In her first public statement on the matter, former Salt Lake City Council member Eva Lopez Chavez is critiquing the council’s decision to not investigate sexual misconduct allegations made against her.

“Allegations should be addressed through fair, transparent, and credible processes — not politics, rumors, or selective leaks,” Lopez Chavez said Thursday in a statement emailed to The Salt Lake Tribune.

The council pulled back on Tuesday from a formal investigation. Four people — including former council colleague Victoria Petro — accused Lopez Chavez of restraining them during what they considered unwanted sexual advances.

“Council decisions should be based on evidence, not speculation or political agendas,” Lopez Chavez said in a statement sent on her behalf by a crisis communications firm in New York, which she later confirmed came from her.

Noting the council’s unanimous vote late Tuesday not to proceed with hiring an independent investigator to look into the claims lodged against her, Lopez Chavez said in the statement that “the public deserves the utmost transparency with matters of all their elected leaders.”

“At a time when politics is nothing sort of inconsistent and fact-less statements,” she wrote, “real leadership is needed at City Hall to keep addressing the urgent changes to the city budget, such as another proposed tax increase.”

The former council member and unsuccessful Democratic candidate for Congress was removed from her District 4 seat on the seven-seat council a little more than a week ago, after the city recorder concluded she had failed at least since December to maintain a primary residence in the district.

That move followed a series of allegations that surfaced April 22, in which four people in Utah political circles had accused Lopez Chavez of sexual misconduct during incidents that preceded her being elected to the council in 2023.

“I welcomed an independent investigation because there is no wrongdoing and was prepared to have the facts examined openly and fairly,” said Lopez Chavez, who has previously denied the misconduct allegations. “More importantly, the public deserves the utmost transparency with matters of all their elected leaders.”

With a short motion and no discussion Tuesday evening, the six remaining members of the council voted — without Lopez Chavez in attendance — to reverse course on a previously promised investigation into the misconduct claims, and to instead have a trio of its members focus on a review of the council’s own code of conduct.

“While the original intent to investigate was in response to serious allegations,” Tuesday’s motion read, “using council resources to retain an independent investigator is no longer an appropriate role for the council.”

Council chair Alejandro Puy added on Friday that since Lopez Chavez has been removed from her seat, the council also does not have jurisdiction to investigate her as a private citizen.

But in her statement, Lopez Chavez said that the council “has now chosen not to move forward with this process” and critiqued that move, saying that “investigating and concluding such serious assertions is necessary to keep the integrity of City Hall.”

Lopez Chavez said she also planned to appeal the May 12 decision to vacate her seat over residency issues, citing what she called “a history of inconsistencies, abuse, and political agendas” at City Hall.

“I will continue to strongly dispute this interpretation and will pursue all available remedies to protect our city,” she said of the residency findings, issued by City Recorder Keith Reynolds after an investigation of a District 4 resident’s complaint.

Under a timeline set by state law, the council has opened the official application process for prospective candidates to replace Lopez Chavez and fill the empty District 4 seat, under a deadline of June 11. The seat will then appear on the city’s 2027 municipal ballot.

“Voters,” Lopez Chavez declared in her Thursday statement, “should elect their representatives, not allow for political appointments to happen at their expense.”

Although she has not attended council meetings since her ouster, Lopez Chavez said that she was “proud of the work we have delivered for our neighbors and continue to show up with the same fervor and integrity that they elected me to do.”

“I remain deeply grateful,” her statement concluded, “to the community members who stood by me during an incredibly difficult and politicized period. I will continue to serve this community with determination, humility, and purpose.”

Update • May 22, 12 p.m.: This story has been updated with additional comments from council Chair Alejandro Puy and to specify the timeline for appointing a new council member as set by state law.