This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Salt Lake City Mayor Jackie Biskupski isn't up for re-election until 2019, but two open Salt Lake City Council seats have a dozen suitors, and Erin Mendenhall and James Rogers will both face multiple challengers in this year's municipal election.
None of the 18 non-incumbents ran in 2013, though Phil Carroll is a third-time candidate and George Chapman and Amy Fowler previously ran for mayor and state representative, respectively.
The field also includes Jeffrey Garbett, the son of well-known developer Bryson Garbett, as well as a surgeon, a Hillary Clinton campaign staffer, a muscle car restorer and a department store clerk.
Outgoing City Council Chairman Stan Penfold and Councilwoman Lisa Adams, who doubles as chairwoman of the city's Redevelopment Agency, said last week that they'd spoken with multiple residents weighing candidacy and found few takers.
Most commonly, prospective candidates had wondered about the time commitment, they said.
"I rarely spend less than 30 [hours] on it," Adams said.
Council members receive a salary of $25,000.
Another would-have-been candidate pointed to the negativity that surfaced during the siting of new homeless shelters — which sparked months of public outcry and hundreds of phone calls, emails and public comments — and worried about the toll on family members.
—
District 1
James Rogers • District 1 has received an outsize share of attention during Rogers' first term, due to the siting of the future state prison, a $3 billion airport redevelopment and efforts to develop more than 3,500 acres in the Northwest Quadrant. A commercial real estate businessman who narrowly won his seat by promising to apply business-world principles to city government, last year's council chairman said he would "love to believe that my record speaks for itself."
Arnold Jones • A Rose Park resident, Jones said his pet issues include homelessness, public safety and improving the relationship between police officers and citizens. Jones currently works two part-time jobs, one at a drive-in theater and another picking up and dropping off clients at a senior center.
David Atkin • Atkin also pulls double-duty working in the computer industry and as a restorer of American muscle cars. The longtime resident said the presence of a large homeless population has had a negative impact on downtown businesses and that he hopes to reduce their ranks "by trying to get them educated and back to work."
—
District 3
Christopher Wharton • An attorney whose firm focuses on family law and LGBTQ equality, Wharton has experience in public service, serving two terms on the Salt Lake City Human Rights Commission and on the Utah Pride Center's board of directors. Among the lower Avenues resident's key issues: affordable housing, preserving the character of historic neighborhoods and expanding the city's environmental initiatives.
Courtney Swedenburg • After moving to Utah from her native Mississippi in 2014, Swedenburg earned a doctorate in physical therapy and now works at St. Mark's Hospital while serving as vice-chairwoman for the local precinct of the Democratic Party Central Committee. Swedenburg said she's passionate about environmental issues, affordable housing and adding to public transportation offerings.
Jeffrey Garbett • His father, Bryson, founded a group of business leaders that sought change near the homeless shelter at 210 S. Rio Grande St. and arguably spurred a yearslong state, county and city collaboration to rethink homeless services. Jeffrey Garbett said he has worked for his dad but now is a contractor, real estate broker and screenwriter who just finished film school. His foremost priorities are public safety and homelessness, he said, followed by a desire to make the city affordable for families and to improve its air quality.
Brian Fukushima • His experience as an orthopedic surgeon working with indigent patients impressed upon Fukushima an "acute need for care" for the homeless population, as did his experience working in a downtown office where homeless people greet him each morning in the foyer. Fukushima said he was a founder of the Asian American Student Association at the University of Utah and represents the increased diversity of Avenues residents.
Laura Cushman • Cushman said she benefits from her time as an intern in the San Francisco Mayor's Office of Criminal Justice and as an advocate on behalf of disadvantaged children. A resident of the Avenues, Cushman said improvements to the city's infrastructure would encourage more residents to walk or ride their bikes, and thereby improve its famously poor air quality.
