Utah Civic GuideSalt Lake County · Utah · nonpartisan
Preview · data is being verified · analytical ratings are labeled opinions
Jenny Wilson
Photo: Oliver Contreras, The White House (official White House photo), via Wikimedia Commons (Mar 22, 2024). License: Public domain (work of the U.S. federal government; Commons tag PD-USGov-POTUS). File page: File:Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff speaks at City Creek Treatment Plant (S20240322OC-0501).jpg. Original: https://www.flickr.com/photos/whitehouse/53912921375. Cropped from a group photo (City Creek Treatment Plant event, Salt Lake City) and resized to 400 px wide.

County

Jenny Wilson

County Mayor · Countywide

OfficeCounty MayorDistrictCountywidePartyDemocraticTerm endsJan 2029Next electionNov 7, 2028Raised$615,108Serving since2019

At a glance

  • County Mayor since Jan 2019; won 2020 and 2024 (54.9%).
  • Proposed a ~19.6% property-tax increase for 2026; council adopted ~14.65% (8–1).
  • 2024 campaign raised $615K; committee closed after its final report.
  • Seat next on the ballot Nov 7, 2028.
Open compare
Analytical assessment, not factMedium confidence
OverallLiberal
FiscalLiberal
SocialLiberal
Very liberalModerateVery conservative

Liberal (center-left, pro-business-establishment Democrat).

Evidence behind this assessment
  • 2026 budget proposal and tax increase (KSL; Utah Policy).
  • DHS/ICE lawsuit (county newsroom).
  • COI-disclosed boards: NACo, UAC, WFRC, EDCUtah, Salt Lake Chamber, Visit Salt Lake, Utah Sports Commission, United Way, Gardner Institute.
  • 2018 Democratic U.S. Senate nominee.

Rating method

Ask about this official's record

Answers are estimates of likely positions based only on this official's public record (votes, bills, statements and posts) as stored on this site. They are not statements by the official and may be incomplete. Check the linked sources.

Ask your own question about Jenny Wilson

Full details below are grouped by area. Facts link to public sources; "[COMPUTED]" marks derived dates.

Votes & record
Date Item Detail Source
Fall 2025 2026 budget proposal She proposed a property-tax increase of about 19.63%. The council adopted about 14.65% (8–1) on Dec 9, 2025. KSL; Utah Policy, Mayor's proposal
Dec 2025 Referendum response Joint statement with council members opposing the citizen referendum on the tax increase. The referendum later failed to qualify. Utah Policy; Clerk notice
Jun 8, 2026 County and Salt Lake City lawsuit against DHS/ICE over a planned warehouse detention facility The county joined the suit. In Aug 2026 the federal government said the plan was abandoned. County newsroom; KSL
2026 Recreation bond ($128M) on the Nov ballot She signed the "for" ballot argument along with council members. County voter information pamphlet (see Gaps)
Campaign finance

Source: EasyVote (filer "Wilson, Jennifer"; the portal shows the status as "Inactive").

  • 2024 cycle (YE 2024, marked "Final," submitted 01/31/25):
    • aggregate contributions $615,108.03
    • aggregate expenditures $615,108.03
    • ending balance $0.00
    • during the final period: $10,557.00 raised and $58,337.12 spent
  • No later reports were found. This is consistent with the committee being closed after the Final report.
  • The pre-general 2024 report (10/29/24) could not be read by OCR (handwritten or low-contrast).
Disclosures

The 2026 Annual COI disclosure (01/29/2026) lists:

  • employer: Salt Lake County (Mayor)
  • holdings: Chase Investments (financial services)
  • board and committee positions: the roles listed under Stated affiliation

2026 PDF; 2025 PDF

Election history
Year Result Source
2024 Wilson (D) 273,227 (54.91%) vs Erin Rider (R) 224,325 2024 certification
2020 Wilson (D) 273,746 (51.88%); Trent Staggs (R) 236,283 (44.78%); Michael Cundick (GRN) 17,622 2020 results
2019 Selected by Democratic delegates to fill the mayoral vacancy KSL
Lobbying & ethics

No lobbyist ties or official ethics complaints were found. County Auditor reports on the Mayor's Office:

