There's the small-business man, who transformed a struggling Sugar House shop into the now-thriving Emigration Market in just eight years.

There's the Air Force veteran, who helped open the Baghdad airport and train the incoming Iraqi security force.

There's the lawyer, who speaks much of compromise after a legal career marked more by settlements than trials.

And there's the business consultant, whose pointers on professionalism have earned her the nickname "etiquette expert."

What binds these four candidates - J.T. Martin, William Huckins, Roger McConkie and Ellen Reddick - is their gusto for greenery, their advocacy of small business and their zeal to represent east-side neighborhoods in the capital's District 6.

Heading into the Sept. 11 primary, the fundraising front-runner is Martin, whose campaign has raised more than $27,000, according to this week's financial disclosures.

McConkie is in hot pursuit with more than $18,000, followed by Reddick at nearly $11,000 and Huckins - who said he would rather have a "volunteer walk up the street and push my name" - at a meager $75.

"I could spend $20,000 to $30,000 without a problem," Huckins said. "But why?"

A common theme is small business - not surprising for a district that contains some of the funkiest and most-sought-after neighborhoods in town.

Martin touts his success at Emigration Market, saying he has spent more than $6 million in payroll since 1999 and given at least 250 residents their first job.

City Hall needs a businessman, he said, to encourage homegrown enterprise and to remove the no-can-do attitude that he argues plagues the planning and permitting process.

"There needs to be a better ombudsman [for business]," he said. When projects are proposed, the mind-set should be, "How can we do this, not you can't do that."

Survival of small businesses also ranks among the top priorities for Reddick, who has written two books about job seeking and professional etiquette. She serves as a board adviser for the nonprofit Buy Local First organization.

For Reddick, small business means a "sense of place" for Salt Lake City.

"We need to make sure we keep those in our neighborhoods," she said, "and keep them alive and vibrant."

Reddick, who has served on a number of city committees and as chairwoman of the Bonneville Hills Community Council, described her candidacy as a "natural step."

Reddick pledged to champion open space, mass transit on the east side and a heftier police presence in her district's neighborhoods.

While Huckins wouldn't object to more police - he said the city is suffering from a drug problem - the candidate noted they have to do their jobs.

Just like the city forester. Just like the meter reader.

Huckins put employee accountability at the top of his priority list, saying the city must ensure workers aren't shirking their duties.

He also worries about projects like the redevelopment of Sugar House with high-rise offices, condos and retailers along 2100 South.

Huckins said he doesn't oppose development as long as the project fits the neighborhood. In Sugar House, he asserts, it didn't.

"What were they thinking?" he asked. "They are ruining the ambience of the neighborhood."

McConkie, a litigator, has branded himself as a compromiser in the District 6 race, saying Salt Lake City government needs a healthy dose of civility and respect.

"We need to take back the government from the extremists," he said.

McConkie's campaign has everything to do with connections - a theme that extends not only to his interpersonal relations, but also to green space, education and business.

He speaks of connecting the foothills to downtown with trails and open space. He talks of establishing a University of Utah law center downtown that would forge closer ties between students and the legal community. And he advocates a global trade center that could tap the state's foreign-language speaking population.

"There needs to be an effort to try to unify people," he said. "Instead of being seen as east-siders or west-siders, we need to be seen as Salt Lakers."

jstettler@sltrib.com

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