'Vault of power' loses its punch

Forty-five years ago, LDS Church President David O. McKay, Tribune publisher John Fitzpatrick and Chamber of Commerce boss Gus Backman would meet for lunch regularly in a booth at Lamb's Cafe on Main Street.

Not much went on in Salt Lake City and its environs that didn't pass muster with these three men.

Later, slightly larger groups held sway: executives at KSL, Deseret News, Tribune, Utah Power & Light, Kennecott, Mountain Fuel Supply, Zions and First Security banks — all would be sought out by those wanting to kill an idea in the Legislature, redevelop large areas of the city or conduct a public campaign to pass a tax increase.

But no more.

A study by the Deseret News of power in Salt Lake City and Utah shows that traditional power bases have eroded in the state.

Power, like nature, hates a vacuum. And when decisions are to be made, there will be men and women to make them.

But it is more likely today that those calling the shots are leaders in city, county and state government as opposed to local bank presidents, who are moved in and out of town as they climb their nationwide corporate ladders.

Various leaders said power in the state is much more diffuse than before.

Mitt Romney knows.

When he hit town in early 1999 to take over the scandal-plagued Salt Lake Organizing Committee, Romney, former head of a Boston-based venture capital firm, looked around in Utah for "The Vault."

"This is not a community where you go to a couple of people and they nod, and suddenly everything you needed comes your way. That may (still) be the case in places with very strong business circles.

"In Boston we have something called The Vault — where very senior business leaders come together and decide what certain priorities are and are able to pull the strings necessary to make things happen," Romney said.

"I found this (Salt Lake) to be a far more diverse power structure in the business community."

Longtime public relations executive Dale Zabriskie remembers when you could bring together the publishers of the two daily newspapers, the head of KSL and KUTV, a few bank and utility presidents, the LDS Church (on certain issues) and things would fall into place.

In just the past 10 years that has changed.

The Salt Lake Tribune has been sold three times, KUTV and other local media outlets are owned out of state, banks have merged or been sold and basic industries like Kennecott no longer dominate the commercial landscape.

In fact, only one man who could be considered old-line powerful — First Security Bank's former chairman Spencer Eccles — even made the newspaper's Top 20 list of influential and powerful people.

Comments