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Richard Piatt ReportingIt's still early, but there's already a buzz about the Salt Lake City Mayor's race. So far, there's only one 'for sure' candidate, and it is NOT Rocky Anderson. He hasn't decided yet. But he has definite opinions about the person who is running.
Of the seven current city council members, four say they may run for mayor in 2007. One, Nancy Saxton, says she definitely will.
Nancy Saxton, City Council Member: "It's just time, it's time for a change."
Saxton says she'll work with people to get things done, and that the capitol city has not benefited from isolating itself. That's an indirect reference to Mayor Rocky Anderson's distinct style, which has not played well in other cities and on Capitol Hill.
But in turn, Mayor Anderson is very direct in his opposition to Saxton as a candidate.
On the phone from New York, where he's attending an environmental conference, Anderson said Saxton is mean and abrasive to staff and the public, and, that she "has provided absolutely no leadership, and is dedicated to delay and obstructionism."
Nancy Saxton, City Council Member: "To me, calling officials names, pointing fingers at other people, doesn't get us anywhere. I am a collaborator."
The sharp differences between Anderson and Saxton are nothing new, but his opposition could also be political. The Mayor wants businessman and former city councilman Keith Christensen to run, if he doesn't.
Keith Christensen, Former City Council Member: "I'm honored Rocky thinks enough of me to think I would be a good candidate for mayor. But we'll make that decision jointly. One of us will run, and one of us won't."
There are a lot of potential candidate names floating around, all possible occupants of that corner office in City Hall. But the race is already taking shape, a year and a half before the election.
