The mayor of Salt Lake City spoke out after a council member was accused of several aggressive sexual misconduct allegations by four people. 

Mayor Erin Mendenhall told the public that they should 'start by believing' the alleged victims after Democrat Eva Lopez Chavez was accused of a series of unwanted sexual advances. 

'I appreciate the courage of the victims who have come forward,' Mendenhall said on Wednesday, the Salt Lake Tribune reported. 

Lopez Chavez was accused of physically restraining four people, including fellow council member Victoria Petro and two other elected officials, during the unwanted advances before she joined the council in 2024.

Mendenhall said the accusations were 'disheartening' and 'hurt the public's trust,' while she said Lopez Chavez would not be removed from her position pending the investigation's conclusion. 

'We will see how this plays out,' she said, the Tribune reported. 

The councilmember has denied the accusations, vowing to hold her position as the 'fair and independent investigation' continues. 

Mendenhall added: 'I really respect the courage of council member Petro for coming forward.' 

The mayor also said that 'it's difficult when one of the victims is another person on the City Council.'

The investigation was sparked following an internal complaint against Petro and council Chair Alejandro Puy by Lopez Chavez, which initiated a review of the council's code of conduct. 

'I truly lament the circumstances that have brought us to this point,' Puy said, the Tribune reported. 'But when safety and institutional integrity are at issue, inaction is not an option for me.'

Mendenhall told the outlet that the editorial board has begun its process for the council to formally direct city staff to launch an investigation into the allegations. 

She added that, should it go forward, the investigation would have 'willing participation from our administration - and that includes HR and any other departments that may be necessary.'

'They have to trigger that... this is all very new to us,' Mendenhall said of the council investigation. 

Through her attorney, Greg Skordas, Lopez Chavez previously told the outlet that nothing 'inappropriate' took place during her interactions with three of the alleged victims, and contact 'never occurred' with the fourth. 

'She is prepared to address [the allegations] in any forum. She stands ready to submit to any polygraph test regarding these various allegations requested,' Skordas added. 

Petro, Maggie Regier, State Representative Hoang Nguyen and the now State Senator Jen Plumb told the Tribune that each alleged unwanted advance took place in social settings. 

Petro, Regier and Nguyen told the outlet that they told others at the time, but all four did not report the allegations or speak publicly about them until now, the Tribune reported. 

The four claim they decided to speak up as Lopez Chavez began her candidacy for Congress in Utah's new 1st District as well as after comments she made in response to posts online that minimized sexual assault by fellow candidate Nate Blouin.

Lopez Chavez said in a statement in response to the posts that she herself is a survivor of sexual assault and domestic violence, and called for Blouin to drop out of the race. 

She defined leadership as that of 'integrity and consistency' particularly 'in how we treat women and respond to harm.'

'Our communities deserve leaders who take these issues seriously - not just in rhetoric but in conduct. We cannot excuse behavior - past or present- that trivializes or undermines the seriousness of sexual violence, assault or harassment,' she said. 

Puy, in February, said he was inclined to encourage the council's executive director to review council policies following his and others' concerns over Lopez Chavez's behavior.  

He told the Tribune he recommended that 'clear, consistent guidelines that protect staff, councilmembers and constituents alike' be outlined. 

In an email to the outlet, Puy added: 'I need to be direct: The reports and firsthand accounts of council member Eva Lopez Chavez's past behavior cannot be dismissed or minimized.' 

'Based on my own firsthand knowledge, and the experience of some of my colleagues on the council, they do not describe an isolated incident. They suggest a pattern of conduct that has affected colleagues in our own council, myself and many others in our community and has shaped our working environment,' he added. 

Petro alleged in September 2022 that, after the wedding of another former council member, Lopez Chavez grabbed her by the throat and 'pushed me back against a pillar so that my back was against the wall, and told me, "The only reason I still f*** men is because a woman hasn't shown me what I really want."'

The fellow councilmember said she recalled pushing Lopez Chavez's hand away and told Puy shortly after. 

'If a man had done that to me, would there be a question if it was assault or not?' Petro asked during an interview with the Tribune. 

Plumb alleged that Lopez Chavez pushed her against a wall at a friend's birthday party in November 2022, the outlet reported. 

'It absolutely was a sexual advance. She leaned into me, grabbed my a**, got up in my face and said in my ear, "You're sure you're straight?" I just pushed her away. Come on. Knock it off,' Plumb told the outlet. 

'I would not be comfortable with someone doing that to my daughter, to my mom, my best friends and I'm not comfortable with it being brushed away anymore.'

Skordas said Lopez Chavez 'never touched Jen Plumb,' and said: 'Eva holds Plumb in the highest regard, considering her a good friend and colleague.'

Nguyen alleged that, after a campaign event for Plumb, Lopez Chavez asked her for a ride and, after driving a couple of blocks, she asked Nguyen to pull over. 

'Next thing I know she has leaned over and she's on top of me, holding my shoulders down. I said, "What are you doing?" And she said, "Kiss me." She said, "I'm not going to get off you until you kiss me." I gave her a peck and she got off,' the state representative told the outlet. 

Regier, who uses they/them pronouns, told the outlet that, at a Human Rights Campaign fundraising event, Lopez Chavez had been 'flirty' and they had attempted to shut the advances down. 

But, the councilmember allegedly pulled Regier 'into a literal corner in the hallway' and pinned them against the wall, not allowing them to leave, before a friend stepped in. 

Regier was then on the dance floor, and a friend had to step between them and Lopez Chavez and pushed her off them, they told the Tribune. 

They recalled the incident to their campaign supervisor Corey Cronin, who told the outlet that it was 'an incredibly embarrassing moment' for them and they felt they were 'being harassed by somebody [they] had a lot of respect for and [they] kept saying "no."' 

Regier told the outlet that they were 'very upset by the repeated advances and lack of taking no for an answer.'

'If she wants to run for Congress, then she needs to be held to a behavioral standard. Especially if she’s going to call out other candidates to be held to some sort of behavioral standard. And it’s just this pattern of behavior,' Regier added. 

Skordas said the accusations are 'false and added: 'Eva remembers Maggie’s friend mentioning that Maggie wanted to be left alone and no further communication occurred between them.'

Mendenhall previously said the council was not aware of the allegations and, had it been made known, 'appropriate steps would have been taken immediately.'

Lopez Chavez has maintained her innocence and claimed to have communications with all four alleged victims that are 'entirely inconsistent with these untrue allegations,' the outlet reported. 

The Daily Mail reached out to Lopez Chavez, Salt Lake City Council, Puy, Petro, Nguyen, Regier, Skordas and Mayor Mendenhall's Office for comment.