Last Sunday, Salt Lake City mayoral candidates marched alongside drag queens, sweaty men in Speedos and gay Latter-day Saints in the annual Utah Pride parade.
Salt Lake County Mayor Peter Corroon also was there, piggybacking off the cheers for parade grand marshal - and former Utah Jazz sub - John Amaechi.
"I stayed as close as I could [to Amaechi]," Corroon said moments after the march, "so we could get more applause."
Not long after Corroon wended his way to Washington Square, early Salt Lake City mayoral front-runner Jenny Wilson completed her wave-filled lap. She was followed by fellow candidates Ralph Becker and Keith Christensen, whose bright shirts stood out among their respective throngs of volunteers.
But the shirt with the loudest message belonged to Mayor Rocky Anderson, who sprang from the sidewalk to swing his arm around Christensen - whom Rocky has endorsed - near the end of the route.
"This Is What A Dyke Looks Like," Rocky's blazing red T-shirt read in black block letters.
Moments later, the mayor waded through the mass of spectators - as a woman wearing a Twister game as a dress followed closely behind.
Near the heart of the Pride parade, candidate Dave Buhler displayed his "I Like Dave" signs.
But his City Council colleague, Nancy Saxton, another mayoral contender, did not follow suit.
Instead, Saxton plastered City Council District 4 signs on her makeshift motorcycle trailer. That came two days after financial disclosures revealed Saxton had raised just $100 in the last reporting period.
So is Saxton having second thoughts about the mayor's race?
"It was a cognizant decision I made," she said, insisting her mayoral campaign is healthy despite the funding lag and the council sign. "I need to really be recognized for the contributions I've made as a City Council member."
This spring, Saxton insisted she will not file for re-election to the council and is in the mayor's chase for the long run.
Welcome news for two candidates hoping to take Saxton's seat, who also marched in the Pride parade.
The dirt on Pride
Sunday's Utah Pride parade quickly turned dirty, but it had nothing to do with the near-naked men prowling the capital sidewalks in S & M spikes.
Rick Graham, Salt Lake City's public services director, told the City Council last week that his crews scrambled until midnight cleaning up debris from the parade.
But that cleanup call was forced by a different kind of march.
Midway through the day, "the volunteers decided they didn't want to volunteer anymore," Graham explained. "It was unfortunate."
The discussion unfolded as the council wrestled with how to pay for ever-increasing special-event costs, which include police presence and cleanup for festivals and parades.
Attempts to reach Pride's festival director were unsuccessful. But since the event set an attendance record, the timing of the walkoff was particularly poor.
Said Graham: "We are billing them for that."
Militant new mayor?
A new candidate filed preliminary paperwork for the Salt Lake City mayor's race last week - but that action may be overshadowed by his legal ledger.
Court records show that in December 2000, a 3rd District judge issued a permanent injunction to keep Robert Muscheck off the schoolyard at Edison Elementary, which two of his children were attending at the time.
Turns out, faculty members were freaked out over Muscheck's alleged behavior. A complaint filed by the school district suggests Muscheck would appear in military garb then hurl homophobic and misogynistic bombs. Muscheck also allegedly called for martial arts instruction in classes as well as for teachers and students to wear uniforms.
In 2002, Muscheck attempted to get the injunction lifted but was unsuccessful.
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