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SOUTH SALT LAKE — South Salt Lake City Council member Paul Sanchez has been formally censured by his fellow council members, a move Sanchez claims targets his criticism of that body.
The censure comes after Sanchez violated its code of conduct with his social media posts criticizing elected officials, according to the council.
South Salt Lake City Council members decided to censure Sanchez in a closed-door meeting on Wednesday.
After the meeting, the council returned to their chamber to announce the decision.
"Councilman Sanchez's actions have created fear and have distracted us from city business," a council member read. She then announced the sanctions against Sanchez. Along with an official censure, Sanchez was:
- Barred from writing for the city newsletter.
- Suspended from placing items on the council's agenda.
- Suspended from conducting formal meetings.
- Suspended from formal travel as it relates to the city.
- Barred from serving in leadership or on committees.
- Required to participate in council meetings remotely.
- Asked to resign.
The council said that the censure would last through the end of Sanchez's term, Dec. 31, 2027, "or if he can go 90 days with no code of conduct council rule violations, or violations of the law."
Sanchez said he is exposing corruption
Sanchez told KSL NewsRadio he believes his fellow South Salt Lake City Council members censured him because of his work to expose corruption within the city.
Sanchez has called out the South Salt Lake mayor and others within the city government for multiple alleged issues.
"It's the police department. It's the civilian review board. It's the fire department. It's the directors of the city," he said. "They're all colluding together to protect themselves."
KSL NewsRadio has reached out to South Salt Lake City Mayor Cherie Wood and the council for comment. No comment was received by Thursday afternoon.
Sanchez admits he frequently criticizes local and state officials and his fellow council members online and has heard complaints about his posts before.
In the following statement posted on Facebook, Sanchez questioned some of Utah Gov. Spencer Cox's housing priorities:
"Gov. Spencer J. Cox you only support giving away tax payer dollars to fund luxury apartments to support your donors and the corrupt Mayors in Utah including Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall and South Salt Lake Mayor Cherie Wood," Sanchez posted.
"This information is not new information," he said. "My frustration is that this has been known in the community."
Sanchez says he began investigating operations in South Salt Lake in late 2023 when a city police lieutenant received a DUI. He claimed the lieutenant kept his job.
Reporting by KSL in December shows the lieutenant in question resigned. The mayor posted on social media to say he would have been fired if the lieutenant had not resigned.
