SALT LAKE CITY — Mayor Erin Mendenhall is making plans for her second term in office, with a list of priorities she wants to continue and new initiatives she is seeking to launch.
The mayor won a decisive re-election against her two opponents (she captured 58% of the vote to Rocky Anderson's 34% and Michael Valentine's 7%). At a news conference outside the Salt Lake City & County Building on Monday, she reflected on the campaign.
"This election was a repudiation of cynicism and a rejection of the politics of fear," she said.
The mayor said homelessness and housing remains a top priority of her administration, calling on the Utah State Legislature to do more to fund solutions. She also said she will work to secure a future Olympic and Parlympic Games in Utah, push on construction projects, and work on efforts to save the Great Salt Lake.
Asked about new ideas she may have for her second term in office, Mayor Mendenhall told FOX 13 News she would like to look at the Grand Boulevards concept (redesigning roads along 500 and 600 South).
"With a pandemic happening and the need of state resources in other places, that was one of those big issues that didn’t see the light of day. I want to see that happen," she said. "Especially if we’re welcoming the world back here for another Games."
The mayor said she also wants to implement the Green Loop (the concept of a park stretching in the middle of streets in downtown Salt Lake City).
"The opening of Main Street to pedestrians is something we’ve been working on since 2020. That could also be one of these great new projects," she said. "Massive increases in housing is something we’re really proud of having done, more than any other administration combined in terms of investment in units created. We want to keep that going and see if we can build bigger on it."
