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SALT LAKE CITY — State Sen. Ben McAdams is expected to announce Monday he's running for Salt Lake County mayor.
McAdams, first appointed to the Legislature in December 2009 to fill the vacancy left when former Sen. Scott McCoy resigned to focus on his legal career, would be the second Democrat in the race.
Current Salt Lake County Mayor Peter Corroon, a Democrat, is not seeking re-election.
Senate Minority Leader Ross Romero, D-Salt Lake, announced his bid for county mayor in September. Romero said Friday it would be disappointing to be challenged by his legislative colleague.
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A new democratic caucus within the state party is out to debunk the message by rival Republicans that if you are good member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Democratic Party is not for you."Unfortunately, the Democratic community is very small," Romero said. "I would suggest that competition for one office can be healthy, but in this environment, where there are so few of us, running for the same office obviously presents a strain."
Romero said McAdams had been an early supporter of his bid for county mayor but later expressed interest in getting in the race himself. McAdams also considered running for attorney general and Congress, Romero said.
"He has a lot of talent. I think there are a lot of places where service could be rendered," Romero said. "I would suggest that my leadership of seven years up at the Capitol, my community and work presence, my engagement with issues affecting all sorts of communities, certainly distinguish me from Sen. McAdams."
McAdams, elected last year to his first four-year term representing portions of Salt Lake City, the county and West Valley City, is a senior adviser to Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker.
The 36-year-old attorney is a father of four and holds degrees from the University of Utah and Columbia Law School. He has been an adjunct law professor at the U. since 2007. He also serves as the Senate Democrats' minority caucus manager.
A member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, he has been active in the state party's effort to recruit Mormon voters and helped bring together members of the church and the gay community on a city anti- discrimination ordinance.
McAdams did not immediately return calls about his candidacy, but a public relations firm made calls Friday alerting the media that an unnamed candidate would be announcing his entry into the mayor's race on Monday.
"I have not heard in any official capacity, but the word on the street is he's certainly looking at it," Salt Lake County Democratic Party Chairwoman Mary Bishop said. "We might have not one, but two qualified candidates in the race."
There could be a third Democrat in the race, Sam Granato. Granato, a former chairman of the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission, ran for the U.S. Senate last year.
Also eying the race is West Valley City Mayor Mike Winder, a Republican. Winder admitted this week to creating a false identity to write news stories about West Valley for Utah media outlets, including the Deseret News.
Salt Lake County Recorder Gary Ott became the first Republican to officially enter the race earlier this week. Another Republican, Salt Lake County Councilman Richard Snelgrove, has expressed interest in running.
Email:lroche@ksl.com
