Meet Salt Lake City's newest council member

• The appointment process kicked into gear when former Council member Amy Fowler announced plans to resign after being arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence in May.
• District 7 encompasses Sugar House and southeast portions of the city.

Details: Young is employed at the Utah State Board of Education and works as the chief of staff to the state superintendent.

• She previously worked as an eighth-grade science teacher at the private school Rowland Hall.

State of play: Young's current term officially runs through Jan. 2, 2024.

• Because Fowler still had more than two years left in her four-year term, it will be up to Salt Lake City voters to determine her replacement through 2026.
• Potential candidates have until Aug. 15 to file to run for the open seat.
• The general election takes place Nov. 21.

Axios interviewed Young about her strengths, priorities and the issues impacting Salt Lakers.

• The interview has been edited for length and clarity.

On the biggest challenge facing District 7 …

• "Whether you're a resident of District 7 or any of the other districts in Salt Lake, it can be challenging to kind of navigate the construction."
• "We can't tear up all the streets at once without really disrupting not just the residents, but also the access to the local businesses."

On what she brings to the council ….

• "My background in K-12 education makes me incredibly concerned about the city structures and how we are setting up our future children for success."
• "Whether that is their access to walkable pathways to be able to get to and from their schools safely, especially knowing that Salt Lake City School District is currently looking at closing schools and how that's going to impact individuals in terms of how close they are to our parks and recreation."

On solutions to reduce homelessness …

• "I would love to see some of the other cities and counties in the area also expand their resources so that we could [develop] a system-wide solution as opposed to relying on a single municipality to figure that out."

On the hardships associated with the city's rapid population growth …

• "There's definitely the challenge of affordable housing. When we talk about bringing more and more individuals into our city, not only does that stress the infrastructure, but it also raises costs, and I think anyone who has been looking for an apartment to rent or let alone a place to buy is seeing those costs increasing."

On running for the District 7 race …

• "It is really exciting to have been appointed by the six existing council members who see a potential for my expertise and voice to help inform, but really, what would be exciting is to be selected by the overall constituency of District 7."