Unable to bounce Republican bulldog Chris Cannon from his congressional perch, Democratic newcomer Christian Burridge is hoping to guide candidates in Democrat-friendly Salt Lake County.

During next weekend's Salt Lake County convention, look for Burridge to replace Democratic County Chairwoman Megan Risbon, who said she will run for the state party treasurer post this summer.

"I'll probably be the only Democratic chairman in the history of Salt Lake County who is LDS and lives in the suburbs," Burridge, a Daybreak resident, joked. The race is uncontested.

An attorney and a self-described "31-year-old political novice," Burridge ran a fiery campaign against Cannon, but ultimately suffered a lopsided loss.

Had he been elected, Burridge would have been among the youngest members serving in Congress.

Now, look for him to carve out slices of blue in Utah's crimson pie.

Straw polls, shakes, strolls

To be sure, overturning a seemingly ironclad ban against Salt Lake City sky bridges is an ordeal. But the Salt Lake City Council took it to an art form.

For hours last week, council members donned their lawyer caps, dissecting every syllable of a proposed master-plan amendment. And in true democratic form, they were careful - the city captains actually took a straw poll whether to include "and" or "or."

Midway through their meticulousness, the members shuffled across the hall to the council chambers before moving back when they decided the workroom was better suited for the work.

Then, after straw-polling every paragraph, the council approved language to bring the skywalk back to the body after the planning commission gets its crack.

Well, except Councilwoman and mayoral wannabe Nancy Saxton, who despite tweaking terminology all night, advocated that planners, not the council, should have the final word.

Still, the tedium paid off. After the 6-1 vote for the bridge - urban planner and skywalk foe Soren Simonsen was repeatedly brushed off - a row of representatives from the LDS Church and City Creek Center developer Taubman Centers Inc. took turns pumping the hands of everyone on the dais.

Then they told reporters "we have our work cut out for us." Actually, with the council's vote, the pedestrian pathway for the church's downtown mall makeover appears greased.

* Have a tip? Contact DEREK P. JENSEN at djensen@sltrib. com, 801-257-8785; CATHY MCKITRICK at cmckitrick @sltrib.com, 801-257-8778; ROSEMARY WINTERS at rwinters@sltrib.com, 257-8737; KRISTEN MOULTON at kmoulton@sltrib.com, 831-0467; STEVE GEHRKE at sgehrke@sltrib.com, 257-8717.