Winder way out in front in W.V.'s mayoral race

WEST VALLEY CITY — Top issues shaping the upcoming mayoral race here include keeping the city clean and beautiful, attracting positive economic development and balancing a municipal budget hit hard by the Great Recession.

The clear front-runner to replace outgoing West Valley City Mayor Dennis Nordfelt is City Councilman Mike Winder, who picked up three-fourths of the vote in September's primary election. The local dairyman has also outraised and outspent his competition by more than 10 times.

"If the voters are looking for a mellow caretaker to keep the seat warm for term after term after term, I'm not that man," Winder said. "But if they want someone to energetically embrace the seat for a term or two, I'm the man they're looking for."

Fellow candidate Kevin Fayles made it through the primaries with about 15 percent of the vote. By the most recent campaign finance reporting deadline, the candidate was more than $200 in the red.

Fayles, spokesman for Envision Utah, has focused his campaign on code-enforcement improvements and the need for long-range city planning.

"I understand the city wants to clean up the image," he said. "I think we all want that. We need standards. But I think there needs to be someone that (residents) can appeal to."

Winder and Fayles agree that code-enforcement issues should not be attributed to the city's growing population of illegal immigrants. They also agree that illegal immigration is largely a federal issue.

"I support checking the residency status of criminals who are arrested, but I do not support every (resident) having to carry around proof of citizenship," Winder said.

Fayles criticizes West Valley City's current administration for its free use of an E Center suite and for unpaid use of city golf courses. In contrast, Winder has held off on lambasting his opponent but claims he has more real-world and civic experience than the regional planner.

City manager Wayne Pyle said the man who replaces Nordfelt in 2010 will need to be an advocate for the city, which in 29 years has grown to the state's second largest. The new mayor will also need the skills to bring the city's seven elected officials together, Pyle said.

The incoming mayor will face serious budget shortfalls, just as Nordfelt did when he was appointed to lead the city in 2002.

Then, as now, economic development is a pressing issue, Pyle said.

"There's really no resting on our laurels for us," he said.

Winder said he wants to grow economic development by pushing forward with redevelopment projects and using the incoming light-rail line as impetus for commercial hot spots.

Fayles wants to engage the whole community in long-term planning processes and bring light-industrial work into the city.

"Envision Utah has taught me about stakeholder and grass-roots processes," he said. "Whatever the issue is, I'd like to find out what people would like to see happen."

For more information on the candidates or to read their financial disclosure statements, visit wvc-ut.gov.

e-mail: rpalmer@desnews.com