Look more closely, though, and you will find plenty of differences between Republican Mark Crockett and Democrat Dina Blaes, the candidates running for the Salt Lake County Council's open seat in District 4's northeast sector.

Blaes, who wanted to be an architect, is an unabashed champion of land-use planning. She is fond of saying real estate is "interdependent" and decries "zoning for dollars."

"It's frustrating to me when the rhetoric stops at only the highest and best use," Blaes says. "It's the government's job to set the big picture on how communities will look."

Crockett, who has counseled companies with budgets and staffs that dwarf the county's, sees economic growth differently.

"That's socialism," he says of Blaes' ideas. "Business is about competition. We should remove regulation, not add it."

But both candidates in the Nov. 2 showdown want to bring decision-making as close to neighborhoods as possible.

Blaes backs townships to help protect residents on land-use issues and laments micromanaging by the nine-member County Council. But she expects Utah's most populous county to pay closer attention to predatory big boxes and how they sometimes divide cities.

"Healthy municipalities in the county make a healthy county," she says.

Crockett emphasizes the importance of community council meetings and wants county government to "objectively assess" the services it provides.

"The trick," he says, "is to figure out which service belongs where and make sure we pay for them once."

Neither Crockett nor Blaes has run for political office before. But they have no illusions about their sphere of influence on a council loaded with ego.

"It's not going to get done by ranting and raving," Crockett says. "There's no substitute for each council member just doing their homework."

Blaes and Crockett agree the budget needs more public involvement and better allocation of staff. "They do more fund transfers than I can even believe," says Blaes, who accuses the council of making short-term solutions to long-term problems.

Crockett insists the budget could be broken down into separate divisions for aides to scrutinize. "That's a lot of resources," he says.

In other priorities, Blaes wants the county to:

l "Step up and be a player" in the state's discussions on sales tax redistribution.

l Make intent language in general plans binding, not advisory, particularly in the foothills and canyons.

l Monitor growth of seniors with regard to housing. "They should leave their house when they want to leave their house, not because taxes are making them go."

Crockett wants the county to:

l Find $50 million in the budget for improved water systems and new trails.

l Address traffic calming on a neighborhood basis - for example, are dips or bumps preferred?

l Never raise taxes and give any extra money to education. "If there's ever an extra dime, we need to give it to the kids, and that's really why I'm in it."

Both candidates agree billboards, which they call a "quagmire," should be phased out over time, but differ slightly over the methodology.

djensen@sltrib.com