Gov. Gary Herbert, Salt Lake County Mayor Peter Corroon speak of state priorities

SALT LAKE CITY — There were no fireworks Thursday during the first joint campaign appearance of GOP Gov. Gary Herbert and Democratic Salt Lake County Mayor Peter Corroon.

Instead, the major gubernatorial candidates focused on many of the same voter priorities identified through a survey funded by the Utah Foundation, Deseret News and KSL to kick off the 2010 Utah Priorities Project.

The survey by Dan Jones & Associates found Utah voters are most concerned about jobs and the economy. Both Herbert and Corroon already have made the economy the centerpiece of their campaigns.

During separate speeches at a foundation luncheon, each candidate also emphasized other issues that made the voters' Top 10 list, especially education (No. 3) and energy (No. 7).

"My priorities do align with what we see here," Herbert told more than 200 business and community leaders gathered at the downtown Zions Bank building.

Growing the economy, the governor said, has been his top priority since taking over the office last summer, after former Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. left to become U.S. ambassador to China. Voters will decide in November who should fill out the remainder of Huntsman's term.

"I believe if we get the economy right, everything else will fall into place," Herbert said. He said government shouldn't stand in the way of economic expansion. "What government ought to be doing is getting out of your way," the governor said.

While Herbert touted getting through the 2010 Legislature with only a "nick" to the education budget, Corroon said schools are a cornerstone of economic development and "can't tolerate further decline."

Corroon said the state's economic development efforts should go toward boosting Utah-based businesses rather than "giving money to big corporations to move to Utah."

The mayor said Salt Lake County has managed to reduce its budget by nearly 20 percent without slicing into critical services. "We cannot tax our way to economic prosperity, but we cannot cut our way to economic prosperity," Corroon said.

Corroon and Herbert both spoke of the need to further develop the state's energy resources, including wind and other renewable sources. The pair did not debate after their speeches, nor did they take questions from the audience.

"It was good to hear them," said Doug Hettery, deputy director of the Wasatch Front Regional Council. "They both focused on a lot of the same issues, and those are the ones that are important."

Some in the audience were candidates themselves. Linnea Barney, a Utah County Democrat hoping to unseat Sen. Margaret Dayton, R-Orem, said she came to hear the survey results.

"I thought it was useful and something we should all be aware of," Barney said.

Steve Kroes, president of the nonprofit, nonpartisan foundation, said there were some significant changes in the survey over those done in the 2004 and 2008 election cycles.

He cited a "serious jump" in the number of voters surveyed who believe the state is on the wrong track, from 20 percent in 2008 to 36 percent today. And, he noted, some issues, such as immigration, are now seen as less of a concern.

Kroes said the project will continue throughout the campaign season, with debates and forums held at the University of Utah's Hinckley Institute of Politics, as well as additional polling to gauge changes in voter opinions.

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