27 apply for vacant Salt Lake City Council seat, including one of its previous holders

SALT LAKE CITY — Some notable names, including two-thirds of the Salt Lake City Council's 2023 District 4 election field, applied to fill the district's recent vacancy.

In all, 27 people applied to fill the seat that was vacated after the city determined last month that its previous holder, Eva Lopez Chavez, had moved outside the district. The application process closed on Monday, and a replacement is expected to be selected next week.

The field includes former city councilwoman Ana Valdemoros, whom Lopez defeated during the 2023 election. Valdemoros, the owner of Argentina's Best Empanadas, oversaw the district from 2019 to 2024, having been originally appointed to fill a vacancy created when Derek Kitchen left for the Utah Legislature before winning the 2019 election.

Clayton Scrivner, a communications director for Park City, also ran for the District 4 seat in 2023 and applied to fill the vacancy.

The field also includes the district's past and current District 4 representatives within the Salt Lake City planning commission. Brenda Scheer and Lilah Rosenfield each applied with experience on the board that makes planning recommendations for the City Council, as well as in design reviews and approvals.

Other notables who applied include Jennifer Napier-Pearce, a former communications director for Utah Gov. Spencer Cox. Napier-Pearce, who is now chief of staff for the George S. and Dolores Dore Eccles Foundation, has also served as the executive editor of The Salt Lake Tribune and news director of KUER.

Tom Merrill was previously the chairman of the Downtown Community Council, representing one of the City Council district's key neighborhoods. Austin Taylor, chairman of the Central City Neighborhood Council, another key neighborhood in the district, also applied, as did Jennifer Starley, the council's vice chairwoman.

District 4 also includes parts of East Central and Central Ninth neighborhoods surrounding the city's core. The City Council is slated to review the applications before interviewing candidates during its June 9 meeting. The City Council could select a candidate that day or on June 11, which is the deadline for selecting a replacement, per state code.

Lopez's seat was vacated on May 12, following a quick review of her residency amid concerns brought up by residents. The decision was handed down while she was partially suspended amid an investigation into allegations of misconduct that surfaced in April.

Lopez has denied any wrongdoing and appealed the city's decision. The City Council decided to stop its investigation after her seat was vacated, but its members still plan to review potential changes in the City Council's code of conduct in the coming weeks.

Her replacement will serve out the rest of her term, which ends in early 2028.

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