The race for Salt Lake City Mayor has been characterized as a competition between two nice guys. But that friendly image didn’t seem to prevent the candidates from engaging one another during a debate at the Hinckley Institute of Politics on Tuesday.
Republican Dave Buhler intensified his criticism of opponent Ralph Becker, often questioning Becker’s record as a state legislator. He said Becker has only sponsored 15 bills that became laws during his 11 years in the Utah State Legislature, while Buhler sponsored 36 in his four years as a state senator.
“You look at the Deseret News, three times they have said Ralph is the least effective legislator on the hill,” said Buhler, who currently is a member of the City Council. “I don’t think that’s the kind of effectiveness that we need in the office of mayor.”
Becker, who is the Democratic leader in the Utah House of Representatives, pointed out that he has been re-elected six times and that Buhler was pushed out of office after one term. He said as a Democrat in the Republican-dominated Legislature he has played the supportive role to get things done, which he said has required “setting aside (himself).”
He said Buhler isn’t acting like the “nice, reasonable” guy he was a couple weeks ago and was less apt to criticize Buhler’s record.
“Dave Buhler is a different person than he was during the primary,” Becker said, prompting laughter.
Becker bested Buhler by 11 percentage points in the Sept. 11 primary. The two will now compete in the general election on Nov. 6.
The candidates also clashed over the controversial issue of creating a downtown sky bridge to connect the upper level of the planned City Creek Center across Main Street. The bridge would link the shopping center that will replace the former indoor ZCMI and Crossroads malls.
While Buhler said the sky bridge is not something he is “wildly enthused about,” he criticized Becker for speaking out against the bridge and said Becker has been unclear about his stance.
“I still don’t know today where Ralph stands on the sky bridge — I’ve tried to figure it out,” Buhler said.
He said rather than criticize the bridge, the mayor should work with the project’s developer, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which is investing $1.5 billion in the center.
“But when you have somebody about to make that kind of investment downtown…you don’t repel them, you don’t say were not going to do it,” Buhler said. “We don’t say that’s a bad idea — you work to make it better.”
Becker said sky bridges are a bad idea because they “take people off the street.” He said Denver once had seven sky bridges, but the city since has taken all but one down.
“They have learned that sky bridges do not benefit their downtown,” Becker said.
The city should not “blindly accept” developers’ plans, Becker said, and must look at what will make the center work for everyone.
Becker and Buhler will debate again on Oct. 18 at 11 a.m. in the Eccles Broadcast Center. Seating must be reserved in advance through the Hinckley Institute.