Salt Lake City Mayor Becker leads with gentler style

[helderheid]

Salt Lake City Mayor Becker leads with gentler style
Milestones » Becker's accomplishments come from a be-there-in-person approach.

By Derek P. Jensen

The Salt Lake Tribune
Updated: 12/29/2008 06:48:21 AM MST


He propped up gays and auditioned a downtown theater, but critics groan he glossed over gangs.

He crisscrossed the city's streets and cultivated Washington, D.C., for cash, but grimaced as Sugar House was savaged.

He righted the city's sinking budget ship and quietly crafted a sweeping sustainability plan, but has yet to completely fix planning.

Ralph Becker churned through his freshman year as Salt Lake City mayor, but made little noise. Instead, the workmanlike urban planner made strides smoothing Rocky Anderson's eight-year riptide.

And even though he rarely sought the microphone, Becker by most accounts was subtly effective, salving relationships with the Legislature and Davis County and inside City Hall -- all while plugging his progressive agenda.

"He's reached out to people who were sort of anathema in Rocky's administration -- to Davis County, for instance, and to the LDS Church," says Councilman Eric Jergensen. "There's such a difference in the spirit of cooperation between the council and the mayor's office. That has been a much better way to run a city."

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http://www.sltrib.com/ci_11325531

I personally have been thrilled with both Becker and Anderson. :)