SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - The Latest on the race for Salt Lake City mayor (all times local):
8:25 p.m.
A Salt Lake City councilwoman who rose to prominence fighting pollution has taken an early lead in the race to become the next mayor.
Erin Mendenhall won 59 percent of the vote in the first round of ballots released shortly after polls closed. State Sen. Luz Escamilla, who is aiming to be the city’s first Latina mayor, has received about 41 percent.
The two Democrats are already in the first all-female contest to lead the capitol city, a liberal-leaning island in deeply conservative Utah.
The winner will replace Jackie Biskupski, the city’s first openly LGBTQ mayor who decided not to run again due to an unspecified family situation.
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8 a.m.
Salt Lake City could elect its first Latina mayor if a state senator wins a Tuesday race against a city councilwoman who rose to prominence fighting pollution.
The two Democrats are already in the first all-female contest to lead the capitol city, a liberal-leaning island in deeply conservative Utah.
Utah State Sen. Luz Escamilla has touted her decade of experience in the state Legislature, and says she’d bring an important perspective coming from the city’s traditionally working class west side.
City councilwoman Erin Mendenhall on the other hand, argues her two terms in office have given her a deep understanding of city government, and has pointed to her record as an activist for clean air in an area that sometimes has the dirtiest air in the country.
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