Audit Date Findings and follow-up Links
Mayor's Office Administration travel audit Apr 28, 2025 6 findings, 17 recommendations. Jul 13, 2026 follow-up: 12 implemented, 4 in progress, 1 closed. report; follow-up
Mayor's Office Administration limited-scope performance audit Aug 29, 2025 Gift cards issued without a policy; issues with asset lists report
Mayor's Financial Administration payroll audit Mar 25, 2025 Finding included check stock and a MICR printer kept at an employee's home report; follow-up
Office & term
Item Detail Source
Office Salt Lake County Mayor (county executive; countywide, partisan) Mayor's Office
Took office Jan 29, 2019. Democratic delegates selected her to replace Ben McAdams after his election to Congress, and the council ratified the choice. KSL; Salt Lake Tribune
Current term 2025–2028; it ends early January 2029 2026 Budget in Brief, p.3
Next election Nov 7, 2028 computed from the term end
Salary (2026) $197,478 2026 Adopted Budget, p.49
Office budget (2026) Mayor Administration $6,863,934 (29 FTE); Mayor Financial Administration $6,988,551 (36 FTE) 2026 Adopted Budget
Stated affiliation
Item Detail Source
Party / ballot label Democratic 2024 certification
Self-description The county site calls her "the first female Democratic mayor of Salt Lake County" and says she "seeks to ensure the amazing quality of life in Salt Lake County continues and is accessible to all." No ideological label appears on official pages. Mayor's Office
Party / organization roles 2018 Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate; former County Council member. Her 2026 COI disclosure lists board roles on NACo (Board of Directors; Immigration Task Force; Transportation; Large Urban County Caucus), UAC, WFRC, EDCUtah, the Salt Lake Chamber Board of Governors, Visit Salt Lake, the Utah Sports Commission, United Way of Salt Lake, the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute, the Downtown Alliance, POMSLA, and COM-COG. Wikipedia; 2026 COI
Contact (official)
Known gaps

Gaps

  • 2028 committee: none on file yet.
  • Ballot-argument signatories for the 2026 recreation bond: confirm from the official voter information pamphlet. Source: County Clerk.
  • Detailed 2024 contributor list (pages beyond 4 were not OCR'd). Pull from EasyVote.
About this office: Salt Lake County Mayor

The county's full-time chief executive: proposes and administers the budget, runs most county departments (health, parks, libraries, human services, public works), and represents more than 1.2 million residents.

Role
Countywide chief executive
Hours
Full-time
Pay
$197,478
Typical week
Leading department directors, working with the council and cities, public events, regional boards; budget proposal every fall

Responsibilities and powers

  • "The elected county executive is the chief executive officer of the county" and exercises all executive powers except those state law gives to the other elected county officers (Assessor, Attorney, Auditor, Clerk, Recorder, Sheriff, Surveyor, Treasurer) (Utah Code 17-65-301).
  • The SLCo mayor "administers the budget and county operations and services" and oversees programs including economic development, public health, affordable housing, environment, social services, arts and recreation (SLCo Mayor).
  • Appoints department heads and board members with the council's advice and consent (Utah Code 17-65-307) and may issue executive orders (17-65-303).
  • Elected countywide to a four-year partisan term; current term 2025–2028, so the seat is next on the ballot in Nov 2028 [COMPUTED].

A typical week

  • Budget: the mayor delivers a budget proposal each fall (the mayor's page links the "2026 Budget Proposal Speech") and the council adopts the budget in December (SLCo Mayor; budget documents).
  • Management [INFERRED]: meetings with department directors and the chief financial officer, labor and contract decisions, and executive orders.
  • Public role [INFERRED]: news conferences, community events, meetings with city mayors (including Taylorsville's), state legislators and regional bodies such as the Executive Coordinating Committee on the county calendar.

Time commitment

  • Full-time, with frequent evening and weekend public events [INFERRED].

Staff and budget

  • Mayor's departments make up most of the county budget: "Mayor: County Services" $739.7M, "Mayor: Regional Operations" $276.0M and "Mayor: Other" $235.7M in 2026 (Budget in Brief p.14). Mayor Administration has 29 FTEs and Mayor Financial Administration 36 FTEs; the county as a whole budgets 4,339 FTEs (SLCo FTE table; Budget in Brief).

Pay

  • $197,478 a year, about $69.5k in benefits (2025 actual) (SLCo pay schedule, p.48; Transparent Utah).

Sources

Compare with every office →

Sources