Outgoing Salt Lake County Mayor Peter Corroon has officially announced his interest in filling the senate seat vacated by newly elected County Mayor Ben McAdams. Corroon, who will leave office January 1, says he wants to continue a career in public service while going back to work in the private sector.
“I’d love to be able to do both the private sector position and be a state senator, so this role fits that perfectly. I don’t have any ambitions for anything in the future in Utah. I ran for governor, and I certainly understand that it is very difficult for a Democrat to win statewide. But this is a position that allows me to stay involved and be involved in our state government,” he says.
Corroon says if elected he will push for increased funding for education as well as a statewide non-discrimination ordinance. He says he will continue his efforts for improved air and water quality and affordable housing.
Former Salt Lake County Democratic Party Chair Weston Clark is also interested in filling the District 2 seat. Clark says he’ll support LGBT rights and improved urban planning. Funding education is also at the top of Clark’s list, and says he will bring stakeholders together to find solutions.
“I would like to look into organizing some sort of task force and looking into how we can really resolve this issue. Instead of partisan attacks going back and forth all the time about whether we are doing the right thing for our students I think that its time that we really sit down and figure out how we better pay for and better care for our public education system,” he says.
Several other Democrats are also vying for McAdams’ seat, including Party Chair Jim Dabakis, outgoing Representative Brian Doughty, former Salt Lake County Council member Jenny Wilson, former Equality Utah Executive Director Will Carlson, former Salt Lake City mayoral candidate Robert Comstock, and Jon Watkins. District 2 delegates will hold a special election December 1st to fill the seat. McAdams told KCPW he will not be endorsing a candidate.
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