McAdams and Senator Derek Kitchen. Perez is the associate director of the Central Wasatch Commission and previously headed the Rose Park Community Council.
District 2
(Courtesy photo) Alejandro Puy is a candidate for Salt Lake City Council in District 2 in 2021.
In the crowded and personable race for that seat on the west side, Alejandro Puy has taken a significant lead.
District 2 – which includes Glendale and Poplar Grove and part of Fairpark – has been represented by Dennis Faris for the past five months since former councilor Andrew Johnston stepped down to work for Mayor Erin Mendenhall on homelessness.
Five colored people took part in this race.
In the initial results, Faris, who works for Volunteers of America Utah, appears to have been eliminated and ranks third behind Billy Palmer, a former longtime presenter on community radio KRCL, and Puy.
After four rounds of voting, Puy has 57.9% of the vote to 42.1% of Palmer.
Nigel Swaby, a real estate agent, was the first to be eliminated, followed by Daniel Tuutau, a nonprofit liaison officer.
District 5
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Salt Lake City Councilor and Ballpark Resident Darin Mano says a few words about the long-term vision for the Ballpark District during a press conference on Monday, November 1st, 2021.
Alderman Darin Mano passed his first test with voters and won a full term in the district that was once led by Mendenhall, according to early unofficial results.
Since Mendenhall became mayor, District 5 has been represented by Mano, an architect appointed by the remaining councilors.
Mano claimed 51.2% of the vote in the first ballot, which meant none of his four challengers had to be eliminated and their votes redistributed to give someone a majority.
His closest competitor, Sarah Reale, has 24%. Reale works in marketing at Salt Lake Community College.
Third is Amy J. Hawkins, who heads the Ballpark Community Council and teaches in the University of Utah Medical School. Hawkins received 18.7%.
George Chapman, a retired engineer who regularly attends council meetings, ranks fourth at 5.1%.
Vance Hansen, who worked in security, has 1%
District 5 includes Ballpark, Central Ninth, Liberty Wells, and East Liberty Park.
Hawkins and Chapman have focused heavily on the Ballpark neighborhood and public safety issues, including the impact of people who are not protected.
Mano and Reale sought a broader conversation to include discussions about future residential growth and density.
Incumbents dominate
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Ryan Ritchie, co-founder and managing partner of the Ritchie Group, listens as Amy Fowler, a Salt Lake City councilor, says a few words before the crane lifts the last beam and the first phase of the West Quarter project near Vivint Arena on Thursday, August 26, 2021.
Salt Lake City Council Chairs Amy Fowler and Chris Wharton appear to have won re-election based on initial unofficial results.
Fowler, the chairman of the city council representing District 7, has 65.2% of the vote.
This borough includes the Sugar House and Foothill neighborhoods, which have seen rapid development in recent years.
As a criminal defense attorney, Fowler listed her work restoring Allen Park and improving the streets of Sugar House as great accomplishments. She has named affordable housing as one of her top priorities.
Her main antagonist was Ben Raskin, a writer for USANA Health Sciences and a former bartender who won 28.6% of the vote. Raskin called Sugar House “the soul of the city” and wants more public art in the area. He has identified public safety and water conservation as some of his main issues.
The retired Rainer Huck is also on the ballot, but has contested a limited race. He received 6.2% of the vote.
In District 3, Wharton, vice chairman of the council, has 63.2% of the vote.
(Rachel Molenda | The Salt Lake Tribune) Salt Lake City Council member Chris Wharton presented Nicole Murray-Ramirez with a Harvey Milk Boulevard sign in Salt Lake City Hall in 2018.
This borough includes the Capitol Hill, Guadalupe, and Marmalade neighborhoods, as well as Federal Heights and the Avenues.
Wharton, a lawyer, has focused on justice issues after serving on the city’s human rights commission.
He was challenged by Casey O’Brien McDonough, an architect, owner of three coffee shops and a member of the Utah National Guard, and David Berg, vice chairman of the Utah Democratic Party’s environmental committee and a frontline health worker.
McDonough has received 20.4% of the vote and Berg has received 16.5% of the vote so far.
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