"It this the right forum for me?" the city councilman joked before the annual Utah Land Use Institute conference, where urban planners and land-use attorneys stuffed a downtown hotel.
But as the questions about planning strategies for Utah's capital unfurled, both candidates had ready answers, addressing both substance and style.
Becker and Buhler agreed the city's master-plan rules are too often neglected, a habit each vowed to correct. They pledged to hire talented planners and sound managers - and to support that staff - if elected.
And each mayoral hopeful pointed to responsible use of the city's Redevelopment Agency coffers to rehabilitate the city's blighted patches.
Becker, the Utah House minority leader who owned a Salt Lake City-based urban-planning firm for the past 20 years, said the key for the next mayor is to plan for the future.
He took a subtle swipe at his opponent by suggesting Buhler may focus on existing problems but ignore the big picture.
"That orientation isn't held by other people seeking this office," Becker said.
Buhler saved more of his ammunition for outgoing Mayor Rocky Anderson. He called it a "shame" that Anderson has been "absent without leave" on a variety of neighborhood planning problems. Turnover during the past eight years, he added, has not been conducive to planning.
And Buhler suggested the mayor's abrasive style has unnecessarily isolated the city from its neighbors.
Becker, who also spent seven years on the Planning Commission, says he would solicit community feedback and work to improve the city's "incredibly weak" bikeway system. He prefers incremental change over "massive" RDA projects, but says in any case land-use decisions must follow the city's carefully written plans.
"I am looking forward to a time, hopefully very soon, when we can return to that basic notion," Becker said.
Both candidates favor market-oriented trends in planning.
But with regard to the LDS Church's $1 billion City Creek Center investment in downtown Salt Lake City, Buhler says City Hall must remain flexible.
"We need to have a mayor who attracts, rather than repels, business," he said.
Buhler rejected the notion that he and the City Council rolled over on a downtown sky bridge, pointing to a page-and-a-half of amendments that must be met before final approval.
For his part, Becker said the City Creek developer has done well to adapt to concerns, but he insisted the skywalk removes pedestrian traffic from the street.
"They've still got a little ways to go," he said. "Walls, by their nature, create walls."
With five weeks remaining before voters hit the polls Nov. 6, a new poll shows Becker has a substantial lead. The Deseret Morning News survey, conducted Sept. 24-27, shows Becker leading Buhler 51 percent to 33 percent. Just 11 percent are undecided, according to the poll, which has a margin of error of plus or minus 5 percent.
djensen@sltrib.com
Dave Buhler
* WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Monday
* WHERE: The new east wing of the State Capitol complex
* SPONSOR: The League of Women Voters and the Junior League
