Sparks fly at Sandy mayoral debate

SANDY — An informal debate Thursday night between four-term Mayor Tom Dolan and mayoral candidate Dave Perry touched on everything from soccer stadium funding to term limits and bonuses for city workers.

Things really got heated, though, when resident Margaret Pulver angrily confronted Dolan about construction in front of her house on 1300 East.

The mayor became frustrated with the barrage and ultimately shouted at her before sitting down and refusing to continue the conversation.

"I can't do anything more about that personally," Dolan said, fielding insults from Pulver. "We're building that road for the safety of everybody in Sandy. … You've heard me."

Dolan later apologized to the woman both publicly and personally, but not before Pulver's husband yelled out that Dolan should take anger-management classes.

For the rest of the meeting, Dolan was left to defend his record while Perry repeated his brand-new slogan time and again: fortitude for the future.

Dolan pointed to low taxes, strong economic development and new parks and facilities as reasons to support his campaign for a fifth term.

He also said his administration doesn't plan on raising those taxes in the future, and he pledged not to cut city services to meet its goals.

Dolan was introduced by Salt Lake County Councilman Max Burdick, who credited the mayor for making Sandy a great place to live.

"It certainly is a time of change, but it's not a time to change mayors," Burdick said.

In contrast, Perry said that if elected, he wants to examine every city department for possible cuts. The one-time congressional candidate promised he would look at staffing and salaries closely.

"I think the economic growth is slipping away, and if we wait until the bottom falls out, our options are a lot (fewer)," he said. "I will be a mayor that will listen to we the people. I am not afraid to say no."

Overall, the "meet the candidates" forum was poorly attended — campaign staffers made up the majority of the small audience — but residents who showed up were glad for the experience.

"If we want the political process to be out there in front of the public, we've got to be there," Larry Maughan said.

The candidates, who didn't face a primary, plan to speak again soon before the city Chamber of Commerce.

e-mail: rpalmer@desnews.com