Salt Lake City Mayoral Race Centers on Affordable Housing and Homelessness

Incumbent Erin Mendenhall Faces Criticism Over Housing Policies in First Ranked-Choice Election

Erin Mendenhall is seeking re-election as mayor of Salt Lake City in a ranked-choice contest that includes former Mayor Rocky Anderson and activist and business owner Michael Valentine.
Affordable housing and homelessness are top issues in the race, with Anderson criticizing Mendenhall for not doing enough to alleviate rising housing costs.
Mendenhall defends her approach, stating that Salt Lake City is building more affordable housing than every mayoral administration combined, with a 413% increase in investment in affordable housing units.
However, Michael Valentine points out that the affordable housing being built is for those with incomes far higher than most service industry workers make, accusing Mendenhall of being 'in the pockets of developers and corporations'.
This is the first Salt Lake City mayor's race since the capital, along with a number of Utah cities, instituted ranked-choice voting in 2021.