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. The council said they have a 30-day period to do so.
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 council said the issue came to their attention after a resident in Lopez Chavez's district shared their concern with the city attorney.
Records reviewed by the city show that she purchased a home outside District 4 in the autumn of 2025. Investigators also cited mortgage documents that they say required the property to be used as her principal residence.
This comes just one week after the Salt Lake City Council temporarily removed Chavez from some duties as a councilmember and the launching of an independent investigation into accusations of inappropriate behavior. City leaders stress that this vacancy is about residency, however, and not those allegations.
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.
Lopez Chavez later sent out a full statement:
"I came into public service to stand up for working families, immigrants, small business owners, tenants, seniors, and communities too often left behind. That fight does not end with a title or a seat.
"Serving the people of District 4 is the honor of my life. I am proud of what we continue to build together, including preserving Pioneer Park, rebuilding the 1100 East medians, supporting Wasatch Community Gardens and Friendship Manor, investing in a Downtown police substation, saving the 10th East Senior Center, and advancing housing on surface parking lots that have sat vacant for far too long.
"What was announced today did not come from the community I serve. To everyone who placed their trust in me, thank you. I will continue to fight for you."
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.”
