Pinkney spoke with KSL At Night Hosts Rusty Cannon and Leah Murray on Oct. 15, 2024. A partial transcript and the full podcast are below.
This interview has been modified for brevity and clarity.
HOST, RUSTY CANNON: Natalie … tell our listeners about yourself, your background, and why you’re running.
GUEST, NATALIE PINKNEY: [This election] is an opportunity to really usher in a new generation of leaders. I was raised in a multi-generational family with my grandmother and my father. They really instilled in me community service and public service. That’s really stuck with me as I graduated from Marquette University, moved out here to get my master’s in Educational Leadership and Policy at the University of Utah, and then started volunteering on campaigns.
HOST, LEAH MURRAY: Why should voters in Salt Lake County vote for you?
PINKNEY: It’s a big learning curve to understand how the county works with cities, our state, and our federal government. And I’m on the South Salt Lake City Council, on my second term. I’ve been vice chair. I go to the legislative session every year. I’ve helped pass really complex issues. And I think when it comes to the county right now, folks are struggling — the cost of living, housing, can’t breathe the air. These are really complex issues, and we need people with experience.
CANNON: Do you have a position on this [$507 million public safety] bond, whether you favor it or not?
PINKNEY: Yes, the Justice and Accountability bond. I will be voting in favor of the bond. [It] has support from eight out of the nine County Council members. That is huge to have both Republican and Democrat support, and those are people who want a compassionate approach to homelessness and to criminal justice.
Natalie Pinkney on housing in Salt Lake County
MURRAY: The Utah Foundation found that housing affordability is one of the top priorities for Utahns. Can you talk to us about how you manage what is a top issue for Utah voters?
PINKNEY: Housing is a part of the American dream. It allows people to build wealth for their families, to have a shelter to live in. The county has a lot of land we can develop, but it’s also partnerships with the city. There are a lot of circumstances where cities in the county and the state own land which we can revitalize to provide housing. But we can’t just have for lease. We need for sale as well.
MURRAY: How about transportation? Do you have a plan?
PINKNEY: We need to increase services. We also need to increase the culture of public transportation, right? … You know, if you go back east and you get into an apartment, they [offer] a bus pass, a train pass. You don’t really get that when you get an apartment [here]. So we need kind of that cohesiveness. The apartment [owners], working with UTA. But also the county investing.