Salt Lake County officials who are on the ballot now face tougher restrictions on sending taxpayer-funded mailers ahead of an election.
The new ordinance, approved unanimously by the County Council last week, prohibits county officials from sending mailers within 60 days of an election in most cases.
The change came after Democratic Salt Lake County Recorder Rashelle Hobbs faced scrutiny for her decision to include a full-color headshot of herself in an insert sent with county tax notices last month.
At the time, Hobbs was seeking reelection against Republican challenger Richard Snelgrove, a former council member. As of Tuesday morning, she led Snelgrove with 51.8% of the vote.
The only exception granted under the county’s new ordinance is for mailers that are required by state law. In such flyers, officials are now prohibited from including their photo or their name in large fonts.
Hobbs has asserted her mailer — which came with a nearly $10,000 price tag — was appropriate because it advertised a county service. She included her picture to ensure residents could recognize her as an elected official, she told council members last month.
Under the new ordinance, the cost associated with any anticipated mailers must also be disclosed to the County Council in elected officials’ budget presentations, along with a description of what the mail piece will look like.
“We’ve had a few issues related to independent electeds sending information out, paid by taxpayers, that could look like campaign material,” Winder Newton said during an Oct. 29 County Council meeting after the ordinance was introduced. “Our overall goal is we want to make sure the public knows we’re not spending tax dollars on campaign materials.”
