It's experience vs. vision in the race for the District 4 seat on the Salt Lake City Council.

Or as two-time incumbent Nancy Saxton put it, challenger Luke Garrott "is a little bit country, and I'm a little bit rock 'n' roll."

Hearing the 39-year-old University of Utah political science professor described as "country" spurred a smattering of chuckles among the mostly college-student crowd recently at the Hinckley Institute of Politics, but Saxton made her point.

"I am experienced in city government as well as in practical application, not just in theory," she said in her closing statement.

During Garrott's closing statement moments earlier, he expressed dissatisfaction with the job Saxton has done representing the downtown district over the past eight years.

"I'm worried about the state of our City Council," Garrott said. "I'm running for this seat because I don't see that the incumbent has been as proactive as good, visionary government can be."

Fielding a question about efforts to revitalize or maintain a vibrant downtown, Garrott said not enough is being done, that efforts should be more focused on capitalizing on the uniqueness of Main Street.

"We need to do something new, inventive and bold with Main Street," he said, suggesting improved walkability as well as an entertainment district on Main Street.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' $1 billion City Creek Center development isn't the answer, Garrott said. Though it will offer a mix of retail, office and residential space, the development essentially is replacing malls with malls, he said.

"If we allow that to be the extent to which we revitalize downtown, we're going to be in trouble," he said.

Saxton praised the City Creek development, saying the six acres of open space planned as part of the project make it different from a suburban mall. She also touted the sales-tax revenues the development will bring to the city, boosting an already strong tax base.

"What we need are destination locations for people who want to come downtown," Saxton said. "What we need to do is continue to develop and support the arts, culture, retail, business and all of the (downtown) events."

The debate showed that the two candidates also have some things in common. Both are Democrats and strong proponents of mass transit, and they share the belief that a strong city begins with strong neighborhoods.

District 4 encompasses most of downtown, the Central City, East Central and People's Freeway neighborhoods.

Saxton was the top vote-getter in the primary Sept. 11, collecting 38.9 percent of the vote. Garrott advanced to the Nov. 6 general election with 34.2 percent of the vote.

Saxton initially was among the field of candidates hoping to replace Rocky Anderson as the city's mayor, but she withdrew from the race in June and filed for re-election in District 4.

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E-mail: jpage@desnews.com