Luke Garrott and Nancy Saxton both self identify as progressive Democrats, but a common ideology doesn’t keep the two Salt Lake City Council candidates from sparring over specifics.
The two candidates running for the District 4 council seat similarly stressed the need to revitalize downtown, expand mass transit and create affordable housing during a forum at the Hinckley Institute of Politics on Thursday.
But when it comes to implementing these campaign slogans, the two opponents found plenty of room for debate.
In the case of the new City Creek development on Main Street, Garrott said the project was, like the Gateway shopping center, a flawed attempt to build “suburban-style malls” downtown.
“If we allow that to be the extent of our development downtown, we’re in trouble,” he said.
The City Creek Center will replace the former indoor ZCMI and Crossroads malls with outdoor shopping areas mixed with housing and offices.
Garrott said the council should work to breath life into other parts of Main Street by creating an entertainment district and allowing more clubs to serve liquor.
However, incumbent Saxton praised the project, owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, as a “development unprecedented in the nation” and probably the world, and emphasized the city’s inability to steer the project.
“We cannot tell (developers) what to build,” Saxton said.
She noted, in response to Garott, that the project will include six acres of green space, saying, “That’s hardly a suburban mall.”
Garrott replied, “Public space is not the same thing as private space, Nancy.”
And when it comes to clubs and liquor licenses, Saxton was not opposed to the idea of an entertainment district, but stressed the need to approach the issue cautiously.
“It’s not just about partying…we must plan for clubs,” Saxton said.
The exchange was one of several where the candidates seemed to play on differences in their style and technique.
Garrott, a political science professor at the U who teaches classes about democratic theory, called himself the more “proactive visionary” candidate. At the beginning of the debate, he urged the audience to turn on their “B.S. detectors” and ended his closing remarks by saying he hopes to serve on the council for four or eight years, but not 12.
Saxton, who is seeking a third four-year term on the council, played on her experience with zoning laws, often saying there’s a difference between theory and practical application.
“I am experienced in the city government and practical application-not just in theory,” she said. “I know how it works. I know when it doesn’t work.”
The candidates pointed to these differences throughout much of the debate. While both stressed the need for building affordable housing downtown, Garrott criticized Saxton for not tackling the issue already.
“In the past eight years the city council has done very little for affordable housing,” Garrott said. “My complaint, my discontent and why I’m running is because it hasn’t happened yet.”
Saxton replied that she has worked on the issues and said she drafted the city’s first housing policy plan.
When it comes to mass transit, both candidates agreed that the Utah Transit Authority has damaged the city transit system by cutting downtown bus routes as part of its route redesign implemented this August.
“They are eviscerating our transit system,” Saxton said. “We must, for our life, get out of our cars.”
Saxton said she has pushed the idea of creating a separate city bus system to supplement the UTA system. Garrott said he, too, supported the idea.
When the candidates were asked by a student in the audience if they rode mass transit to get to the U for the debate, Garrott quickly raised his hand and Saxton said no.
“It’s not easy to get here by mass transit,” she said.
Saxton said transit options need to be readily accessible so more people can use them.
Voters will pick between Saxton and Garrott during election day on Nov. 6.