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SALT LAKE CITY — Sen. Jim Dabakis announced Wednesday that he's withdrawing from the race for Salt Lake City mayor.
The announcement on his Facebook page came just nine days after he jumped into the race to join Democrats Jackie Biskupski and Salt Lake City Council Chairman Luke Garrott in an effort to replace Mayor Ralph Becker, who is running for his third term.
Dabakis said he met with Biskupski, a former state representative, on Wednesday to put their "individual ambitions aside" and talk about "what's best for the people of Salt Lake City," he wrote. He said he's now casting his support behind Biskupski for mayor.
"Jackie is a hell of a persuasive lady! We decided that it would be best for me to leave the race," Dabakis wrote. "This election is too important to have two progressive candidates fighting for votes, dollars and volunteers. The current city status quo needs to change."
Before the meeting, Dabakis expressed fears that he and Biskupski could split certain voting blocs and result in Becker winning again or “who knows, a Republican mayor,” he said.
“After pouring over the numbers for two days, Jackie and I agree that if we are both in the race, we will dilute the progressive voice in Salt Lake City,” Dabakis said. “We need to unite. We will unite!”
Dabakis, who is in his first full term in the state Senate, entered the race April 6 after he and Biskupski criticized Becker during a news conference last month and accused him of working a “backroom deal” with legislators to push for a sales tax increase through the prison relocation plan.
Dabakis and Biskupski claimed Becker’s longtime ambition to raise Salt Lake City’s sales tax to help shoulder the burden of the city’s commuters and tourists could be made possible through a deal with legislators that was crafted under a provision that was introduced in the prison relocation bill, HB454, a day before the legislative session ended. Becker has denied their accusations.
MAYOR UPDATE! After pouring over numbers for two days--Jackie and I agree that if we are both in the race--we will...
Posted by Jim Dabakis for Senate 2 on Wednesday, April 15, 2015
After Dabakis formally announced his own mayoral campaign, Biskupski welcomed Dabakis to the race, saying Utah’s LGBT community has come a long way and should be proud to have two LGBT candidates running for mayor in Salt Lake City. Both Dabakis and Biskupski are openly gay.
Dabakis said his withdrawal from the race "guarantees a strong, well-financed, well-organized competitor for Mayor Becker." He said he's supporting Biskupski because Salt Lake City needs "new energy, vision and enthusiasm.”
Biskupski said she’s “thrilled” to have Dabakis’ support.
“I think what this does, just within the gay community, is create a sense of peace and unity because I think people were very torn,” she said. “The LGBT community has been served very well by both Jim and I, and there was a lot of people who didn’t know what to do. So it’s a win-win for the LGBT community and for the general public to see that people can come together when they find some common ground — that’s the kind of leadership they really need.”
University of Utah political science professor Matthew Burbank said the fact that Dabakis entered the race so abruptly makes his quick drop from the race less surprising. He said his back-and-forth actions are reflective of his career.
Before Dabakis was appointed to the Senate in 2013 to fill a vacancy and was elected in 2014, Dabakis also chaired the Utah Democratic Party from 2011 to 2014, overlapping his Senate and Democratic Party duties for one year.
“Given Dabakis’ style, I think he has a tendency to get into things and then move on to something else fairly quickly,” Burbank said.
Now that Jim is out, we can focus on real issues that matter to real people and real families.
–Luke Garrott, SLC mayoral candidate
Dabakis said he entered the race late because he didn’t seriously think about entering the race until after the Legislative session, and he didn’t discuss his plans with Biskupski before he decided to enter. He said his frustration with Becker spurred him to launch his campaign.
In response to Dabakis’ initial entry into the race, Garrott had pointed to Dabakis’ public history, saying in a prepared statement, “With the mayor’s office a four-year term, I hope Jim can stay interested in Salt Lake City — or anything — for that long.”
When asked if he expected Dabakis would drop from the race, Garrott said, “I didn’t think it would be so quick.”
“Now that Jim is out, we can focus on real issues that matter to real people and real families,” Garrott said.
Matt Lyon, lead campaign consultant for Becker, said the current mayor’s campaign strategy will not change with Dabakis out of the race.
“We’re really happy with what we’re doing,” Lyon said. “Mayor Becker has got a strong approval rating. Whether it’s Jim, or Jackie, or Luke or some other opponent, I think the voters in Salt Lake will see what Mayor Becker has done and will reelect him for it.”
Utah Democratic Party Chairman Peter Corroon said while Dabakis would have added “dynamics to the race, having less Democrats fighting against each other to win a seat is a positive thing for all Democrats.”
“I think Sen. Dabakis took a step back and thought it would be best for the race and best for Democrats if he stayed in the Utah State Senate,” Corroon said.
The candidate filling period for Salt Lake City elections is June 1-8. The city will hold a primary election Aug. 11, and the top two will advance to the Nov. 3 general election.
Katie McKellar is a Dixie State University graduate with a bachelor of science in mass communication. Before interning at Deseret News, she reported and edited news content for Dixie Sun News, first as Photo Editor, then as Features Editor. Email: kmckellar@deseretnews.com
