Erin Mendenhall entered public life through air-quality advocacy. She joined Utah Moms for Clean Air in 2008 and co-founded Breathe Utah in 2010, seeking to bring scientific evidence into public discussion of pollution. She joined the Utah Air Quality Board in 2014 and has twice been elected chair, according to her city biography. [1]
Council and mayoral elections
Mendenhall won election to the Salt Lake City Council’s District 5 seat in 2013. During six council years, including one as chair, her work included road maintenance, transit access, affordable housing and opportunities for women and girls. She won the mayoral election in November 2019, took office in January 2020 and began a second term in January 2024. [1]
Education and policy approach
She holds a bachelor’s degree in gender studies and a master’s degree in science and technology from the University of Utah. Her biography links her mayoral agenda to environmental and economic resilience. It also emphasizes making the city’s opportunities accessible to residents across neighborhoods, connecting the clean-air work that drew her into politics with housing, infrastructure and economic policy. [1]
Administration and current work
The mayor’s office includes staff responsible for homelessness policy, education, capital projects, community outreach and access for residents with disabilities. Its current updates describe neighborhood park improvements, arts grants and cultural programs alongside development and housing announcements. The October 2026 development update identifies loans approved by the Community Reinvestment Agency board, making clear that these investments involve the agency’s governing body and staff as well as the mayoral administration. [2]
Profile sources
Profile refreshed October 20, 2026. Candidate statements describe the candidate's own experience or positions; official records and reporting are labeled separately.
In its response to the Legislature's audit, the city said it would finish rate studies and financial plans by June 2027, complete and implement a sewer rate study by July 2027, and have a new billing system in place by summer 2027. It said the billing project was 36% complete.
Graphic: The Utah Ledger · Original graphic · The Utah Ledger
Smith Entertainment Group and city and county leaders say the redesigned blocks around the Delta Center and Salt Palace should be finished before the 2034 Winter Games.
A half-cent sales tax is paying to remake the Delta Center and the blocks around it, while a separate group pursues a Major League Baseball team for the city's west side.
Utah won its second Winter Olympics in 2024 with its venues already standing, so the run-up to 2034 is about money, transit, legacy programs and who is in charge.
