SALT LAKE CITY — The District 4 seat on the Salt Lake City Council has been vacated after the Salt Lake City Office of the City Attorney found that Eva Lopez Chavez failed to maintain a primary residence within the district.
The City Attorney says that the seat, by operation of law, has been vacated. Officials say the City Council will begin the process of filling the vacant seat immediately.
Utah Code 10-3-301(5)(b) states that any elected municipal office is automatically vacant if the elected official establishes a primary place of residence outside of the district they represent.
The vacating of the office follows the Salt Lake City Council temporarily removing Chavez from some duties as a councilmember and the launching of an independent investigation into accusations of inappropriate behavior.
The Salt Lake Tribune previously reported that four people, three of whom are elected officials, accused Lopez Chavez of alleged inappropriate behavior. The three elected officials who accused the councilwoman are Petro, State Representative Hoang Nguyen (D-Salt Lake City), and State Senator Jen Plumb (D-Salt Lake City).
All the accusers said the allegedly inappropriate actions occurred before Lopez Chavez joined the Salt Lake City Council in 2023, and that they had never reported them to police.
In a statement to FOX 13 News, an attorney for Lopez Chavez denied the accusations.
The Office of the City Attorney states that they began their investigation into allegations that Chavez no longer resided in District 4 following an email sent to them on April 28.
The email stated that Chavez had purchased a property outside of District 4 on or around September 30, 2025, and that the deed for the home listed it as her primary place of residence.
The City Attorney also alleges that Chavez posted on social media in the same time frame, celebrating the purchase of the home.
Salt Lake City Mayor Mendenhall released a statement to FOX 13 News about the vacating, "All residents deserve representation. I look forward to the Council’s process to appoint an eligible representative to speak on behalf of District Four through the Fiscal Year 2027 budget process and beyond.”
