Mayoral hopefuls discuss Rocky's tenure

Seven candidates vying for Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson's job spent Wednesday afternoon explaining how they would fill his shoes — and whether those shoes would resemble those of the two-term mayor.

The consensus: not if that means debating conservative talk-show host Sean Hannity.

"I'd be more interested in debating Rachel Ray than Sean Hannity," said Dave Buhler, a Republican, referring to Anderson's recent war of words with Hannity.

Questions from nonprofit and local organizations were posed to the mayoral candidates during a panel discussion during the National Conference for Community and Justice's bi-annual OPEN (Organize, Participate, Empower, Network) gathering at Westminster College.

One of those questions was whether they would follow in Anderson's footsteps by taking an active role in national and global issues.

"I have no interest in being a crusader on a national stage," said Buhler, a Salt Lake City councilman. "My focus will be on being the mayor of Salt Lake City, working on the issues that I can do something about directly."

Salt Lake County Councilwoman Jenny Wilson said she wouldn't be shy about speaking out on national and global issues that affect Salt Lake City and its residents, such as environmental concerns and the war in Iraq.

"The consequences of this war, the local consequences, are enormous," said Wilson, a Democrat.

In addition to the loss of lives, money spent on the war could have trickled down to Utah for more worthy causes, she said, such as paying for children to participate in Head Start, a national program that promotes school readiness.

Keith Christensen, a Republican and former Salt Lake City councilman who has been endorsed by Anderson, a Democrat, said national and global issues "need to be on everyone's mind."

"It's about time we look at what Rocky Anderson is doing and say, 'Good for you, mayor,"' Christensen said, adding that he would likely use a more diplomatic approach than Anderson to get his message across.

Salt Lake City Councilwoman Nancy Saxton said she shares Anderson's passion for protecting the environment and credits him with bringing the issue of global warming to local attention.

"It's time to bring these global issues home, time to bring them into our neighborhoods," said Saxton, a Democrat.

Local surgeon J.P. Hughes took a much different stance on Anderson, saying the mayor at times has been "an embarrassment to a lot of us."

"Rocky has not been a civil mayor," said Hughes, a Republican.

Hughes said Salt Lake City's mayor needs to be working to address the issues that exist within the community, such as making health care more accessible.