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He promised a lot, pilloried a little and made one thing clear: The underdog is taking the fight to the favorite.
Calling himself a doer, not a dreamer, Salt Lake City mayoral finalist Dave Buhler stood in the shadow of the Utah Capitol on Thursday to outline a "to-do list" of reforms he needs state help to realize - if elected.
In the same breath, Buhler assailed the legislative record of his front-running foe Ralph Becker, whom he questioned for passing just 15 bills during 11 years in the Utah House.
"Some years he didn't seem to make much of an effort," the Republican Buhler said about his Democratic rival. "The race is between two nice guys, but one's focus is on results. The other is focused on planning and blueprints."
It marked the first salvo in the fall mayoral finale, in which Mayor Rocky Anderson's successor will be elected.
Becker took the swipe in stride.
"I am happy to compare my record with anybody," said Becker, noting he oftentimes would co-sponsor "good legislation" with a Republican to assure its passage in the GOP-dominated Legislature. "I've been elected six times. I've never missed a day in the Legislature."
Buhler, a two-term city councilman who also served a four-year Utah Senate term, noted he passed 36 bills on Capitol Hill. He highlighted his sponsorship of the popular Zoo, Arts and Parks tax, along with measures that allow credit cards and checks in liquor stores, offer tax incentives for recycling and increase penalties for speeding in construction zones. He also pointed to bills that addressed ethics reform.
For his to-do list, Buhler vows to tweak redevelopment statutes to better fund schools, fight unfair school-district-equalization schemes, rebuild the North Temple viaduct, protect the elderly from being priced out of their homes by property-tax hikes, and partner with the state and county to fund a downtown arts district.
He also hopes to revise liquor laws to allow cities to control the number of restaurants with liquor licenses.
Buhler pledged to personally lobby the Legislature for the city - even if it means spending every day of the session on the hill.
"I'm known and respected on both sides of the aisle," he said. "It's one thing to promise, another thing to actually deliver."
Kirk Jowers, director of the University of Utah's Hinckley Institute of Politics, says BuhÂler's offensive clearly establishes that - in this officially nonpartisan race - one candidate is a Republican while the other is a Democrat.
"It is a little bit risky," Jowers said. "He could have easily just given his six [initiatives] and see if that would linger. But he brought it [Becker's record] up and that fairly puts the partisan issue on the table. That probably will be what sticks in people's minds."
That could shift the rhetoric, because Buhler - recognizing the GOP handicap in Utah's left-leaning capital - has been urging voters to look past party labels.
Becker says his role as House minority leader is to be a voice for Democrats across the state, craft a vision for the party and work to kill bad legislation.
"My record of achievement in elections . . . speaks for my representation," Becker said. "I do not want my position as a Democrat to interfere with getting good policy passed for the state."
Former Democratic lawmaker Patrice Arent says Becker fought vigorously for education funding and open-space protection. And many of her bills, Arent notes, only passed with Becker's behind-the-scenes help.
"He was the one who really initiated having the Democrats do their own budget," she said. "We were able to get things into the budget because of that. Does he get credit for that? Not exactly."
The number of passed bills is a "poor measure" of effectiveness, echoes Rep. Brad King, D-Price.
"If the best way to be effective as a legislator was to pass more laws, I'd quit," he quipped.
Political insiders argue that Buhler, who finished 11 percentage points behind Becker in the Sept. 11 primary, must take bold steps to make up the margin since Becker is unlikely to slip.
"He figured he had to fire this first shot now and see if people will latch on to it," Jowers said. "He doesn't want to lose his 'nice and reasonable' tag, but he has to find something else. It looks like his decision is that he's the effective guy."
Jill Remington Love, a city councilwoman who labels herself a liberal Democrat from the state's most liberal district, says she found "an ally in the most unexpected place" in Buhler.
And the Buhler backer argues capital residents should not vote based on religion or political affiliation.
Buhler, who says he relishes his dark-horse role, is an active Mormon while Becker is a nonpracticing Episcopalian.
The underdog showed some scrap as he took on the urban planner on the Capitol grounds. He noted a third of Becker's bills are about planning, while the last was ceremonial: declaring "State Water Week."
Buhler acknowledged the difficulty Democrats face passing laws at the Legislature. But he pointed to Democrats Arent and Mike Dmitrich, the Senate minority leader from Price whose collective bill output dwarfs that of Becker.
"I'll stand on my record and Dave can stand on his, and we'll move forward," Becker responded calmly. "I feel good about what I've done."
That unruffled reaction aside, Buhler's gentlemanly assault on Becker's record shows a shift in the campaign's tune if not its tone.
"It's on," barked Buhler adman Tom Love.
Soccer stadium support turns surreal
They crafted the talking points together and staged a news conference Thursday to deliver them.
But when mayoral hopeful Dave Buhler took the script from his Love Communications team and stuck it to opponent Ralph Becker for voting to send $35 million in tax dollars to a Sandy soccer stadium, it made for an awkward moment.
After all, Love Communications spent months on the Real Salt Lake payroll, pushing for the stadium.
Despite the irony floating amid the microphones, Buhler chastised Becker, a state lawmaker, for helping send soccer to Sandy.
"That was a big mistake," said the city councilman, who wanted the stadium at the Utah State Fairpark.
Unlike referees who often bail out flopping soccer players, Becker refused to take the bait.
"That's his opinion," he said. "Dave wasn't there."
- Derek P. Jensen