Pignanelli: The rule "It is what it is" is in effect in Salt Lake City, and no amount of wishing otherwise or senseless dreaming by clueless politicos can change it. The lopsided results of the mayoral election hereby settle any further discussion about the political dynamics of the capital city. City voters did not swamp the polls to vote against Dave Buhler. They showed up in droves to make a statement that Ralph Becker embodies the qualities they want in a mayor: a non-Mormon undisputed liberal who practices an environmentally sound lifestyle. Republicans or moderate Democrats no longer need to apply for the job. Although the outcome was never in question, Equality Utah (comprised of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered members) demonstrated it could deliver a tidal wave of voters to the polls. Mike Thompson, executive director of the organization, is a powerful force in the city.

Webb: Frank is uncharacteristically correct. Miracles happen once in a while. Becker could have been hit by a Mack truck or been caught in the act in some highly unseemly behavior with a corpse. That's the only way a Republican was going to win in Salt Lake City, no matter how good a campaign he ran (and even the aforementioned unseemly behavior might not have been enough). The second lesson is that when a bunch of Democrats run for Salt Lake City mayor, they split the Democratic vote just enough for a Republican to get into the final election, giving the surviving Democrat an easy win. We Republicans have to face reality: Liberal Democrats rule Utah's capital city, even more so with the results of the City Council races. Now let's see what they do with our city. A big question for 2008: Is Democratic success in Salt Lake City a harbinger for Salt Lake County?

Public safety bond, Proposition 1

Pignanelli: Usually, anything that helps public safety is a guaranteed winner at the ballot. However, the lesson learned from this election is fairly clear. If you have a huge price tag ($200 million) you better put some effort into the campaign, even in a liberal jurisdiction. An occasional lawn sign, balloons or some modicum of support would have secured passage instead of a close defeat.

Webb: This one had severe challenges from the outset. It was placed on the ballot late. There was little time to raise money (and few natural deep-pocket constituencies from which to seek donations), and the campaign was mostly invisible. It's a mistake to ask voters to impose a large tax increase on themselves without having the means to run a good campaign. If voters don't know much about an issue, they will reflexively vote no. The needs of public safety received some favorable news stories, but supporters of a cause often overestimate the impact of media coverage. The campaign's direct-mail effort was sidetracked when employees improperly did the work on city time. And still it came close. Even a modest campaign effort would have resulted in a win.

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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, he served 10 years in the Utah House of Representatives, six years as House minority leader. Pignanelli's spouse, D'Arcy Dixon Pignanelli, is a Utah state tax commissioner. E-mail: frankp@xmission.com.