SLC Council elections 2025: Who's running in each district
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Four Salt Lake City Council seats are up for grabs Nov. 4, with all but one incumbent seeking re-election.
Why it matters: It will be up to voters to decide who tackles the most pressing issues in Utah's largest city, from homelessness and housing affordability to urban growing pains and public safety.
Driving the news: Aug. 19 was the last day for contenders to declare their candidacy. The deadline for write-in candidates is Aug. 29.
Between the lines: A handful of candidates are making repeat bids after past defeats.
State of play: Salt Lake City will, again, utilize ranked-choice voting with no primary election.
District 1
Incumbent Victoria Petro faces challenges from Yussuf Abdi and Stephen Otterstrom to represent parts of Salt Lake City's west side, including Fairpark, Jordan Meadows, Rose Park and Westpointe.
Flashback: The last time Petro was up for election in 2021, she defeated her opponent Blake Perez by 124 votes after the second round of ranked-choice tabulation.
District 3
In the most crowded race, Chris Wharton, the council's longest-serving member, goes up against four opponents: David Berg, Liddy Huntsman-Hernández, Blake McClary and Jake Seastrand.
- The district includes the Avenues, Capitol Hill, Federal Heights, Guadalupe and Marmalade.
The intrigue: This is the second time since 2021 that Wharton has faced Berg.
- Wharton decisively won that contest with nearly 62% of the votes without triggering a runoff, while Berg received almost 18%.
District 5
Erika Carlsen, Vance Hansen and Amy Hawkins are vying to represent the Ballpark, Central Ninth, East Liberty Park and Liberty Wells neighborhoods after Council Member Darin Mano — appointed in 2020 to replace then-Council Member (now Mayor) Erin Mendenhall — said he wouldn't run again.
Context: Carlsen secured Mano's endorsement earlier this year.
Catch up quick: Both Hansen and Hawkins have run for this seat before.
- In the 2021 race, Hawkins advanced to the second round, receiving almost 20% of the vote, while Hansen was eliminated in the first round after earning less than 1%.
District 7
Incumbent Sarah Young, who was appointed and later elected in 2023 to replace former Council Member Amy Fowler, is running unopposed.
- Her district includes Sugar House.