SALT LAKE CITY — The jam-packed Salt Lake City mayor's race will be hitting television on Monday.
Eight candidates in the crowded race to be mayor of Utah's capital city have been invited to participate in the first televised debate at noon Monday from the KSL-TV studios. The debate will be made available for broadcast on any other local TV station that chooses to air it.
The debate will also be streamed live on DeseretNews.com.
The debate comes about a month before the Aug. 13 primary — when voters will decide which two of the eight candidates will advance to the November election to duel it out to become Salt Lake City's next mayor.
The Pioneer Park Coalition — an organization that advocates for the downtown Rio Grande neighborhood — will be hosting and moderating the debate.
It will mark the second major debate in the mayoral race, after seven out of eight candidates came to a debate last month hosted by Alliance for a Better Utah.
Air quality, homelessness, and controversy over the Utah Inland Port highlighted that debate — where many candidates expressed similar views over issues.
Candidates are former state Sen. Jim Dabakis, Sen. Luz Escamilla, businessman David Ibarra, former Pioneer Park Coalition executive director and environmental lawyer David Garbett, Salt Lake City Councilwoman Erin Mendenhall, former Salt Lake City Councilman Stan Penfold, retired electrical engineer Rainer Huck and freelance journalist Richard Goldberger.