Please join me in welcoming Eric Hutchings to Salt Lake County as Outreach & Strategy Senior Advisor to the Mayor. Eric’s prior experience as a legislator representing the west side communities of Kearns, West Valley, and West Jordan, will be a valuable addition to the Mayor’s team. Eric’s deep intergovernmental and community relationships will help Salt Lake County continue to build bridges as we address complex issues. His legislative focus on criminal justice reform will be one more tool to help us elevate the community voice to inform criminal justice policy and practice. Eric will report to Chief of Staff Kerri Nakamura and work closely with me to advance County priorities. 

Eric served in the Utah State House of Representatives from 2001 to 2020 representing District 38. While in the legislature, he served as Speaker Pro-Tem, Chair of the Executive Office and Criminal Justice Appropriations Sub-committee, and Chair of the International Relations and Trade Commission. He also served on the Judiciary Committee, Revenue and Taxation Committee, Law Enforcement Committee, Government Operations Committee, the Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice, the Utah Sentencing Commission, the Traumatic Brain Injury and Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation Fund Committee, and the Rural Economic Development Commission.

As a legislator, Eric became a nationally recognized criminal justice reformer, running many important pieces of legislation regarding this and related subjects like expungement. He traveled nationally speaking with other legislatures as they developed their own criminal justice reform efforts.

Eric has also held several appointed positions with organizations including the Salt Lake County Criminal Justice Advisory Council, Salt Lake County Tourism, Recreation, Culture and Convention Committee (TRCC), the Utah Olympic Legacy Foundation Board, the Construction Oversight Board for the Olympic Oval expansion, the Council of State Governments Justice Center Board, and the American Council of Young Political Leaders, and he was a member of the International Strategic Committee for the University Cote d’Azur in Nice France.

Eric was also appointed Chair of the National Conference of State Legislatures Law and Criminal Justice Committee, where he helped organize and lead working groups to study and develop best practices for issues like fighting Minority Disparity in Criminal Justice, Disaster Response, Juvenile Justice Reform, Election Integrity, and Criminal Justice Reform.

Eric has a bachelor’s degree in Asian Studies from Brigham Young University and a master’s degree in International Affairs and Global Enterprises from the University of Utah. 

He and his wife Stacey have been married for 24 years and have three daughters and one son. He rides a motorcycle, loves skiing, canoeing, archeology, and has recently taken up sailing.

Please join me in extending a warm welcome to Eric. We are thrilled to have his expertise and engaging personality here at Salt Lake County!

Sincerely,


Mayor Jenny Wilson