Ben McAdams

Benjamin Michael McAdams (born December 5, 1974) is an American politician and attorney who served as the U.S. representative from Utah's 4th congressional district from 2019 to 2021.

He was the only Democratic member of Utah's congressional delegation, and a member of the Blue Dog Coalition.

McAdams was elected to replace Scott McCoy as the senator for Utah's second district in a special election on December 19, 2009.

Salt Lake City passed a similar measure in 2009.

He was elected to a four-year term on November 2, 2010.

In March 2011 McAdams proposed a bill banning employment and housing discrimination against gay and transgender Utahns.

His motion to hold a hearing on it failed on a party-line vote.

The Salt Lake Tribune identified McAdams as the most liberal-leaning member of the Utah Senate in 2011, with a conservative rating of 34.4% that year.

In November 2011 McAdams announced his campaign to succeed Peter Corroon as mayor of Salt Lake County, Utah.

McAdams received a 75% rating from the advocacy group Parents for Choice in Education during the 2012 legislative session and a 77% rating from the National Education Association.

He also received an 82% score from the Utah Taxpayers Association, the highest-scoring Democrat that year.

In 2012, however, the Tribune identified him as the third-most conservative Democratic Utah state senator (out of eight).

McAdams was given a rating of 33% conservative by the Sutherland Institute, a fiscally and socially conservative political action committee, based on his time in the Utah state senate.

He also has a 100% rating from the Utah Sierra Club, which supports greater environmental protection.

On November 6, 2012, McAdams was elected with 54% of the vote, defeating Republican nominee Mark Crockett.

McAdams resigned from the state senate before taking office as mayor.

From 2013 to 2019, he served as mayor of Salt Lake County, and from 2009 to 2012, he was the Utah state senator from the 2nd district, which includes Salt Lake City, South Salt Lake, and a portion of West Valley.

In 2014 McAdams supported the renewal of a Zoos, Arts, and Parks (ZAP) tax in Salt Lake County.

The ZAP tax amounts to 1 cent on every $10 spent.

It partially funds more than 190 county arts and cultural organizations, as well as 30 parks and recreation facilities, including Hogle Zoo, Tracy Aviary, the Loveland Living Planet Aquarium, and others.

The tax was approved by voters in 2014, with nearly 77% of county voters in favor.

McAdams was mentioned as a potential candidate in Utah's 2016 Senate race or Utah's 2016 gubernatorial race, but did not run for either position.

He was reelected to a second term as Salt Lake County Mayor in November 2016 with 59% of the vote.

McAdams was tasked by the Utah Legislature to select a location for a new homeless shelter in Salt Lake County, outside of Salt Lake City.

According to the Deseret News, the task was considered politically damaging, as strong local opposition was expected regardless of the ultimate shelter location.

McAdams recommended South Salt Lake, and was opposed by Cherie Wood, the city's mayor.

Previously, Draper mayor Troy Walker had volunteered two sites for the shelter in Draper, before rescinding the offer under public pressure.

Before making his recommendation, McAdams spent two nights on the streets of Salt Lake City, posing as a homeless person to gather information.

Although tasked with recommending a site for the shelter, McAdams pledged to not support the center's groundbreaking unless the Utah Legislature passes a bill to create a pool of revenue from other cities to help with funding.

McAdams has called for a "radically different approach ... to address homelessness," and has called homelessness a "stubborn and complex social challenge."

McAdams was elected to Congress in 2018, narrowly defeating two-term Republican incumbent Mia Love.

In 2020, McAdams ran for reelection, but he lost to Republican challenger Burgess Owens.

He is the last Democrat to represent Utah in Congress.

McAdams was born in West Bountiful, Utah.

He has a bachelor's degree in political science from the University of Utah and a J.D. with honors from Columbia Law School.

At Columbia McAdams was a member of the Columbia Human Rights Law Review.

After graduating from law school, McAdams briefly worked in New York City as an associate at the law firm Davis Polk & Wardwell.

McAdams and his family then returned to Utah, where he joined the law firm Dorsey & Whitney in Salt Lake City, working in securities law.

McAdams then became Senior Advisor to Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker.

McAdams has served as an adjunct faculty member at the University of Utah College of Law.