Eva Lopez Chavez suspended from Salt Lake City Council duties amid sexual misconduct investigation
Alixel Cabrera, Utah News Dispatch
Eva Lopez Chavez speaks during the Democratic Party state convention on April, 25, 2026.Salt Lake City Council member Eva Lopez Chavez has been suspended from council duties as her counterparts initiate an investigation over sexual misconduct allegations from multiple people.
The council unanimously approved two resolutions during their formal meeting Tuesday evening to temporarily suspend Lopez Chavez from conducting formal meetings and from her vice chair role at the city’s Community Reinvestment Agency. Lopez Chavez also won’t be able to go on city-related travel or speak on behalf of the council.
The decision comes after four people, including three elected officials, accused Lopez Chavez of restraining them while making unwanted sexual advances, according to The Salt Lake Tribune. Victoria Petro, who serves on the city council alongside Lopez Chavez, is one of the accusers. She abstained from voting on the resolutions.
A working group made up of council members Dan Dugan, Chris Wharton and Erika Carlsen will oversee an investigation of the allegations, the council decided.
“The working group will retain an independent investigator to aid in conducting an investigation of allegations regarding council member Lopez Chavez and any potential violations of the Code of Conduct,” the resolution says.
The investigation is expected to conclude by the end of July, though the timeline may be adjusted as needed.
None of the council members made any comments on the resolution during the meeting. Lopez Chavez didn’t return a request for comment on Wednesday. She did, however, vote in favor of the investigation.
Lopez Chavez, who by the time the allegations became public was running for Congress, has denied wrongdoing and said in a social media post that she welcomed an independent investigation and will participate “in any appropriate review.”
“I want to be clear that I deny wrongdoing and will defend myself through the proper process,” Lopez Chavez wrote.
After being eliminated during the first round of voting in the Utah Democratic Party convention’s ranked choice election, Lopez Chavez is no longer in the race for the state’s 1st Congressional District seat.
Apart from the code of conduct investigation, Lopez Chavez may potentially be disqualified from serving as the Salt Lake City Council’s District 4 representative because, according to The Salt Lake Tribune, she may have moved out of the district’s boundaries last year. The council has not yet addressed that claim.


