Endorsements continue to pile up in the race to replace outgoing Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson.

The most recent big-name endorsement is XMission founder and former Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate Pete Ashdown, who has announced his support for state House Minority Leader Ralph Becker, D-Salt Lake.

"I am impressed with Ralph Becker's blueprint for Salt Lake City that includes a strong commitment to balancing economic growth with historic preservation," Ashdown wrote in his endorsement. "I believe Becker is the kind of mayor we need to encourage economic development in Salt Lake City and at the same time ensure that our city remains a great place to live."

And on Thursday, the International Association of Fire Fighters Local 1645 announced its support for Salt Lake County Councilwoman Jenny Wilson.

"Jenny is committed to supporting the high level of emergency services provided by the Salt Lake City Fire Department," according to a statement from the union. "The fire department's standards of excellence that our citizens have grown accustomed to over the past eight years under Mayor Anderson will continue."

The mayor's office is officially nonpartisan, but most candidates have recognizable partisan affiliation. The endorsements largely line up with those partisan identifications.

Wilson earlier won the backing of several of her Democratic colleagues at the county, including Mayor Peter Corroon, Sheriff Jim Winder and Councilmen Joe Hatch and Randy Horiuchi, as well as the state Democratic Black Caucus.

Becker's previously announced endorsements include former Sen. Karen Hale and current Sen. Scott McCoy, both D-Salt Lake, and City Councilman Soren Simonsen.

City Councilman Dave Buhler's bid for mayor has the support of former Gov. Olene Walker, a Republican, and fellow council members Carlton Christensen and Van Turner, both Republicans, and Jill Remington Love, who has been active in the state Democratic party.

Former City Councilman Keith Christensen, a registered Republican who calls himself an independent, has the support of Anderson, a Democrat, and Jake Garn, a Republican who has served in the U.S. Senate and as Salt Lake City mayor.

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E-mail: dsmeath@desnews.com