With election season coming up, I thought it would be a great time to introduce the mayoral candidates for Salt Lake City. Sometimes it can be hard to find information on mayoral candidates, so I’m here to give some background and hit some main topic points that really impact the citizens of Salt Lake City.
This year’s candidates for Salt Lake City mayor are Luz Escamilla and Erin Mendenhall. After the election is over, this will be Salt Lake City’s third mayor that has identified as a female! How rad is that!? Salt Lake City’s other female mayors have been Deedee Corradini and SLC’s current mayor, Jackie Biskupski.
Luz Escamilla immigrated to the United States in 1996 from Mexico. She graduated from high school in San Diego and furthered her education at the University of Utah. She graduated from the U with a B.S. in Business Marketing. Escamilla was able to obtain citizenship in 2004. She has been a current Utah state senator since the beginning of 2009 and is also the Vice President of Community Development at Zion’s Bank. Her endorsements include Salt Lake County sheriff, Rosie Rivera, and Zion’s Bank President and CEO, Scott Anderson. Her number one priority is “Uniting Salt Lake City”.
Erin Mendenhall has been a resident of Salt Lake City for the past 20 years. For the past 6 of those years, she has served as a Councilwoman for Salt Lake City as well as Council Chair for one year. Mendenhall has also been the policy director and interim executive director of Breathe Utah, which she help founded. She is also the current Chairwoman of the State Air Quality Board. Mendenhall is endorsed by former mayor, Ted Wilson, and Councilwoman, Amy Fowler. Her number one priority is “Basic infrastructure and streets.” Recently, Mendenhall and Escamilla answered questions and provided stances on issues affecting Salt Lake City to The Salt Lake Tribune. I’m here to give a brief breakdown of some of these Q & A’s and provide unbiased information regarding Salt Lake City’s future mayor.
Salt Lake City transportation has definitely improved over the last decade however, there is still a lot of room for improvement including possible policy change, free fare transits, creating walkable communities, improving road conditions. Escamilla and Mendenhall both support free fare transits, but that would mean expanding the budget and not being able to implement budget changes for a few years.
When asked about possible policy change to Salt Lake City’s transportation, Escamilla’s goal would be to implement a ‘holistic approach’ to make sure that the new communities popping up in SLC will be sustainable and have adequate access to public transportation. According to Escamilla, having a sustainable community includes fixing our roads so not only are they safer for vehicles but for bicyclists as well.
Mendenhall wants to expedite the implementation of the transit master plan. This would bring the community more circulator buses on a daily basis creating an option to take the bus instead of getting in a car alone. She will also help improve the roads by using the $87 million dollars that were approved last year for an ongoing revenue stream to maintain our roads.
Going along with policy change, the candidates were asked how they would create more walkable communities. Escamilla answered by saying that there definitely needs to be an increase of walkable communities and that will be a part of her active transportation plan. One of the main components would be creating safer roads and areas that the public can you and feel safe at the same time. She thinks that the current plan for implementing more walkable communities is good, but she would really like to push forward with the steps of the current plan.
Mendenhall has a lot of ideas and plans she would like to implement. This includes growing an urban forest, alleyway adoption programs, investing in local businesses, growing street lighting, etc. Being able to invest in these plans and programs will help improve the walkability of our communities within Salt Lake City.Air quality has always been a major problem for not only residents of Salt Lake City, but for everyone all across the valley. City leaders have pledged to have 100% renewable energy in the city by 2030. To make sure we succeed in meeting this deadline, the candidates have plans and actions they are looking to implement once becoming mayor.
One way that Escamilla will help improve air quality is by making sure we are getting accurate data collection. Another way she would help improve air quality is making everything from affordable housing to the inland port sustainable and help us reach our goal of having 100% renewable energy.
Air quality is why Mendenhall got into politics. She said it is the “single biggest threat to livability in Salt Lake City.” We need to expedite our carbon reductions in every way possible. She would help leverage contracts with Rocky Mountain Power and expand the work throughout other cities in the valley.
When asked about potentially expediting the city’s 2030 of renewable energy both the candidates said yes. Escamilla would help implement a contract with Rocky Mountain Power while pushing the date for renewable energy to be sooner rather than later. Mendenhall wants to set sights for 2023 for renewable energy. She mentioned that CO2 levels are rising across the globe and that having a goal of 2030 is too far away and we need to reach our goal sooner.
According to the United States Interagency Council of Homelessness, Utah had about 2,876 homeless people in January of 2018. That number has only increased since then and most of them living within or around Salt Lake City. With the closure of The Road Home’s downtown shelter coming this fall and the opening of three smaller resource centers, there will be a large impact not only for the homeless but surrounding businesses and residential areas as well.
When asked if the candidates support closing down of the downtown shelter and expanding to smaller resource centers, Mendenhall said that she supports the idea of creating more focused resource centers but that closing down the main downtown shelter won’t go over well with Salt Lake City. With the cold winter coming, she worried about where those living on the streets will go. Right now, as councilwoman, she has been holding conversations with the community downtown and the state creating plans for keeping the homeless safe and warm during the winter.
Escamilla has voiced concerns in the past with what is happening to the downtown shelter. However, she mentioned that the decision to close the shelter is in the past and we need to focus on the future and what’s coming next. The focus needs to be on making sure that the homeless have the resources they need to be healthy and safe.
Mendenhall has a pilot program that she would like to put into place to help address the homelessness in Salt Lake City. This program would help people reach detox, provide subsidized rent, and help with down payments on homes. She will make sure that the areas the program is reaching offer the greatest outcome and benefit to taxapayer dollars.
To find more information on where Luz Escamilla and Erin Mendenhall stand on other policies and topics, click here.
Election day is November 5, 2019. There are two ways to vote; in person and by mail. Ballot mailing will begin October 15 and may be dropped off at any of the ‘drop off’ boxes until 8:00 PM on election day. If you are wanting to mail it in, it must be postmarked the day before the election. If you are unsure if you are registered to vote, go to slc.gov to check your status. Also, go to slc.gov to check when and where early voting is located as well as voting stations for the day of the actual election.