Four Salt Lake County Council seats are up for grabs this year, and more than a dozen candidates are seeking to fill them.
As of last week’s filing deadline, 18 people have filed to fill the District 1, District 3, District 5 and at-large A seats on the nine-member, partisan council. The panel’s at-large seats have six-year terms, while district seats have four-year terms.
Republicans hold a narrow 5-4 majority on the council.
Two Republican incumbents — Aimee Winder Newton and Sheldon Stewart — announced earlier this month that they would not seek reelection. Winder Newton represents District 3, which includes Taylorsville, Murray and parts of West Valley City and West Jordan, while Stewart represents District 5, which includes a southwest portion of Salt Lake County.
Republican council member Laurie Stringham, meanwhile, is running for her second term on the council in a countywide seat.
Democrat Jiro Johnson will also seek to retain his seat representing the council’s most liberal district. Johnson replaced former council member Arlyn Bradshaw last spring to represent District 1, which includes most of Salt Lake City and the northwestern portion of the county.
The primary election is scheduled for June 23, with the top vote-getters in each contested race advancing to the general election, along with any write-in candidates, Salt Lake County Clerk Lannie Chapman said.
Here’s who else is running for each seat, listed alphabetically by last name.
District 1
• Democratic incumbent Jiro Johnson.
• Libertarian candidate Casey Poe.
District 3
• Republican Mike Bird, a former treasurer for the Utah GOP who ran unsuccessfully for state House District 35 in 2024.
• Democrat Jared Eborn, a business marketer and former journalist.
• Democrat Luke Maynes, a systems analyst and former candidate for Midvale mayor.
District 5
• Democrat Sara Cimmers, a realtor and former special education teacher who ran unsuccessfully for state House District 45 in 2024.
• Republican Traci Crockett, a former member of the Bluffdale City Council.
• Republican Jared Esselman, founder of QwikFlights flying club and an executive at SKYSHARE, a full-service private aviation company.
• Republican Chris Null, former chair of the Salt Lake County Republican Party.
At-Large A
• Republican Kathleen Anderson, a business owner and Republican activist who ran unsuccessfully for Utah’s 2nd Congressional District in 2023.
• Constitution Party candidate Gregory Belgarian.
• Utah Forward Party candidate Maleah Bliss Caulford, a business owner who ran unsuccessfully for state Senate District 11 in December.
• Democrat Garry Hrechkosy, a certified public accountant and former member of the Murray City Council.
• Democrat Zach Robinson, a former Sandy City Council member who ran unsuccessfully for Salt Lake County Council District 6 in 2024.
• Democrat Allison Sabo, an insurance specialist who also served in the Utah National Guard.
• Democrat Nate Salazar, president of the Salt Lake City School Board.
• Republican incumbent Laurie Stringham.
• Democrat Tenille Taggart, a Democratic activist and fundraising chair for The West View, a west-side newspaper.