This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
A Murray man through and through, Salt Lake County Councilman David Wilde wants to be the next mayor of that city, in place of the retiring Dan Snarr.
"My roots run deep in Murray City. My ancestors helped settle this area more than 150 years ago, and I personally have called Murray home from the time I was just 1-year old," said Wilde, 57, an attorney who has represented the central valley on the County Council since it replaced the commission form of government in 2000. "From my youngest days, I have played at Murray parks, shopped in Murray stores, participated in Murray sports leagues and attended Murray schools.…. Murray is my home."
Wilde said he has the experience to run the city's government, having been fiscally prudent with taxpayers' money during his County Council tenure, when he also worked to reduce the size of government and contain spending. At that same time, he noted that he secured funding for the Jordan River Parkway, Murray Recreation Center, Riverview Park and the Murray Boys & Girls Club.
If elected, Wilde pledged to keep commercial development "in its proper place" and to stop its encroachment into residential areas. "While development is good, we always need to remember that Murray is a great place to live first and foremost because it has great neighborhoods in which to raise families," he said.
Wilde said he would continue to protect and enhance Jordan River Parkway beautification and would work for more transparency in government. He cited his role in passing one county ordinance that required the mayor's meetings with his Cabinet to be open to the public and another that required organizations receiving large county tax subsidies, such as those through the Zoo Arts and Parks (ZAP) tax program, to have more geographical representation on their boards.
A 1974 graduate of Murray High School, Wilde received bachelor's and law degrees from the University of Utah. He is a partner in the firm Jones & Wilde, P.C., and owner/publisher of Rocky Mountain Verdicts, a company that reports court verdicts and settlements in personal injury, malpractice, products liability and other cases in Utah. He is on the boards of Utah's Hogle Zoo, Clark Planetarium, Salt Lake County Health Department, Jordan River Commission and the Utah Department of Workforce Services.
Wilde and his wife of 35 years, Linda, have four children and four grandchildren.
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