Municipal elections get to the heart of politics

This is the year for mayors. Except for Salt Lake City and Ogden, nearly every city has a mayoral race. Ken Bullock, executive director of the Utah League of Cities and Towns, said a couple of the hottest races, in addition to those mentioned by Frank, are likely to be in Provo, where Lewis Billings' bid for a third term is being challenged by Dave Bailey, who came close four years ago; in Layton, where two council members, Steve Handy and Steve Curtis, are expected to square off; in Taylorsville, where Janice Auger is stepping down; and West Jordan, where a change of government is under consideration and Mayor Bryan Holladay is seeking re-election against Jeff Haaga.

Popular large-city mayors like Orem's Jerry Washburn, West Valley's Dennis Nordfelt and St. George's Dan McArthur aren't expected to face serious challenges.

We often say that the best government is the government closest to the people. But we don't give city and county governments all the tools they need to govern well. Many problems could be solved at the local level, but instead we send most of the money to state and federal levels where massive programs are created.

We also don't turn out in large numbers to vote for city officials. Bullock worries that to some extent we've lost our sense of community. We need to be more loyal to our towns and cities and more willing to engage. We arise to the occasion when catastrophes occur, but we need more everyday involvement.

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Republican LaVarr Webb was policy deputy to Gov. Mike Leavitt and Deseret News managing editor. He now is a political consultant and lobbyist. E-mail: lwebb@exoro.com. Democrat Frank Pignanelli is Salt Lake attorney, lobbyist and political adviser. A former candidate for Salt Lake mayor, Pignanelli served 10 years in the Utah House of Representatives, six years as House minority leader. E-mail: frankp@xmission.com