Erin Mendenhall (born June 8, 1980)[2] is an American politician and activist who has been serving as the mayor of Salt Lake City, Utah since 2020.

[5] She graduated from the University of Utah with a Bachelor of Arts degree in gender studies and a certificate in Non Profit Leadership and Management.

The ordinance was designed to close a loophole that led to stop motels and hotels on State Street allowing sex work and drug dealing without legal consequence.

[12] In November 2017, Mendenhall led the Salt Lake City Council to unanimously approve an ordnance limiting the capacity of homeless shelters to 200.

In July 2018, Salt Lake City Mayor Jackie Biskupski withdrew from negotiations with the state government over the port project.

[16] Based on those negotiations, on July 18, 2018, the Legislature passed additional legislation that required 10% of tax revenue generated by the inland port to be invested in affordable housing in Salt Lake City.

[19] Mendenhall officially launched her campaign on April 14, 2019, outside an air-quality monitoring station at the Salt Lake Center for Science Education, a STEM focused charter school in the historically underrepresented Rose Park neighborhood.

A Salt Lake Tribune-Hinckley Institute of Politics poll conducted in late July by the Cicero Group also found Mendenhall in third place with 14% support.

Mendenhall finished in first place with 24.27%, topping State Senators Luz Escamilla and Jim Dabakis to advance to the general election.

[30] Under Mendenhall's Sustainable Development Policy, all new buildings that receive funding from the city must meet energy efficiency standards and be emission-free.

[38] Two new bus routes have been launched, along with an on-demand service in partnership with UTA to help West side residents access the city's public transit system.

[39] Mendenhall has followed-through on her campaign pledge to plant 1,000 new trees on Salt Lake City's West side each year of her term.

The program is intended to reduce a significant disparity in the urban canopy between the city's East and West sides, the latter of which historically measures higher levels of air pollution.

They are sending a powerful message to their transgender employees that they are loved and accepted as their full, authentic selves.”[42] In 2019, Salt Lake City received a score of 66 points on the Human Rights Campaign's annual Municipal Equality Index.

In March 2022, after the Utah Legislature overrode the governor's veto of a bill banning transgender children from playing school sports, Mendenhall wrote: "Is this who we are as a state?

"[48] In April 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a police affidavit, Mendenhall was threatened by a man who "stated the mayor needs to open up the city.

Arguing that state authorities had unfairly concentrated the responsibility of dealing with the homeless population on Salt Lake City, Mayor Mendenhall reversed her prior support for an expansion of homeless shelters in September 2021 and supported the institution of a citywide ban on the construction of further shelters in October 2021, which would be extended to last until May 2023.

The theater was purchased by the Salt Lake City Redevelopment Agency under the leadership of then Mayor Ralph Becker, with the promise it would be saved and restored to its former glory.

[56] While the estimated value of the theater was around $20 million,[57] it was eventually handed over to the developer Hines for free,[58] even after it was discovered that they had made questionable donations to Mendenhall's mayoral campaign.

[62] In an August 30, 2024 Salt Lake Tribune article, Hines senior director Dusty Harris was quoted stating that "While current economic conditions limit our ability to launch the initially planned project for this site at this time..." The article highlighted the developer's request to pave part of the theater property as a "temporary" step, and insists it remains "committed" to building a 31-story high-rise with luxury units and other amenities.

[64][65] In 2024, Mendenhall supported a proposal to spend $1 billion of taxpayer money on building a stadium for a potential NHL expansion team.

[66] On April 12, 2023, Mendenhall announced her candidacy for re-election in a video to supporters, declaring "this is a special time for Salt Lake City.

[69] Mendenhall ran against former mayor and senator/presidential candidate Rocky Anderson[70] and local activist and community organizer Michael (Patton) Valentine.

[84] She lives in the city's East Liberty Park neighborhood with their daughter, Milå, and Mendenhall's sons, Cash and Everett.