Salt Lake City, UT – Today, the ABU Education Fund and John R. Park Debate Society announced the candidates who have been invited to participate in the Primary Debate for the Salt Lake City Mayoral election. All eight candidates will be invited to participate. Those candidates are: David Garbett, David Ibarra, Erin Mendenhall, Jim Dabakis, Luz Escamilla, Rainer Huck, Richard Goldberger, and Stan Penfold.
“We are excited to see so much energy surrounding this debate,” said Chase Thomas, ABU Education Fund executive director. “We’ve seen passion from the community and from the candidates themselves, and the polling results show that many of the candidates are in a statistical tie. In an effort to make a fair and data-driven decision, we ultimately decided the best way forward was to include all the candidates in our debate.”
The candidates for the June 26th debate were decided, as per the rules established when the debate was announced, by polling. The poll, commissioned by the ABU Education Fund and administered by Public Policy Polling, took place from June 10-12 and surveyed 480 likely voters in Salt Lake City. The polling results, which can be found in the attachment below, show the following results for mayor:
| Jim Dabakis | 27% |
| Luz Escamilla | 10% |
| Stan Penfold | 8% |
| David Garbett, David Ibarra, Erin Mendenhall | 6% |
| Aaron Johnson | 2% |
| Richard Goldberger | 1% |
| Rainer Huck | N/A |
| Not sure | 34% |
In light of the margin of error, these polling results reveal there is not a neutral way to differentiate between the candidates as to who would be the fourth candidate to participate. These results leave a forum that includes all candidates as the fairest way to compose the debate field and maximize the opportunity for voters to learn about their options in the upcoming election..
In an effort to allow the candidates to share their views, and also in the interest of a robust and informative debate, the length of the event has been expanded to two hours. For those who cannot attend in person, the debate will be aired live on KCPW radio, as well as streamed online from KCPW’s Facebook page, and shared on the ABU Education Fund and Alliance for a Better Utah’s Facebook page.
Details of the event:
| What: | Salt Lake City Mayor Primary Debate |
| Who: | The ABU Education Fund and John R. Park Debate Society |
| When: | June 26, 2019 | 6:30-8:30 PM |
| Where: | The City Library Main Branch210 E 400 S, Salt Lake City |
*Due to the late nature of Rainer Huck’s filing, and Aaron Johnson’s late exit from the race, these poll results are not completely up-to-date. However, because of the close race revealed by these polls, the presumption is that any candidate would be statistically tied with all but the two highest polling candidates.
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The ABU Education Fund is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to providing a strong, educational voice by creating resources that advance civic engagement and good governance. For more information, visit their website here.
