Erin Mendenhall (born June 8, 1980) is an American politician who has been serving as the mayor of

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the capital and most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in Utah. With a population of 200,133 in 2020, th ...

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

since 2020. Upon taking office as

’s 36th mayor, Mendenhall became the city’s third and youngest woman in the role (after

Deedee Corradini Margaret "Deedee" McMullen Corradini (April 11, 1944 – March 1, 2015) was an American businesswoman and politician who served as the 32nd mayor of Salt Lake City, Utah from 1992 to 2000. Corradini was the first woman to serve as mayor of Salt ...

and

Jackie Biskupski Jackie Biskupski (born January 11, 1966) is an American Democratic politician, who served as the 35th Mayor of Salt Lake City, Utah. Upon taking office, Biskupski became Salt Lake City's 35th mayor, the city's first openly gay mayor, and the se ...

). Prior to assuming office, Mendenhall represented the city’s 5th district on the

Council.

Early life and education

Mendenhall was born in

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

and moved to

Sandy, Utah Sandy is a city in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area, located in Salt Lake County, Utah, United States. The population of Sandy was 87,461 at the 2010 census, making it the sixth-largest city in Utah. The population is currently estimated ...

, when she was seven. Mendenhall graduated from the

University of Utah The University of Utah (U of U, UofU, or simply The U) is a public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is the flagship institution of the Utah System of Higher Education. The university was established in 1850 as the University of De ...

with a Bachelor of Arts degree in gender studies and a certificate in Non Profit Leadership and Management.

Career

She was elected to the Salt Lake City council in early 2014, and improving air quality became her signature issue. It was reported in November 2014 that Erin Mendenhall and fellow council member Kyle LaMalfa were having an extramarital affair. (Colby Frazier, 13 November 2014). Two weeks later, Mendenhall confirmed a romantic relationship with LaMalfa. She and LaMalfa disclosed their relationship to City Attorney Margaret Plane, who stated there were no legal or ethical problems. Some city council members thought their relationship should remain private, while others thought the revelation was in the public's interest to the possibility of "perceived

conflict Conflict may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Conflict'' (1921 film), an American silent film directed by Stuart Paton * ''Conflict'' (1936 film), an American boxing film starring John Wayne * ''Conflict'' (1937 film) ...

." She and LaMalfa later married. In the 2019 Salt Lake City mayoral election, Mendenhall defeated State Senator

Luz Escamilla Luz Robles Escamilla is the Senator for the Utah State Senate's 1st Utah Senate District, 1st Districtmap, defeating Utah Republican Party, Republican Carlton Christensen for the seat November 4, 2008 after having beaten incumbent Sen. Fred Fife ...

to become the 36th mayor of

. Mendenhall is the city's third female mayor (after

and

). In April 2020 during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

, according to a police affidavit, Mendenhall was threatened by a man who "stated the mayor needs to open up the city. If she doesn’t, she’ll be forcibly removed from office. There’s a protest tomorrow and if things don’t change, a civil war is coming, and the police can’t stop me." The man was arrested and booked for making a terroristic threat and electronic communication harassment.

References

External links

21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians Living people Mayors of Salt Lake City Politicians from Salt Lake City University of Utah alumni Utah city council members Utah Democrats Women mayors of places in Utah 1980 births {{Utah-politician-stub