Phil Carroll • The founder and president of the nonprofit Community Housing Services, Carroll lost to Eric Jergensen in 2001 and then to Penfold in 2009. He was compelled to run again, he said, by concern about the future of Salt Lake City's homeless population and the city's dearth of affordable housing. His nonprofit has 200 affordable units within his district, he said.
—
District 5
Noah Rosenberg • The lifelong district resident is an administrative assistant for Valley Behavioral Health, which provides mental health and substance abuse services. Rosenberg said he's also served as an intern for the state Legislature and on state and local campaigns. His campaign's central tenets are to promote constituent engagement and public health.
Erin Mendenhall • The earliest opponent of siting a homeless shelter in Sugar House — she was later joined by Adams — Mendenhall announced in April that her priorities include affordable housing, geographic inequities, improvements to the State Street area and improving air quality. A resident of the 9th and 9th area, who previously worked for Breathe Utah, Mendenhall won handedly in 2013.
Vance Hansen • Hansen works as a clerk at Walmart and was formerly a security officer, he said. He hopes to work his way up to a state office and said he aims to help homeless and underprivileged children.
Carol Goode-Rogozinski • Goode-Rogozinski did not immediately respond to a request for comment after filing Wednesday afternoon. A social media profile says she recently worked for the Social Security Administration after more than 17 years with the state Department of Workforce Services.
George Chapman • The retired engineer and U.S. Naval officer rarely misses an opportunity for public input before the City Council and has strong feelings about a wide variety of issues. Chapman ran for mayor in 2015, writes a politics blog and recently pushed for records of the City Council's closed-door meetings about homeless shelter sites. Last week, he wrote an op-ed in The Salt Lake Tribune urging others to run for office, and he opposes fee increases for sewer, water, parks and streets.
—
District 7
Abraham Smith • Smith said he wants to commit needed resources to Salt Lake City's police department, combat opioid abuse, invest wisely in infrastructure and help solve homelessness. The Sugar House resident works as a technology strategist and is on the advisory board for a nonprofit that builds community centers in South Asia.
Jason Sills • The Backcountry.com senior manager said he uses data and analytics "to drive efficiencies, lower costs and provide the best customer experience." Sills, who has a postgraduate degree in public administration and worked on Barack Obama's 2012 campaign, said he hopes to adopt a "smart city" strategy and use numbers to inform transit and homeless solutions.
Benjamin Sessions • Sessions, a case manager for an insurance company, serves on the Sugar House Community Council and Chamber of Commerce and identified three focus areas: public safety, infrastructure and thoughtful development of Sugar House that preserves local businesses and complements the neighborhood.
Ben Haynes • Haynes decided to run as an example to other millennials after working as a staffer on Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign (he had the honor of introducing Bill Clinton to a group in New Hampshire). He had previously worked as deputy campaign manager for Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill and said he's running on a platform that includes affordable housing, clean air and community engagement.
Amy Fowler • A public defender who lost by one vote to Rep. Lynn Hemingway in a 2015 special election to replace state Rep. Justin Miller, Fowler said the district features a wide socioeconomic range, from a country club on the east side to a large population of refugees and immigrants who live in western Sugar House. A council member should listen to a variety of voices, Fowler said, and demand transparency and accountability on their behalf.
Samantha Finch • A self-proclaimed moderate and fiscal conservative, Finch said Salt Lake City is well-situated geographically and economically "but so tragically afflicted with air pollution." She'd support parks and green spaces over golf courses, she said, as well as public transportation, libraries and infrastructure upgrades. Finch recently served as a junior attorney for the state on public lands issues.
Council members Andrew Johnston (District 2), Derek Kitchen (District 4) and Charlie Luke (District 6) began their terms in 2016 and won't be up for re-election until 2020.
An Aug. 15 primary election will reduce the number of candidates to two in each race.
Editor's note: This story was corrected to reflect the year that Phil Carroll ran for City Council the second time.
Twitter: @matthew_piper