'I'm a doer and Becker is dreamer,' Buhler says

Dave Buhler is applying for the job of Salt Lake City mayor, and he wants those who will do the hiring to review his resume — and that of his competition.

Buhler held a news conference Thursday outside the state Capitol to announce his game plan for repairing Salt Lake City's relationship with the Legislature and utilizing that alliance with state lawmakers to make sure Salt Lake City's needs and those of its residents are being met.

It was the first of a series of "to-do lists" Buhler plans to unveil in the weeks leading up to the Nov. 6 election. The first list contained six proposals for which Salt Lake City needs the Legislature's support — including revising the state liquor laws to give cities local control over the number of restaurants with liquor licenses, and finding funding to rebuild the North Temple viaduct to accommodate a light-rail line to the airport, keeping TRAX off 600 West.

Buhler also identified some of the ways he feels he differs from fellow mayoral candidate Ralph Becker other than those of political party and religious affiliation.

"In short, one is a doer and one's a dreamer," he said.

Buhler specifically pointed to his track record of "getting things done for the people of Salt Lake City" for the past eight years on the City Council and his results in the Utah State Senate from 1995-99.

"Voters can depend on me to deliver, and they can depend on me by looking at my record, my past experience and the things I've been able to accomplish," he said.

Buhler, a Republican who had 36 of his bills passed during his stint in the Senate — an average of nine per year — compared those numbers with those of Becker, who has seen only 15 of his sponsored bills pass in 11 years — 1.4 per year.

Becker has had only one of his bills passed in the past three years — HB20 in this year's general session for the declaration of State Water Week.

"Now I'm all for water, but that is not exactly landmark legislation," Buhler said.

Becker defended his effectiveness in the Legislature in an interview later Tuesday, saying his role as Democratic leader of the Utah House is not one of passing a lot of legislation.

"My role is to help formulate and present the Democratic position on state policy and on the state budget, to work to make sure I represent my constituents well, to help our caucus be successful with its legislation," he said.

Becker also touted his perfect attendance record in legislative sessions for the past 11 years — "I've never missed a day," he said.

As for being labeled a dreamer by the Buhler campaign, Becker said he doesn't have a problem with that.