From Deseret News archives:
Davis still peeved at Rocky
Davis County Commissioner Alan Hansen sent a letter to the council thanking it for trying to mend the broken relationship caused by Anderson's recent grumblings about his "friends from the north" whose vehicles pollute city air.
But that still doesn't excuse Anderson's behavior, Hansen said. The rookie commissioner sent Anderson a separate letter last week demanding an apology. Hansen said he doesn't expect Anderson, who returned Wednesday night from a trip to Washington, D.C., to respond.
"I appreciate the council doing that, and I'm glad they have distanced themselves from Rocky," Hansen said. "But Rocky is the one that really needs to pony up here and say, 'You know what here, I stepped out of line.' "
During Anderson's State of the City speech earlier this month, the mayor lambasted his "friends from the north" who clog traffic, foul the air and "make us sick simply because of the choices they make about where they live and how they get around."
A week later, the Salt Lake City Council unanimously adopted a new "Policy Statement on Constructive Relationships With Neighboring Communities," which welcomed and praised the contributions of people who live in the communities bordering Utah's capital.
"All should feel wanted and welcome because they are," the statement reads.
The statement said people should car pool and use mass transit when "available and feasible . . . and yet we also recognize that these options are not always available or practical, even within our own city, given the wide variety of individual circumstances and needs."
The statement said it came in direct response to comments made by "Mayor Ross Anderson" in his recent speech and in other public settings.
"We welcome and encourage everyone to visit our city often — whether to work, to view professional sports or enjoy the arts and entertainment of all kinds, to shop, to worship, or for recreation, health care and education," the policy stated.
Hansen said the statement is a positive step toward building a relationship that can work to "find solutions to the problems that face all of us."
Davis County leaders have fought with Anderson in the past. When Anderson joined the Sierra Club and Utahns for Better Transportation in a 2001 lawsuit to block construction of the Legacy Parkway, some Davis County leaders led residents in a Salt Lake City boycott. Another group campaigned against Anderson's re-election.
Rumors of another boycott this year have lingered since Anderson's State of the City address. Hansen said he hopes efforts like those of the Salt Lake City Council will stop any possible arguments.
"True compromise will achieve great things, as opposed to some whose only answer is threats, and/or litigation," Hansen wrote to the council.
Anderson said his remarks are being mischaracterized. "A lot of people are reading a lot into my State of the City speech that wasn't there. It wasn't meant to insult anybody."
Contributing: Brady Snyder
E-mail: ldethman@desnews.com
