Smiles aplenty as S.L. City Council is sworn in

SALT LAKE CITY — Newly elected and re-elected Salt Lake City Council members all looked happy Monday as they prepared to take the oath of office, but none were grinning as much as Eric Jergensen as he gave up his seat.

With his 4-year-old daughter, Stine, on his lap, Jergensen watched as Stan Penfold was sworn in as the representative for District 3 and then happily gave Penfold his seat at the council's table. Jergensen, who didn't seek re-election, said he's quitting for his daughter.

"She said, 'Daddy, I don't want you to go to any other meetings. I want you to just come home and be my daddy,' " he said.

Penfold, the only newly elected member of the City Council, also is believed to be the council's first openly gay member.

"Salt Lake City is an amazingly diverse place," Penfold said as the audience laughed. "Who knew?"

Penfold said he wants to use his term to preserve diversity in Salt Lake City's neighborhoods, including diversity of income, ethnicity and age.

Carlton Christensen also made history by becoming the first Salt Lake City Council member to be elected for four terms.

"I had a lot fewer white hairs when I started," said Christensen, who represents District 1. "But I feel like I've met a lot of good people, and I truly feel like I've made a difference."

Soren Simonsen also took the oath, swearing in for his second term representing District 7 after winning in a recount by 13 votes. Simonsen said he wants to continue pushing neighborhood safety, especially after he returned from his Christmas vacation Sunday to find his house had been broken into.

"It's always an important issue," he said. "The statistics suggest we're making good progress, but we always have to be vigilant about it."

Jill Remington Love said she felt guilty as she was sworn in for another term representing District 5. Love ran unopposed, and while she was relieved at her easy win, she said she felt guilty that her district didn't get a more democratic vote.

"I hope that says I've been the liberal voice I said I could be," Love said.

Jergensen congratulated the council members before he left his seat and seemed confident in their ability to do the job without him.

"There's lots for everybody to do," he said. "But there comes a time when you have to say, 'Somebody else can do this as good or better than I can.' It's time to be Daddy."

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