The Salt Lake City Council will launch a formal investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct against District 4 Councilor Eva Lopez Chavez.
The council, including Lopez Chavez herself, voted unanimously late on May 5 for an investigation into whether she violated the city’s code of conduct. Council members Dan Dugan, Chris Wharton and Erika Carlsen will helm it alongside an outside independent investigator. Victoria Petro, who is one of Lopez Chavez’s accusers, abstained from the vote.
”It is our intention that the investigation will take place over the coming months and conclude before the end of July,” Councilor Sarah Young said when making the motion to launch the inquiry. “This timeline may be adjusted as needed based on the investigation or direction of the working group.”
In a separate unanimous vote, with abstentions from Petro and Lopez Chavez, the council stripped Lopez Chavez’s power to conduct formal city meetings, removed her as vice chair of the city’s Community Reinvestment Agency, revoked her ability to take part in city-related travel, speak on behalf of the city council and use city resources to communicate about the investigation while the investigation is underway.
Lopez Chavez did not address the investigation or controversy during the meeting, and no other councilors commented on the motions.
The allegations against Lopez Chavez, first reported by The Salt Lake Tribune, detail a series of unwanted physical advances by four people before Lopez Chavez was elected in 2023. She denies any wrongdoing, and no criminal charges have been filed.
“I welcome a fair and independent investigation, and I will participate fully in any appropriate review,” she wrote in an April 23 statement following the allegations.
The council’s code of conduct, adopted in December 2023, has limited disciplinary options against a sitting councilor. If it is found that Lopez Chavez violated the code, she cannot be removed from office, but can be stripped of official city duties and privileges. The council can also request that she resign.
Lopez Chavez was a Democratic candidate in Utah’s new left-leaning 1st Congressional District, but did not gather enough signatures to appear on June’s primary ballot and was eliminated from contention at the Utah Democratic Convention after the allegations against her became public.
Before her election to the city council, she held prominent positions in party politics, including executive director of the Salt Lake County Democratic Party.
The council’s votes are not related to a separate inquiry into Lopez Chavez’s residence, in which a constituent alleges she does not currently live within her District 4 boundaries, which encompasses much of downtown Salt Lake City. If that investigation finds she does not live within the district she was elected to represent, she would have to vacate her seat.
