Why Mayor Erin Mendenhall sees recent legislative session as 'punitive' for Salt Lake City

SALT LAKE CITY — Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall described the recent legislative session as more "punitive" toward the capital city but described what she sees as relationships of mutual respect with top legislative leaders and Utah Gov. Spencer Cox.

Political fights between the Republican-dominated Legislature and Democratic leaders in Salt Lake City are not new and extend "probably even before I was born," Mendenhall told reporters Friday at a roundtable discussion on the recent 45-day session.

"But this year brought about (a) sort of altogether different punitive level against Salt Lake City and there was an audacity to some of the proposals that we saw ... ones that really sought to control our residents' lives and to narrow our city's ability to function as a municipality," Mendenhall said.

She highlighted several proposals that will impact city residents: requiring the city to enter into an agreement with the Utah Department of Public Safety on homelessness and public safety issues, and one involving the study of traffic on state roads. Lawmakers agreed to a compromise version of the second bill, though city officials still weren't thrilled with it, overall.

"Without question, we saw an incredible amount of focus on our capital city in this legislative session. These lawmakers have my phone number. They know they can talk to me," Mendenhall said. "We did negotiate many bills, which is why we ended in a better place than we started out with."

"We built very strong relationships — very honest and that operate, I believe, based on respect," she said of her relationships with the governor, House speaker and Senate president. "When that respect is violated, I appreciate that we talk about it, and we've had those kinds of conversations since January. ... I feel I have a direct line to the leaders in the state to influence the legislation and the changes that they seek that impact our residents."

Mendenhall opposed the public safety agreement bill in committee, saying the city has already proposed a public safety plan which already includes desires to work more closely with state law enforcement. However, Republican lawmakers said the city has not done enough to enforce regulations against camping and blame the city for the amount of homelessness.

The mayor said ordinances on loitering or public camping haven't changed, and a top adviser said the city often struggles to find shelter space for people found in violation.

"If the police are going to interact with somebody, they're going to try to possibly get them into something else, another option (besides jail)," said Andrew Johnston, the city's director of homeless policy and outreach. "The big problem we have is there's not a lot of other options. Shelters are full, essentially. ... We're always dealing with that conflict of not trying to criminalize homelessness, but also having to enforce our ordinances."

Mendenhall was also asked about HB77, a controversial bill banning gay pride and other flags from public buildings. The city has already expressed displeasure with the bill, and reports from Hollywood trade publication Deadline have worried many that the bill will hurt the state's bid to continue hosting the Sundance Film Festival.

Cox downplayed those concerns to reporters Thursday, but Mendenhall said there's a "strong track record" of policy having an impact on where companies choose to host conventions, sporting events and festivals, including Outdoor Retailer and the 2017 NBA All-Star Game. She said she hopes the governor vetoes the bill before the deadline Thursday.

"HB77 is not reflective of the values of this community, of our capital city, and I think of many of the businesses who choose to locate here because of the welcoming and inclusive culture of Salt Lake City," Mendenhall said. "We are an asset to the state of Utah because of the welcoming position to diversity and to LGBTQ rights."

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