Following last year’s city election, which created a significantly more diverse governing body, for the first time in Salt Lake City’s history, a majority of the seven-member City Council is made up of non-LGBTQ members.
Erika Carlsen, a gay Latina, was elected to represent District 5, which includes Ballpark, Central Ninth, East Liberty Park and Liberty Wells. Voters also re-elected Chris Wharton in District 3, representing Capitol Hill, Avenue and City Creek Canyon.
Other LGBTQ members include Alejandro Puy, a gay Latina who represents the 2nd District, which includes downtown and parts of Fair Park, Poplar Grove and Glendale, and Eva López Chavez, a gay Latina and the first Mexican American elected to the City Council, who represents the 4th District, which includes downtown, Central City and parts of East Central.
The council’s demographic profile is further emphasized by the fact that District 6’s Dan Dugan is the only straight white male on the council. Ward 1’s Victoria Petro, like Carlsen, Puy and López-Chavez, is Latina, and Ward 7’s Sarah Young is the fourth woman on the seven-member council.
As the new, record-setting Council takes office on January 5, Carlsen reflected on the importance of LGBTQ, women, and minority representation.
“This moment reflects years of leadership and organizing by women across the city,” she said in a statement. “I’m proud to join a City Council that elevates the voices of the people we serve, and I’m ready to work to deliver results for our neighborhoods.”
The diversity of the Legislature stands in contrast to the typical political makeup of conservative Utah, where most officeholders are white men and partisans are overwhelmingly Republican. Although the group is technically nonpartisan, most of its members are affiliated with the Democratic Party.
The increase in diversity on the City Council reflects how quickly Salt Lake City’s politics have changed in just six years since its creation. elected Ana Balderamos, the first minority councilor, was elected to the 4th District seat.
Wharton, who represents District 3 and is openly gay and is the council’s longest-serving member, said in a statement that the council is “the most representative council I have ever served on.”
“We don’t just look like Salt Lake City,” he said. “We reflect that and we empathize with that.”
At her swearing-in ceremony on January 5, Wharton tearfully read a letter to her young daughter, Ella, saying she would know about this historic moment when she grows up.
“There is no time for anyone to feel safe in our communities or in our country because of hatred, fear, and greed, but many of us work hard every day to ensure that truth, equality, and justice prevail and love conquers all,” he said in the letter.
He said the council “will guide us through what is one of the most important periods in our history,” and praised Salt Lake City as “a place that defies expectations and punches above its weight, a place that welcomes people of different cultures, nationalities and faith traditions, a place that is always a little different.”
Source: Metro Weekly – www.metroweekly.com
