Former City Weekly editor Holly Mullen running for county council.---

After testing the waters via Facebook a couple of weeks ago, Holly Mullen has formally announced her candidacy for the at-large Salt Lake County Council seat currently held by her step-daughter, Jenny Wilson. She will be running as a Democrat in one of the few major races where a Democrat can actually win.

Mullen has a lot of political knowledge and is very in-tune with local issues, although she garnered much of it as a journalist. Along with almost two years at the helm of this paper, she was a popular columnist for The Salt Lake Tribune, which she started writing shortly after the 2002 Olympics. Her full journalism career spanned three decades, having started in 1981, and included reporting and editing stints for the Trib, Deseret News, and Ogden Standard-Examiner, as well as papers in Texas, Minnesota, and Washington.

In her announcement, Mullen said her journalism background provides her with skills that are equally important for politicians.

%uFFFD

“I’m curious by nature and attentive to people’s needs. I can be a strong advocate when necessary. Yet I also know how to dig out facts, how to ask hard questions and equally important, how to listen. I’ve worked my whole life covering important issues and using journalism for good. It’s an excellent springboard into politics.”

%uFFFD

The 2010 race is important for Salt Lake County Democrats, since they will be trying to hold their current majority on the council.