Salt Lake County D.A. race: Incumbent Sim Gill wins fourth term

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Salt Lake County’s top two law enforcement officers will keep their jobs, according to early Wednesday election returns, with District Attorney Sim Gill and Sheriff Rosie Rivera holding sizable leads over their GOP opponents.

First elected in 2010, Democratic incumbent Sim Gill won a fourth term as Salt Lake County district attorney. Results as of about 2 a.m. showed he held nearly 58% of the vote, far ahead of Republican challenger and political newcomer Danielle Ahn, with 42%.

“We have always believed that therapeutic justice, mental health court, drug court, diversion programs [that] can help those who are in most in need — we can do it without compromising public safety,” Gill said Tuesday at the Utah Democratic Party’s election night party.

“But if you’re a risk to our community,” the three-term incumbent continued, “we will aggressively prosecute you, incarcerate you and hold you accountable.”

Ahn declined to comment until all votes cast were tallied.

Also early Wednesday, Democratic incumbent Rosie Rivera held a formidable lead in the race for Salt Lake County sheriff, outdistancing GOP challenger Nick Roberts, 61% to 39%.

“We have so much more work to do,” Rivera said Tuesday evening at the same election night party. She said she was looking “forward to working hand-in-hand with Sim Gill again.”

The D.A. race returns followed a campaign season that focused on crime and public safety in Utah’s most populous county. Department of Public Safety data shows that crime in general and violent crime in particular rose in 2020 and 2021, but numbers are on pace to show decreases in 2022.

Ahn’s campaign capitalized on fears about crime rates, promising she’d reduce crime and make neighborhoods safer by taking violent offenders to trial instead of offering plea deals. She coined slogans like “Tough Ahn crime” and “Plea deal Gill” that jabbed at the incumbent’s reforms, and garnered endorsements from the state’s Fraternal Order Police, Gov. Spencer Cox and Attorney General Sean Reyes.

Gill’s campaign focused on his track record of implementing “restorative justice” reforms that aim to get more people into treatment for certain underlying conditions that may contribute to them committing crimes, such as substance misuse, instead of sending them directly to jail. He promised to build on those programs and prepare the office to deal with Salt Lake County’s growing population.

Ahn graduated law school in 2019 and has never prosecuted a case. Gill condemned her lack of experience, arguing her policy platforms proved she didn’t understand the job and that she would jeopardize public safety if she took office. The Salt Lake County Democratic Party labeled Ahn an extremist, alongside sheriff candidate Roberts and clerk candidate Goud Maragani, for their membership in conservative groups.

The party also called Ahn out for tweeting “#OKGroomer” at LGBTQ activist and former Star Trek actor George Takei. She later deleted the tweet.

Last month, Ahn garnered criticism on social media when she posted a video of an apparently intoxicated man on her campaign’s Instagram page, telling her followers that he was an example of why she was running for office.

“This stuff is happening and we can’t allow this to happen anymore,” Ahn said in the now-deleted footage, “and it’s because of lax enforcement, lax laws.”

But Ahn had something Gill lacked — support from law enforcement and Republican leaders. They argued that the same reform policies Gill campaigned on contributed to increases in crime and lawlessness, and FOP president Brent Jex said an improved relationship with law enforcement would give officers more motivation to do their jobs and thus help keep the county safer.

Gill also faced some backlash from liberal voters, who argued that he doesn’t do enough to hold officers accountable after police shootings.

Democratic state senate candidate Nate Blouin recently fielded questions on Twitter about his support for Gill, with some saying they were surprised at Blouin’s endorsement.

Blouin responded: “Have you seen his opponent?”