8 | QSALTLAKE MAGAZINE | NEWS
Qsaltlake.com |
LGBTQ candidates fare well in Utah municipal elections At least nine openly LGBTQ candidates sought municipal offices this year, including in city council and mayor races. Six of the candidates won election, all for city council races. Most are in Salt Lake City, but others ran in less progressive areas, like Ogden, South Salt Lake, and Springdale. Here is a rundown of how they fared, according to preliminary results available from county clerks. Come January when the newly elected assume office, most of the members of the Salt Lake City Council — four of seven — will be LGBTQ. Also, the same majority will be racial and ethnic minorities.
Salt Lake City Longtime gay advocate ALEJANDRO “ALE” PUY appears to have won his Salt Lake City Council District 2 seat with 58 percent of the vote. District 2 is in Salt Lake City’s West Side, and Puy focused on bringing solutions to problems affecting one of the most marginalized parts of the city. An immigrant from Argentina, he says he is a “New American” who understands the challenges that many face and can relate to the issues affecting his district. “The Westside of Salt Lake has historically been where those who didn’t fit in boxes live. People of color, immigrants, different religions and the LGBTQ+ people live in the west because they don’t feel judged and they feel accepted,” he said in an interview. “As a person of color, immigrant, and queer myself, I feel at home here in this area. I am lucky I can connect with my neighbors due to the intersectionality of my identities and because we share similar hope and frustrations. This area of Salt Lake City has historically felt forgotten, many felt left behind, or
unimportant. This area is very Latino, and diverse but always has been represented by white cis men who only reached out to other white voters for support,” he continued. “Because of my identities, I feel a duty to make the community better and help those that have lost hope. My connection to this district drives me to do more and I believe it is an advantage to my campaign.” AMY FOWLER received 65 percent of the vote, securing her re-election. Fowler was elected to the city council in 2017 representing the Sugar House area. In 2013 she co-founded the LGBT and Allied Lawyers of Utah. She is currently the chair of the city council and chair of the National League of Cities — Large Cities Council. Fowler says that being a member of the LGBTQ+ community hasn’t hindered her at all. “While there may be people out there who don’t want to vote for me because of who I am, that is their decision and I wouldn’t change their mind anyway,” she said. “I have been taught to stand up for myself and for people around me, and I do that. When she left Utah in 1996 to go to college, she hadn’t yet come out and thought she wouldn’t be accepted in the state. “When I returned to Salt Lake 12 years later, it was the leaders of the LGBTQ+ community who made me realize what an amazing city we live in,” she said. “They have been fighting and working for the rights of our community since before I knew it! I am so grateful to be living in such an amazing place and am even more honored to represent District 7 and the LGBTQ+ community for the last four years. I look forward to the next four years.”
Issue 330 | DECEMBER, 2021
Salt Lake City Councilmember CHRIS WHARTON won re-election for his District 3 seat against 2 opponents. Wharton was first elected in 2017 after serving two terms on the Salt Lake City Human Rights Commission. He is an attorney who has won many cases affecting Utah’s LGBTQ community — most recently winning a monumental case in the Utah Supreme Court regarding gender markers for transgender Utahns. Wharton has served on the board of the Utah Pride Center and has donated hundreds of hours of service to the ACLU of Utah, the Rainbow Law Clinic, Equality Utah, and the Utah State Bar. DARIN MANO bested 4 challengers with 51 percent of the vote. Mano was selected to replace Erni Mendenhall when she left the city council to take on her duties as mayor. District 5 includes the Ballpark, Central Ninth, and Liberty Wells neighborhoods. In June, Mano returned from door-to-door canvassing to find a hate-filled email from Utah Assistant Attorney General Steven Wuthrich. “On a nice Saturday afternoon myself and my wife and my downstairs tenant were all taking a lovely siesta when some mother fucking ignorant son-of-bitch rang our doorbell and put your piece shit unwanted solicitation in our door waking the dogs and waking us and the neighbors with an uproar,” Wuthrich wrote. “I will do everything in my power to see you never get elected to any office higher than dog catcher. I hate you. I hate your family. I hate our solicitors. I hate your contributors. I hate your sponsors. Kindly die and go to hell motherfucker!!!” Wuthrich later apologized, saying he “regretted the ferocity and language of that email. My words were uncivil and
