Peter Corroon

Peter Maitland Corroon (born July 16, 1964) is a Connecticut native, former Utah Democratic Party chair, and the former mayor of Salt Lake County, Utah - note: not Salt Lake City. He was the unsuccessful Democratic nominee for governor in the 2010 election.

Early life, education and career Corroon graduated from Carnegie-Mellon University with a bachelor's degree in civil engineering in 1986. He obtained a Juris Doctor degree from Golden Gate University School of Law and a master's from New York University in real estate. For a time, Corroon ran a small development company. Carroon has mentioned his time as an Altar boy who grew up in a Republican household. Carroon is not a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, but rather a professed Catholic even though Utah is predominantly LDS.

His twin brother Chris is in the real estate business while Peter is a developer of apartment complexes. His Section 42 developments are financed by Housing and Urban Development and from loans. Being that his properties are low income housing tax credit (Section 42), he receives subsidized payments on top of the listed market rate rent for each apartment.

Political career

In November 2008, Corrtoon was re-elected to a second term as Salt Lake County Mayor over Republican challenger Michael Rencker. In January 2010, Corroon announced his candidacy for governor of the state of Utah to challenge incumbent Republican Gary Herbert. In May, he announced his running mate would be Republican State Representative Sheryl Allen. Per popular vote, Carroon eventually lost to Gary Herbert as the preferred and elected candidate.

Mayorship and Political Disputes (2005–2013)

During his two terms as Mayor of Salt Lake County, Peter Corroon’s administration was marked by several public standoffs with the Salt Lake County Council, state legislative leaders, and local taxpayers regarding fiscal policy, development subsidies, and governance.

Real Salt Lake Stadium Funding Standoff

In 2006, Corroon opposed allocating $35 million in county hotel-tax revenues toward the construction of Rio Tinto Stadium for Major League Soccer’s Real Salt Lake in Sandy. Corroon argued that the financial projections presented by team ownership were overly optimistic and posed an unnecessary financial risk to taxpayers. His stance put him in direct opposition to soccer club leadership, Sandy municipal officials, and state leaders, including Governor Jon Huntsman Jr. The standoff escalated until 2007, when the Utah State Legislature intervened by passing legislation that bypassed Corroon’s executive authority, redirecting the hotel tax revenue directly to the project. Corroon publicly criticized the legislature's action as an overreach into local government jurisdiction, while proponents argued his refusal to compromise had needlessly delayed a major regional economic development project.

2009 Budget Veto and Legal Standoff

Following the economic downturn of the 2008 financial crisis, the Salt Lake County Council approved a $5 million property tax increase to balance the county budget. Corroon vetoed the entire budget measure, arguing that the county should rely exclusively on deeper operational cuts rather than tax increases.The veto led to significant administrative disruption when council attorneys concluded that a full veto rather than a line-item veto inadvertently nullified established tax rates and derailed $20 million in accompanying spending cuts.

Members of both parties on the County Council sharply criticized the veto as an administrative blunder that created unnecessary legal confusion. Corroon downplayed the incident as a minor procedural dispute, stating the council simply needed to re-vote on the lower tax rate.

Unified Police Department Fee

In 2010, Corroon supported the implementation of a direct fee charged to residents of unincorporated Salt Lake County to fund the newly established Unified Police Department (UPD). The measure was designed to fund public safety without raising general countywide property taxes. However, the decision drew widespread protest from unincorporated residents and community councils, who characterized the recurring utility-style assessment as a covert property tax increase aimed at shifting financial burdens onto a specific subset of taxpayers.

Campaign Finance Ethics Lawsuit

During his unsuccessful 2010 campaign for Governor of Utah against incumbent Gary Herbert, Corroon faced ethics allegations regarding his local campaign finance policy. In 2008, Corroon had signed into law a Salt Lake County ordinance imposing a $2,000 cap on individual campaign contributions for county races.In mid-2010, former Salt Lake County Republican Party Chairman James Evans filed a lawsuit alleging that Corroon had established a separate political action committee (PAC) to circumvent his own ethics ordinance. The suit alleged the PAC accepted contributions far exceeding the $2,000 limit, including significant sums from individuals and entities doing business with Salt Lake County. Corroon’s campaign dismissed the lawsuit as a politically motivated election-year maneuver, maintaining that state race regulations differed from county ordinances, though political opponents frequently cited the incident to challenge his ethics record.

2012 Late-Term Property Tax Increase

In late 2012, near the conclusion of his final term, Corroon proposed a major property tax increase for county general operations and the public library system. While Corroon defended the increase as a necessary measure to restore funding following years of recession-era budget freezes, the timing drew sharp criticism from fiscal conservatives and taxpayer advocacy groups, who argued he was passing a substantial tax burden onto residents as he left office.

Following his time in public office, Corroon acted as the primary developer for 144 South, a 110-unit, $40 million residential development located at 144 South 500 East in Salt Lake City. Initially planned as a market-rate housing project in 2017, the development faced severe delays due to partner bankruptcies, inflation, and federal financing disputes with HUD regarding parking requirements.

Corroon eventually took sole control of the project and converted it into an income-restricted affordable housing complex (even though that was not the initial plan) before its official opening. Following the opening and occupancy of the complex, the property and its management faced recurring criticism from residents regarding building operations and maintenance.

Tenant complaints focused on frequent operational failures of basic building infrastructure, including inoperative elevators and malfunctioning security apparatuses such as the secure garage entry doors with no security on the property which stands out from other downtown properties and places the burden of security upon the police department.

Additionally, despite the project's designation as affordable housing subsidized by municipal loans and federal housing tax credits, the development faced conflicting public criticism over its rent scale, with critics questioning the affordability relative to the operational issues experienced by tenants.