Salt Lake City mayoral candidate Keith Christensen said Tuesday that he wants to put in place a plan that would help Salt Lake schoolchildren read at grade level by the time they leave third grade.

The former city councilman, calling education "the most important of all components of society," pitched his proposed Read by 3 program as a key element of his campaign.

"If we wish to have a livable community, we must focus on our children," Christensen said. The state, he said, "is doing a marvelous job with the resources they have." But he said city leaders should also play a role where they can.

Read by 3 would match volunteers from the city's businesses and other residents with children, based on their needs. He said if children leave third grade without a grade-level proficiency, they are at greater risk of ending up on a tough educational path for the rest of their lives.

"Nothing magical happens," he said. "That child is behind."

By the time those children reach high school, they are frustrated and disillusioned and become more likely to drop out, leaving them more prone to commit violent crimes and use drugs, he said.

Several other candidates have also made education a focal point of their campaigns.

House Minority Leader Ralph Becker, D-Salt Lake, has named the public school system as a primary factor in encouraging people to move into the city, and he has called for a closer working relationship between the city and public schools.

"There's no reason why we in Salt Lake City shouldn't be recognized as having the best schools in the region," he said in a November interview when he first revealed his plans to run.

Becker has pushed several ideas for city involvement in public schools, including the creation of family and life-long learning centers, the use of schools as community centers and the possibility of opening kindergartens downtown for the children of people who work there but live outside the city and want to be close to their kids.

City Councilman Dave Buhler, who currently works for the state Commissioner of Higher Education, named stronger city support for public education as one of the four pillars of his campaign when he announced his candidacy.

In all, nine candidates are seeking to replace Mayor Rocky Anderson, who is not seeking re-election. In addition to Christensen, Becker and Buhler, they are schoolteacher Robert Comstock, colorectal surgeon J.P. Hughes, Centro Civico Mexicano director John Renteria, City Councilwoman Nancy Saxton and County Councilwoman Jenny Wilson.

The field of nine will be narrowed to two in a Sept. 11 primary, and the general election will be held Nov. 6.

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