salt lake county district attorney

Utah’s One Thing: Sim Gill, SLC DA Part 2

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Since we started our show in 2016, we have been asking our guests at the end of every New Utah interview, “What is the one thing that you would tell someone visiting Utah they had to do before leaving?”

Episode 146 was our second sit down with Salt Lake District Attorney, Sim Gill. Previously he told us in episode 126 that his one thing someone should do while visiting Utah was, visit Utah’s beautiful mountain trails. Sim wanted to see if he said the same thing, and sure enough his heart is in the mountains. Sim said he always goes back to his mountains. Always back to hiking and the natural resources that Utah has. Sim says, “the world comes to Utah to look at our mountains and to ski our mountains, and the natural resources that we have.” He is amazed that Utahn’s don’t take advantage as much as we should. He said we live in a bowl with bad air quality and to be able to walk into the mountains and free your mind, you see that people are just so happy when you’re on a trail. Oh, and Sim said go look at SLC architecture and go float in the Great Salt Lake!

Image result for float in the great salt lake
Photo: © Cultural Heritage Images/Universal Images Group

Sim’s sidekick Ben said to go eat curry at Katmandu on Highland Drive and also go to the Salt Flats.

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Music by Folk Hogan, Bootleggers Dance

Episode 146 A Sit Down with DA Sim Gill

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In the fall of 2018 we had a few moments to sit down with Salt Lake County District Attorney, Sim Gill, during a tag team interview pre-election for episode 126. 20 episodes, and 6 months later we we were excited to have him for a little bit longer for episode 146! We might just have to start making this a regular thing! Sit in with Sim? How does that sound?

During our time with Sim we were able to talk with him right as the brand new Hate Crimes Bill was going through the House and passed 64-9! What a moment to have him sitting there with us! Sim and a team of people have been working on getting this bill through Utah legislation for years.

We love this photo that was taken just two days after our podcast of Sen. Derek Kitchen and Sim Gill. Photo: Derek Kitchen

We wanted to know about term limits for a District Attorney. Sim explained to us that longevity is important for a DA. You cannot have someone coming in and out of that position all willy-nilly. Sim said f there is going to be change there needs to be length to get through processes, bills, etc. One of our favorite things, of the many, is that Sim has such a zen way of looking at his service to Salt Lake County. He looks at himself as a temporary caretaker. DA Gill loves serving his community, so much that every Friday night he has citizen meetings where you can call into his office and set up time to chat. Whether you want to yell in his face or talk about curry, he has made it a priority to talk to citizens face to face. You can find that number on the DA’s website HERE.

Prop 2 came up, of course! Sim is very passionate about it and told us a story on his last visit with us of a patient that helped him see how important the bill was. Sim told us not to be disheartened, don’t be depressed at what happened with the bill. Gill said don’t be apathetic and finish the conversation by voting them all out! We couldn’t agree more!

We don’t want to give all the good stuff, cause we want you to listen… But a cool little tid-bit of trivia about the office that he works in. When you drive by the building at 35 East 500 South in Downtown Salt Lake, you will notice all of the art that is on the windows. If you look closely on the east side you will see two white roses. This is DA Gill’s homage to the White Rose Society and reminding the community that “the institution belongs to you.”

We will ALWAYS love your “likes” BUT don’t forget to click that little SHARE button (or retweet) *sharing IS indeed caring* You can find us and subscribe on Soundcloud, Spotify, Stitcher, or Itunes, and Google Play and TuneIN. Leave us a review and Follow us on the Twitter @tnupodcast, Instagram @Tnupodcast, or on Facebook The New Utah Podcast

Music By: Folk Hogan. Bootleggers Dance.

Utah’s One Thing: Sim Gill, Salt Lake County DA. Part 1

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Since we started our show in 2016, we have been asking our guests at the end of every New Utah interview, “What is the one thing that you would tell someone visiting Utah they had to do before leaving?”

