"I spend a lot of time going across open space, and I enjoy open space," said Briggs. With hands adding emphasis, he tells of his professional and life experience. He grew up in Sugar City, Idaho, attended Ricks College as a basketball player and later received post-graduate degrees from Brigham Young University.

For 10 years, Briggs worked for Exxon, then known as Standard-Oil New Jersey. He fought against the Alaskan pipeline, worked in Venezuela on a clean-air car project.

Currently, Briggs works for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as managing director for temporal affairs. His experiences have taken him to many of the world's locations: service as an LDS mission president in Puerto Rico. Six years in Argentina. Five years in New York. Toronto, Canada. The Avenues of Salt Lake City.

"If there's anyone here that wants to fight and go for good stuff, I think that's me," said Briggs, a well-recognized picture of George Washington praying beside his horse in the background. "I have a great support for proper development of that hill. I'm a great supporter of allowing us to use trails."

Said Briggs' wife, Cheryl: "He's never in something for what he looks like. That's not ever his purpose. If he thinks something is right, he stands up for that. He just doesn't twist to someone's way."

Briggs' plan for the 100 acres of open space in dispute is to build on 30 acres. Of that land, 20 would be used for housing; 10 for a cemetery. The city has applied for funding through the LeRay McAllister Fund to preserve the remaining acres as open space.

There is doubt, however, whether the city's plan to both partially preserve and develop will be fruitful. Both sides are aiming for court, and North Salt Lake has a significantly smaller budget.

Juan Arce-Laretta, a North Salt Lake resident and opponent of Briggs' plan, said the cost of developing the land is too great. He plans to run for mayor against Briggs in November.

"I think he feels he's doing what is in the best interest of the residents of North Salt Lake," said Arce-Laretta. "That being said, I think that he has been relatively unwilling to sincerely entertain the thought of preserving the entire 80 acres, or even participating in an effort to gain a sense of what his constituency wants."

Briggs shrugs off the criticism. If he loses, he loses.

"This is a city we love, and we want it to be done right," he said, "but that's the beauty of democracy. If the people of the city say they want a different mayor, they can have one."

Contributing: Kersten Swinyard

---

E-mail: nwarburton@desnews.com