Ted Lewis Wilson (May 18, 1939 – April 11, 2024) was an American politician who served as the 30th mayor of Salt Lake City[1] from 1976 until July 1985. He won three elections. Wilson resigned during his third term to become the director of the Hinckley Institute of Politics at the University of Utah where he held an adjunct assistant professorship of Political Science.
His terms were highlighted by an election in May 1979 to change the five-member commission form of government to a mayor/council form. This initiative was the consequence of a city scandal involving the take-over of the city personnel department by the chief of police.
Other highlights of Wilson's administration included reconstruction of the Salt Lake City International Airport, re-building the city's sewage treatment plant, retooling the water system, and expanding the green space of the city's parks department. Wilson also initiated and passed the first historical and foothill preservation ordinances in the city's history. Wilson was the executive director of the Utah Rivers Council, a Utah-based environmental organization.
From 1957 to 1963, he served in the Utah Army National Guard and was activated to full-time status during the Berlin Crisis. He was an instructor at the Leysin American School, Leysin, Switzerland for one year. He also taught economics at Skyline High School, Salt Lake City, Utah for seven years. During the summer months of 1966 to 1969 he was a mountaineering park ranger in Grand Teton National Park.
He was appointed Chief of Staff to U.S. CongressmanWayne Owens (D-UT) in March 1973. In April 1975 he was appointed to direct the Department of Social Services in Salt Lake County. In November 1975 he was elected as Mayor of Salt Lake City. He served as Mayor until July 1, 1985, when he became the Director of the Hinckley Institute of Politics at the University of Utah. Retiring from the Hinckley Institute in September 2003, Wilson retained status as Professor Emeritus of political science and continued to teach classes at the university. Wilson was a founder of the Exoro Co.
Personal travel to India allowed Wilson to study and understand the Indian system of government. Wilson made ten trips to India leading university student expeditions. During those visits, he met with the Dalai Lama, and led efforts to build housing for Tibetan Refugees in Bir, a community hall in Leh, Ladakh and a school in Kotwara.
Wilson loved the sport of mountaineering and climbed routes in Utah, in the Tetons, and in other ranges including the Alps, Alaska, and the Andes. Wilson was a member of the Alpenbock Climbing Club, a group instrumental to developing climbing routes throughout the Wasatch range.[2] Wilson established three climbing schools still in operation and was a climbing ranger in Grand Teton National Park. He guided in the Tetons for Exum Mountain Guides and owned the Jackson Hole Mountain Guides in 1970. He received the U.S. Department of the Interior Valor award for a mountain rescue on the North Face of the Grand Teton in 1967.
Wilson was married to former Salt Lake Tribune columnist Holly Mullen. From his previous marriage to Kathryn Carling, Wilson had five children. He was stepfather to Mullen's two children. He was also a grandfather to 13 grandchildren.
Wilson was actively involved on several boards, including the Friends of Alta, the Utah Governor's Energy Task Force, and served as chairman of the Utah Governor's Council on Balanced Resources. He found pleasure in activities such as bicycling, skiing, rock climbing, and backpacking with his family.
Ted Wilson died from complications from heart failure and Parkinson's disease on April 11, 2024, at the age of 84.[3]
Awards and honors
National Science Foundation Fellow, University of Washington, 1968–69
Department of Interior, Valor Award, 1968, for Grand Teton north face rescue
Utah Bolivian Partners, Fern Wiser Award for Distinguished Service to Bolivian Education, 1976
Utah National Guard, Bronze Minuteman Award, 1979
Chairman, Utah Presidential Inaugural Hosting Committee for President Carter, 1977
Utah League of Cities and Towns Award - Outstanding Utah Elected Municipal Official, 1983
Honorary Doctorate of Laws, Westminster College of Salt Lake City June, 1984
Fellow, John F. Kennedy Institute of Politics, Harvard University, 1991
Pi Sigma Alpha "Professor of the Year," 1994; University of Utah Political Science Department
Mortar Board National Honor Society "Top Professor Award," 1996
Professor Emeritus, University of Utah
Department of Communication, University of Utah, Distinguished Service Award, 2011
University of Utah Emeritus Alumni Board, Merit of Honor Award, 2012
Numerous articles in The Wasatch Runner and the Utah Business Review Op-Ed articles in Deseret News and Salt Lake Tribune, The Event, "Putting Together the Leadership Puzzle."
Weekly political column in The Enterprise, a Salt Lake City business newspaper 2000 to 2001
Weekly political column in The Deseret News, a Salt Lake City daily newspaper, Wilson and Webb 2000–2002.
Article in Utah Forum, "Professor Productivity: An Emerging Issue in America and Utah," June, 1994.
