City Recorder will soon announce process for accepting applications for District 2 vacancy

Salt Lake City Council Member Andrew Johnston, the District Two representative, has accepted a position as the Director of Homelessness Policy and Outreach with Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall’s administration. His specific appointment date will be identified in the coming days, as will the application process to fill the vacancy he leaves on the City Council.

“Homelessness is one of the most pressing and complicated issues facing our City — and cities across the nation — today. The pathways into and out of homelessness are as varied as the individuals who experience it themselves, and how Salt Lake City approaches the issue must be innovative, collaborative, and relentless,” Mayor Mendenhall said. “We are lucky to have an individual who possesses those very qualities in Andrew Johnston, who I am proud to announce as our new Director of Homelessness Policy and Outreach.” 

In his new position in the Mayor’s Office, Johnston will help guide the City’s approach to homelessness and coordinate with service partners, the Salt Lake Valley Coalition to End Homelessness, and other government entities to provide resources and policy solutions to address the needs of the City’s unsheltered population.

Council Member Johnston has been serving residents of the Glendale, Poplar Grove, and Fairpark neighborhoods on the Salt Lake City Council since 2016. Prior to being elected to the City Council, he served six years on the Poplar Grove Community Council including two terms as Chair. 

In 2019, he was re-elected to a second term by District Two residents. Johnston served as Vice-Chair of the Council during 2020. He served on the Utah League of Cities and Towns Legislative Policy Committee, and the Salt Lake County Council of Governments. Currently, he is part of the Salt Lake Valley Coalition to End Homelessness and serves on working subcommittees within the Coalition. In 2018, he was appointed by then-Governor Gary R. Herbert to serve on the Utah State Commission on Housing Affordability.

A Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Johnston has spent 20 years working with issues of homelessness, mental health, and addiction in both Utah and Maine.

“These past five years on Council have been some of the most challenging and rewarding of my life. I will always look back with fondness on those with whom I served in Salt Lake City,” said Johnston. “I am excited to be working as part of the Mendenhall Administration on solving issues of homelessness among our residents.” 

“We all will miss Andrew’s ceaseless dedication to his constituents in District 2, and to the City issues he cares so deeply about,” said Amy Fowler, Council Chair. “His kindness and passion will continue to serve the people of Salt Lake as part of the Mayor’s team.”

A City Council Member may vacate their position by providing a letter of resignation to the City Recorder and the City Council. The City Council will accept applications and choose a replacement to finish Johnston’s term within 30 days of his effective date of resignation.  Administrative staff and Council staff are working together to ensure that the timing of Johnston’s resignation leaves District Two in the best possible position. 

The City Recorder’s Office will announce shortly the application dates and process to fill the vacancy.