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Here’s who is leading in the Salt Lake City Council races

Salt Lake City Council Districts 4, 6 and 7 have competitive races this year and Alejandro Puy is running unopposed in District 2.

(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Citizens vote at the Salt Lake County Government Center on Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2023.

  | Nov. 22, 2023, 3:45 a.m.
| Updated: Nov. 23, 2023, 4:41 p.m.

Salt Lake City voters are casting their ballot in three competitive City Council races during the 2023 general election. Here’s who is leading in each of those races:

District 4

Eva Lopez Chavez, a project manager and consultant for small businesses, grabbed an early lead in the race for the City Council District 4 seat to represent the Central City, Downtown and East Central neighborhoods.

According to unofficial early returns, Lopez Chavez received 52% of the votes, while incumbent Ana Valdemoros got 48%.

Clayton Scrivner was eliminated in the first round of ranked choice voting. With this system, his ballots were shifted to the voters’ second choice.

Salt Lake City was one of the six Salt Lake County municipalities that opted for ranked choice voting this election cycle.

[READ MORE: See all of Utah’s early 2023 election results]

District 6

Incumbent Dan Dugan, a former Naval aviator and engineer, received 56% of votes on election night, making him the frontrunner in the race for the District 6 seat representing the east side neighborhoods of Bonneville Hills, East Bench, Sunnyside East, Wasatch Hollow and Yalecrest.

Taymour Semnani, a lawyer, received 44% of the votes counted on election night.

Developer James Alfandre was eliminated under ranked choice voting.

District 7

With a seven percentage point advantage, incumbent Sarah Young held a narrow lead in her bid to represent Sugar House in the city’s District 7 office.

Young, with 53%, is one of the council’s newest additions. She was appointed by her peers last July to fill the seat vacated by Amy Fowler, who resigned after her May 3 arrest on suspicion of DUI.

Her challenger, small business owner Molly Jones got 46% of the early tally.

This race will not be decided by ranked choice voting, as there are only two candidates.

District 2

District 2 council member Alejandro Puy ran unopposed for his reelection bid to continue representing Glendale, Poplar Grove, Fairpark and part of downtown.

Additional vote returns are expected to be released later Tuesday night, and mail-in ballots postmarked by the Nov. 20 deadline will still be counted in coming days. Results must be finalized by Dec. 6.