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SALT LAKE CITY — Salt Lake City's mayor is up for re-election in a couple weeks. Most people likely don't even know who is running against incumbent Ralph Becker, but the 79-year-old man is managing quite a campaign.
John Allen Kimball is a Salt Lake City businessman whose signature campaign literature is a simple bookmark. He said he decided to run against Becker because he felt bad no one else was.
Residence: Life-long Salt Lake City resident. Currently lives in the Avenues
Political affiliation: Republican
Website:kimballformayor.com
Career: Retired engineer, ran family business, Kimball Equipment Co.
Family: Married with five children
Fun fact: Known to his boyhood friends as "Oop"
For years, Kimball headed up his family business, the Kimball Equipment Company. He sees wasted opportunity for more businesses to locate on Salt Lake City's west side just as he did — another reason he decided to run for mayor.
"I'm mostly seeing opportunities that aren't being addressed," Kimball said.
At candidate forums, Kimball and Mayor Ralph Becker confess fundamental differences in style. Becker's strengths are that he is the incumbent, and he speaks the language of a new generation: things like bike lanes, anti-idling, and a Broadway-style theater.
"I think arts are important to us as a community, and I think if we're going to have arts have a role then government has to play a role," Becker said.
Kimball, on the other hand, believes roads should be more car-friendly, not less, and that city government shouldn't be involved in building a theater. "I believe the city should be concentrating on its core responsibilities," he explained.
Kimball is running a small but sincere campaign; with about $3,000 in campaign money, he goes door to door handing out bookmarks.
Becker is also going door to door, in his signature laid back manner. "I bring my own style," he said. "I am much more of a consensus-building and collaboration and partnership (type of mayor)."
Kimball, meantime, won't quibble about style, or age for that matter. "I think I still have some tread left in me," he said.
At this point, Becker doesn't really see Kimball as a threat. But Kimball does have quite a few supporters: people who told him they'd vote for him simply because he asked them to.
Email: rpiatt@ksl.com
