Becker extends olive branch to Davis chamber

BOUNTIFUL — When Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker took office in January, he began making good on at least one campaign promise immediately.

That was to create a relationship of good will between Salt Lake City and its neighbor to the north, Davis County.

Shortly after he was elected, he met with the Davis County Council of Governments to offer his partnership. In February, he addressed the Davis COG again with suggestions for how the communities could work together.

Thursday, Becker addressed the Davis Chamber of Commerce, telling its members that he knows there have been some hard times between Davis County and Salt Lake City.

"I'm doing my best to repair some past damage," he said.

The state's third most populous county felt slighted by former Mayor Rocky Anderson's comments during a January 2005 State of the City address, during which he blasted Davis County commuters for pumping pollution into the air by driving to Salt Lake City.

Anderson later apologized for the comments, saying they weren't directed at Davis County commuters but at proponents of Legacy Parkway, another sore spot for many Davis County elected officials.

Anderson had also joined an environmental lawsuit in August 2001 against the Legacy Parkway, which temporarily halted construction of the Davis County road project.

Until the end of Anderson's term, it wasn't uncommon for city council members across Davis County to take verbal pot shots at Anderson during council meetings.

But since Becker took office, Davis officials have called their new relationship with Salt Lake City refreshing, except some lighthearted jabs at Salt Lake for hiring Wilf Sommerkorn, a longtime Davis County director of Community and Economic Development, to be Salt Lake City's planning director.

Bountiful Mayor Joe Johnson told members of the Davis County COG on Wednesday that he has met with Becker at various times over transportation planning issues and that the Salt Lake mayor deserves support from Davis County.

"He has terrifically reached out to Davis County," Johnson said.

Thursday, Johnson thanked Becker for his efforts.

"We've enjoyed our relationship from the beginning," Johnson said.