"I don't think so," she said in response to Anderson's claim that the mayor's job was a 17-hour-a-day commitment. She said she will turn City Hall into a family-friendly environment — just as it was when her father was mayor in the late 1970s and early 1980s. She said she will better manage her time than Anderson is apparently doing.

She said as a daughter of a Salt Lake mayor, she grew up in part at City Hall and that she and her brothers and sisters have turned out OK.

Taking swipes at Anderson, she vowed that she won't have large staff turnover and that she won't be taking bicycle trips through Italy. "I won't be firing people smarter than I am" that she brings into City Hall, she said.

Anderson's eight-year tenure has seen a number of top aides and staffers quitting, some very critical of Anderson's personal management style.

Anderson said that a person with "small" children shouldn't be mayor. His son, Luke, was 14 when Anderson ran for the 2nd Congressional District in 1996 (he lost), and Luke was 17 when Anderson ran for and won his first term as mayor in 1999.

"When my son was young, I would not have committed to a job that took me away from home on so many evenings and for many days each year," Anderson wrote in the Tribune.

Corroon choked up at the microphones when he hugged his daughter and said that he was still a good father and good mayor. "We work hard in having quality time" with his family, Corroon said, adding that like many parents he worries about not being able to spend as much time with his children as he would like.

Jane Marquardt, chairperson of Jenny Wilson's campaign and a leading gay activist, said Anderson's comments were nothing less than sexist.

She said she worked for Anderson's two elections campaigns, adding that he has done some good. But, she said, when Anderson called her three years ago asking her to give money to a Democrat named Peter Corroon who was running for Salt Lake County mayor, Anderson "didn't make a single comment" that Corroon had small children and so shouldn't be getting into a demanding job. But now Anderson is making comments clearly aimed at a mother and candidate.

Wilson said, "I am angered that (her children's welfare) would be questioned by those opposed to my campaign."

Anderson is a supporter of mayoral candidate Keith Christensen, who in recent polls is a distant fourth among the top contenders.

Ted Wilson told the Deseret Morning News that perhaps he didn't make it clear to his wife, journalist Holly Mullen, when he repeated his private dinner conversation with Anderson earlier this year where Anderson warned the former mayor that anyone, man or woman, with small children shouldn't be mayor. "That pushed Holly's feminist button, and she wrote about it in her blog, and then it became public," said Ted Wilson.

But he added: "Absolutely you can have small children and be a good mayor and parent. I was, and I had five kids. They all turned out well. Hey, one is even running for mayor."

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E-mail: bbjr@desnews.com