Sounding themes of innovation, renewal and business savvy, Deedee Corradini formally announced her candidacy for Salt Lake mayor Tuesday, the first female contender for the post in years.
Salt Lake City has never had a female mayor, and Corradini plans to be the first."We must be bold and creative in reshaping local government," she told about 50 supporters who gathered at the Central City Multi-Purpose Center to cheer her announcement. "We must
strive to make government do more with less. We must increase the tax base, not the tax burden."
Corradini joins already-announced candidates Dave Buhler, State Commerce Department director in GOP Gov. Norm Bangerter's administration; Dave Jones, a Utah House Democrat representing east-central Salt Lake City; and Mike Zuhl, Salt Lake Mayor Palmer DePaulis' chief of staff; in the race to replace DePaulis, who isn't seeking re-election this November.
The race is officially non-partisan - that is, the candidates' political party preferences don't appear on the ballot. Corradini stressed her non-partisanship several times in her speech. However, she is a Democrat, having worked for Rep. Wayne Owens, D-Utah, in Washington, D.C. Co-chairmen of her campaign committee are former Democratic Gov. Calvin Rampton and Kathleen Garn, wife of U.S. Sen. Jake Garn, R-Utah.
Over the past dozen years, the mayor's race has seen a Democrat and Republican in the final election.
Corradini said she's unique among the announced candidates because "I'm not a career politician."
She added: "I'm running for mayor on my experience both in and out of government and on our need for fresh-thinking and innovation."
After working in community development for Rampton in 1971, Corradini went to Washington, D.C., to work for Owens. After a divorce from her first husband, she returned to Salt Lake with two small children "and three suitcases." She went to work for Snowbird but left the resort to start Bonneville Associates, a consulting firm.
She now heads the successful firm and has made enough money to allow her to get back into public service. She is also remarried, to local attorney Yan Ross. She's been active in community and arts work, serving as chairman of the Utah Symphony and on the board of Utah Partnership for Educational and Economic Development.
As mayor, Corradini said her main goal would be revitalizing the city's housing stock, making the city an affordable place for young families and retired persons to live.
"We need new energy and new ideas to overcome the obstacles we face. The conventional way of doing things simply won't suffice. We can no longer afford needless bureaucracy, nor wasteful duplication of services among the various governments in this valley. I want to look beyond the programs and policies that have been tried in the past. Yesterday's solutions aren't sufficient to meet tomorrow's challenges.
"I'm running for mayor on the values we share - values that recognize that people are the heart of the city and that, ultimately, Salt Lake City will be measured by the quality of life and the opportunities we provide here."