Editing Hildale, Utah (section)

=== Post-Warren Jeffs leadership ===
The Hildale land held by the UEP, under government oversight, was being offered to beneficiaries who could prove they had possessed the land, or otherwise had valid claims to it. Distrust of government officials left much of the land unclaimed. People who had left the FLDS church in previous decades, including some "[[Lost boys (Mormon fundamentalism)|lost boys]]",  began returning to accept these claims which has led to a major population shift.

In 2017, [[Donia Jessop]] who had left the church and returned just the year before to Hildale, ran successfully for mayor.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Sanders |first=Ash |date=2018-05-23 |title=From Polygamy to Democracy: Inside a Fundamentalist Mormon Town |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/from-polygamy-to-democracy-inside-a-fundamentalist-mormon-town-628204/ |access-date=2024-06-05 |magazine=Rolling Stone |language=en-US}}</ref> This was the first time in the community's history that both a woman had been elected, and the first time a non-member of the FLDS faith had been elected. The election received major pushback, with the current serving government initially locking her out of the offices and refusing her entry. 15 employees and board members would go on to resign before she was sworn in, refusing to work with her. In 2018, on the day of her swearing in, in an act of protest, all the remaining city council members who were within the FLDS church resigned. Combined with the few newly sworn in City council members who were not FLDS, the result was a new mayor with a completely replaced city council following special elections to fill the vacated seats.<ref name=":1">{{Cite news |last1=Ventre |first1=Sarah |last2=Berkes |first2=Howard |date=2018-02-12 |title=Public Officials In Town With Polygamous Sect Resign After Elections |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2018/02/12/585180219/public-officials-in-town-with-polygamous-sect-resign-after-elections |access-date=2024-06-04 |work=The Two-Way |publisher=NPR |location=Salt Lake City |format=AUDIO transcription}}</ref>

While the population decreased significantly between 2010 and 2015,<ref name="2020 Census (City)" /> since this transition of leadership, efforts have been made to both welcome and provide resources to people who leave the faith, but also invite all who have moved away to return to the community.<ref name=":1" /> This has included working alongside Colorado City leaders, who have made similar efforts to make their community more open to outsiders, including a large branch of Mohave Community college, and the opening of the communities' first bars.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-05-21 |title=The polygamous border town of Colorado City opens its first bar |url=https://www.fox13now.com/2018/05/20/the-polygamous-border-town-of-colorado-city-opens-its-first-bar |access-date=2024-06-05 |website=FOX 13 News Utah (KSTU) |language=en}}</ref>