From Deseret News archives:

2 conservatives to bar-hop

Rocky taking Waddoups, Ray on his pub crawl

Published: Monday, April 4, 2005 10:38 p.m. MDT
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Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson is going on another pub crawl, but this time he's taking some conservative state lawmakers — even one from Davis County — along for the ride.

Sen. Mike Waddoups, R-West Jordan, and Rep. Paul Ray, R-Clinton, will be joining Anderson on a bar-hopping jaunt this Friday in the early evening. This time around, Anderson's tavern tour will stop only at private clubs where smoking is not allowed as the mayor and his conservative counterparts tout the health benefits of smoke-free watering holes.

City spokeswoman Deeda Seed said she doesn't expect there will be much, if any, booze consumed by the trio, especially since Waddoups and Ray are active members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which decries alcohol consumption. Still, it should make for an interesting, if not comical, outing.

"You've got these two guys that don't drink sitting there with Rocky," Seed said.

Even Anderson, who is too much a workaholic to be much of a drinker, will likely be guzzling water for the most part, she said.

While it may seem like an odd trio, the threesome is united in their battle to ban smoking from Utah's private clubs and bars.

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Waddoups and Ray tried to push a law through the Legislature this past session that would have banned smoking from all private clubs — Utah's equivalent to a liquor-serving bar. Waddoups' legislation passed the Senate by one vote but never came up for debate in the House.

Waddoups, who was invited to attend Friday's event by the Utah Cancer Society, said he will bring the bill back to the Legislature next year. This time he will seek to ban smoking in all indoor locations except the Salt Lake City International Airport and hotel rooms.

"We intend to run it again next year and, in the meantime, we want to raise the awareness and let my colleagues and the public know we're serious about this issue," Waddoups said.

Ray said he expects he will get some criticism for rubbing shoulders with the liberal Anderson. Conservative Davis County residents generally dislike Anderson for his politics and anti-Legacy Parkway stand.

"I'm willing to take a little flak because I think it's an important issue," Ray said. "Rocky and I are going to disagree on 99 percent of the political issues out there, but this is one where we agree."

Ray said he wants smoking banned in bars because they are a workplace where bartenders and servers are subjected to deadly second-hand smoke.

"You have something like tobacco that kills millions of people," he said.

The evening might even build a little unity between the three.

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