Episode 126 we had the fortunate opportunity to sit down with Salt Lake County’s District Attorney, Sim Gill. Sim said, “we are lucky to have access to the most beautiful mountain trails.” Mr. Gill said it is so easy to lose yourself in nature. There is an abundance of natural beauty. We have attached a link to ALLTRAILS. They also have a app that lets you rate, see the difficulty, and photos of trails throughout Utah!

Image result for hiking trail sign

We love your “likes” BUT don’t forget to SHARE (or retweet) *sharing IS indeed caring* and to subscribe on Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, Itunes, Google Play, and TuneIn. Follow us on the Twitter @tnupodcast On Instagram @tnupodcast or on Facebook The New Utah Podcast

Music By Folk Hogan. Bootleggers Dance.

Episode 126 Participatory Democracy

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As we have talked about over and over, we are just 12 days away from mid-term elections. We’ve sat down with some great candidates to hear why running for office is important to them and why they have a passion for their community here in Utah. This week was no different. We had the privilege to sit down and talk with Salt Lake City Councilman Derek Kitchen who is running for Senate District 2, and with Sim Gill who is the Salt Lake County District Attorney and running for re-election.

Derek Kitchen always wanted to get out of Utah but as soon as he moved to Salt Lake he found a spark in his love for the city. Derek met his husband, Moudi, and they started selling hummus at the Farmers Market, which you can still find them frequenting and selling at. We highly suggest you try the hummus because it’s the most creamy hummus you’ll ever try! They opened the scrumptious Laziz Kitchen in the Central 9th neighborhood at 9th South and 140 W. It is now part of that growing area of Salt Lake City. You may have heard their names before, that is because a few years ago, Derek and Moudi, were the couple that fought Utah with a lawsuit to clear the way for recognition of gay marriage, and they won! Derek has been serving on the Salt Lake City Council since 2015 and has had his hands in working to improve affordable housing, the homeless situation, and he has most recently been sitting in on the inland port sessions at the legislature. Derek has an outlook on the community as a millennial that the older generation on the hill might look right past and he is excited to be a new, young voice. Derek is empathetic to the community concern about the homeless resource centers opening in neighborhoods around Salt Lake because he has experienced it in his own neighborhood. Derek is definitely ready to continue to serve Salt Lake City and Utah as a Senator!

Sim Gill has been in office for two years at the Salt Lake District Attorney. As an immigrant from India, he reminisced with us the exact moment that he knew he needed to be a DA. Sim defined his role as a DA for us, as a temporary caretaker with extra responsibilities. He reminded us what citizenship is and ways to be involved which may not always mean running for office. Sim believes that small acts of kindness define citizenship as well. Participatory democracy is a word that Sim used over and over while chatting with us, but what does it really mean? Is it making sure that we are living up to ideals? Is it an opportunity to have a broad conversation? It is a way to remember that the word “Democrat” and “Republican” just mean “American?” It is selling a message and not an image.

Chris asked Sim what his stance on the death penalty was and they had a fantastic conversation about the responsibility of making that decision and if it even should still be enacted. Sim shared with us the story of Doug and Ashley that showed him that we need to have Prop 2 passed for medical marijuana. He is the only DA to vocally back this prop.

The conversation with Derek and our conversation with Sim turned into more than just political talk, although we did give them a moment to talk about their platforms. Even if you aren’t in their districts to vote for them, or you don’t want to vote for them. We do hope that you take a moment to listen to why they feel it’s important to serve the community and how excited both are for growth and change in Utah.

We hope to continue a conversation with both of them on our show in the future.


We will ALWAYS love your “likes” BUT don’t forget to click that little SHARE button (or retweet) *sharing IS indeed caring* You can find us and subscribe on Soundcloud, Spotify, Stitcher, or Itunes, and Google Play and TuneIN. Leave us a review and Follow us on the Twitter @tnupodcast, Instagram @Tnupodcast, or on Facebook The New Utah Podcast