Utah’s capital city is no longer looking into misconduct allegations made against former Salt Lake City Councilwoman Eva Lopez Chavez, but it still wants to amend its code of conduct to avoid a situation that broke out over the last few months.
The Salt Lake City Council voted Tuesday to amend its investigation to identify “opportunities for improvement” within its existing code of conduct, and work with the city attorney’s office for potential changes. The review was ordered earlier this month to investigate claims made against Lopez, while also partially suspending her from some of her duties.
It originally called on an independent investigator to review the accusations and report back to the City Council by July, but that was called off this week.
KSL spoke with five women last month, including Salt Lake City Councilwoman Victoria Petro, who said they were harassed, assaulted, or made uncomfortable by comments or actions of Lopez, who was also running for Congress at the time. She was removed from her City Council seat last week over a separate investigation that determined that she had moved outside of her district, automatically vacating her seat.
Lopez, who said she is appealing the decision to remove her from office, acknowledged the council’s latest decision on Thursday.
“Allegations should be addressed through fair, transparent and credible processes — not politics, rumors or selective leaks,” she said, in part. “I welcomed an independent investigation because there is no wrongdoing and was prepared to have the facts examined openly and fairly. More importantly, the public deserves the utmost transparency with matters of all their elected leaders.”
She said that City Council decisions should be “based on evidence, not speculation or political agendas,” adding that “investigating and concluding such serious assertions is necessary to keep the integrity of City Hall.”
The council’s decision was based on Lopez no longer serving on the City Council, Salt Lake City Council Chairman Alejandro Puy told KSL in response to Tuesday’s pivot. Its members agreed that the council has the authority to review the conduct of fellow members, but not the conduct of a private citizen.
“When a member of the body is not serving on it ... it’s inappropriate for us to investigate,” he said. “It doesn’t speak to the allegations or any of that; it speaks to (our jurisdiction). That’s a role for the criminal justice system and for those bodies to take on if it goes that way.”
The City Council, he added, is focused more on figuring out the city’s next budget, which may include a property tax increase. Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall recommended a 12.5% increase to its portion of taxes earlier this month, on top of several budget cuts.
Members held a public hearing on it this week, which drew some comments. While that’s the primary focus right now, the council is also preparing to receive applications for Lopez’s replacement, slated to be selected by June 11.
It also plans to make adjustments to its code of conduct because of how everything transpired over the past few months. City Council members were aware of allegations in February, leading to a discussion about the code of conduct.
By that point, there was a grievance being sorted out between Lopez, Puy and Petro. The issue was over Lopez accusing the other two of disparaging her to potential voters as she runs for Congress, Petro said, which she denied.
“I’m concerned that this gets written off as just a political hit job. That has never been the motivation,” she told KSL in April.
Lopez said on Thursday that there are “ongoing concerns about the Salt Lake City Council’s procedures, inconsistencies, and lack of clear standards, which the city itself has now publicly acknowledged.” She asserted that there’s been a “history of inconsistencies, abuse and political agendas,” which she believes the city can’t afford during a difficult budget season, which was why she was appealing her removal.
Puy didn’t say what changes the City Council could make, but it’s an issue that will be determined after the budget is finalized.
Part of what made the conduct review process clunky was that there was no process to handle the severity of the claims or claims between members, he said, which is why changes are being considered.
“We do think we need a more robust code of conduct that can act swiftly and more impartially,” he said. “We might want to codify some of this process so we never have to live through something like that (again).”