The recently ousted member of the Salt Lake City Council is wishing her newly chosen successor well.

In remarks issued early Wednesday after Jennifer Napier-Pearce, former Salt Lake Tribune editor and ex-adviser to Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, was selected to fill the council vacancy, former District 4 council member Eva Lopez Chavez offered her congratulations.

“I wish her every success,” Lopez Chavez said in a statement, forwarded to The Salt Lake Tribune by a crisis communications firm based in New York.

“Our community deserves stability, civility, and leaders who stay focused on the issues that matter most to working families,” her statement continued. “I sincerely hope Jennifer succeeds in that mission, and I stand ready to support any effort that moves District 4 forward.”

Lopez Chavez, elected in 2023, was removed from the seven-member council in mid-May, following a finding by the city recorder that she had failed to maintain her primary residence in the district at least since December.

The former Democratic congressional candidate also faced allegations of sexual misconduct, lodged just prior to her removal from the council by four people in Utah political circles, including council member Victoria Petro. They had accused Lopez Chavez of restraining them during what they considered unwanted sexual advances.

After the District 4 seat remained open for several weeks, Napier-Pearce, who is currently chief of staff for the George S. and Dolores Doré Eccles Foundation, was selected late Tuesday as a replacement from a list of 20 applicants.

The former journalist of 20 years, political adviser and nonprofit executive took the oath shortly after Tuesday’s decision — and participated in the council’s formal meeting later that evening. She will now represent the council district spanning neighborhoods in downtown, Central City, Central Ninth and the east-central area, at least through early January 2028. She has already said she intends to run for election when the seat is up next year.

Lopez Chavez, who previously vowed to challenge the city recorder’s decision to remove her from the council, struck a more conciliatory tone on Wednesday.

She thanked “everyone who has supported me throughout this process.”

“Being elected by the people of District 4 and entrusted with serving them has been the greatest honor of my public life,” Lopez Chavez said. “I remain deeply grateful to the families, seniors, small business owners, and neighbors who placed their trust in me.”

She also said her commitment to District 4 “remains unchanged,” while adding that she looked forward “to continuing to serve our community in whatever capacity I can.”