Ben McAdams

Benjamin Michael McAdams (born December 5, 1974) is an American politician and attorney from Utah. A Democrat, he is the Salt Lake County Mayor, a position he has held since January 2013. Formerly, McAdams was a member of the Utah State Senate, representing the state's 2nd senate district in Salt Lake County including Salt Lake City, South Salt Lake City and a portion of West Valley.

McAdams 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 New York law firm Davis Polk & Wardwell. McAdams and his family then returned to Utah, where McAdams joined the law firm of Dorsey & Whitney in Salt Lake City, doing securities law. McAdams then became Senior Advisor to Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker.

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

McAdams was elected to replace Scott McCoy as the senator for Utah's second district in a special election on December 19, 2009. McAdams was subsequently elected to a four-year term on November 2, 2010.

In March 2011, his attempt to propose a bill against workplace discrimination for gays and lesbians was rejected.

In November 2011, McAdams announced his campaign to succeed Peter Corroon as mayor of Salt Lake County, Utah. On November 6, 2012, McAdams was elected with 54% of the vote, defeating Republican nominee Mark Crockett. McAdams resigned from the state senate after taking office as mayor.

McAdams was mentioned as a potential candidate in Utah's 2016 Senate race or Utah's 2016 gubernatorial race, but McAdams declined to run for either position.

McAdams is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). He is married to his wife Julie; the couple met in high school. They have three children.