McCartney farewell turns into Rocky roast

While it included compliments from both sides of the aisle, Wednesday's House farewell for Rep. Ty McCartney, D-Salt Lake, quickly devolved into a roast — not of the resigning representative, but of Salt Lake Mayor Rocky Anderson, his new boss.

House Majority Leader Jeff Alexander presented McCartney with a "Let's Build Legacy Now" sticker, a gift from the majority caucus obviously meant as much for Anderson, who has opposed the planned parkway. Other representatives urged McCartney to slap an "I � Davis County" sticker on the mayor's car and joked that, based on the tenure of some of Anderson's employees, they expect to see McCartney back soon.

McCartney, who just started his third term in office, officially resigns Friday to take over as administrator for the Salt Lake City Police Civilian Review Board. In leaving, McCartney said he underestimated the power of the Legislature and will miss it.

"It's amazing that we can walk off this floor and still maintain these friendships," he said. "That is what is magical."

Democratic delegates in the district selected Larry Wiley as McCartney's replacement from among four candidates Wednesday evening.

Wiley called his selection as the party's nominee a "humbling experience," saying he "never had any aspirations to grow up to be a legislator."

Salt Lake County Democratic Party chairwoman Nichole Adams will submit Wiley's name to Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. Assuming the governor OKs the selection, Wiley could be sworn in as early as today, McCartney said.

McCartney, who told delegates before they voted that he was endorsing Wiley as his replacement, praised Wiley's "dedication to public service." He said he has known Wiley for six years and that Wiley has been an important volunteer in his election and re-election campaigns. He credits Wiley with "getting me out of convention" when he first sought the party's nomination in 2000.

Wiley said he hopes to bring "fresh ideas and common sense" to the Legislature. A biographical profile he passed out to delegates lists education funding, economic justice, social justice and reproductive freedom among issues he plans to champion.

He also said he believes Utah should "legalize adulthood," a slogan often used by radio personality Tom Barberi to deride Utah's conservative laws on such things as alcohol and personal choice.

He said one of his top priorities will be to revitalize the west side of the district, which includes parts of Salt Lake City, South Salt Lake and West Valley City. He said he wants to make use of the district's diversity, saying some in its large Hispanic and Asian communities don't participate in the political process because they don't understand the process and feel marginalized.