Salt Lake County councilman to run for Murray mayor's seat

Salt Lake County Councilman David Wilde is looking to trade in his county seat to pick up the reins as mayor of Murray city.

After announcing his candidacy for the spot Wednesday, Wilde said it is time for a renewed focus on Murray's "neglected neighborhoods" and municipal tax rates.

"I know the current Murray Mayor Dan Snarr cares about this city, too. I don't want to denigrate his service, but most Murray residents think it's time for a change," Wilde said.

Wilde announced his candidacy at Murray Park, overlooking the construction of the new Intermountain Health Care flagship hospital on State Street. That campus, Wilde said, is a symbol of new and needed growth in the central valley city.

Snarr said the 100-acre campus isn't a symbol, it is proof that the city is headed in the right direction under his leadership, hinting that the city was far from done in building and reconstructing itself.

As far as needing a change, Snarr said his experience brought more business and more money to Murray.

"It took me four years to ramp things up and get ready to go," Snarr said. "Change is what my administration is all about — you've just barely seen the tip of the iceberg."

But Wilde was critical that Snarr's emphasis on commercial development in the area was at the expense of upkeep of residential neighborhoods.

"You can't have a great city if you don't have great neighborhoods," he said.

A Murray native, Wilde added that he views one of the city's greatest eyesores the Southern Exposure gentleman's club at 5142 S. State St. City leaders consider the bar an obstacle to desirable economic progress.

If elected, Wilde said overhauling the city's sexually oriented business ordinance would be a top priority so businesses like Southern Exposure aren't located in main public thoroughfares.

"It is sad that a place like that is able to be built right across from a beautiful park where kids come every day," he said. "We need to keep these places out of the public eye"

But Snarr said that Wilde's law background should help him know better than to interfere with property leases.

"We can't come in and say, 'We want you out of there and we're going to do something illegally to make it happen,' " Snarr said. "I encouraged him to move . . . but I don't have the right to go in and start threatening."

Lowering the city's power fees and property tax rates also tops Wilde's to-do list. Murray residents used to pay far less on their electrical bill because of the city's own power operations, but now Wilde said Murray Power customers are paying more than Utah Power clients.