MURRAY — Dave Wilde's arguments for why he should be mayor of Murray break down into a handy acronym he's using on his campaign signs — the C.H.A.N.G.E. stands for Cooperation, Honor, Accessibility, Neighborhoods, Good Growth and Efficiency.
While Wilde's campaign centers on the tenets of his motto, his primary push is to change Murray's landscape.
Wilde doesn't necessarily approve of Murray's commercial development in the last decade under Mayor Dan Snarr's leadership, and he thinks Snarr has neglected the city's neighborhoods in favor of establishing a strong retail base.
Snarr takes umbrage with the accusation that he doesn't care about neighborhoods — after all, he points out, he is the one with a weed-spraying backpack roaming city streets during summer — and insists commercial development is necessary to provide the money for maintaining those neighborhoods.
Beyond their politics, the two candidates' personalities differ greatly. Snarr is gregarious, amiable and zealous; Wilde is mild, reticent and careful. Snarr's office includes an oil painting of him on his Harley-Davidson motorcycle; Wilde's walls hold his diplomas and a 2002 Winter Olympics poster. Snarr is a former contractor with a penchant for alliteration ("prior planning prevents pathetically poor performance"); Wilde is a lawyer who distributes a newsletter about Utah, Wyoming and Nebraska courts, and weighs his words before speaking.
Snarr is running for his third term as mayor, and Wilde is partway through his second term as a Salt Lake County councilman. Both have lived in Murray for decades and both purport a deep love for this mid-valley suburb of 43,000.
Wilde, who started thinking about running after a friend approached him at Costco in January, wants to focus more on neighborhoods — a point he has hammered from the beginning of the campaign season. Murray has focused too much on commercial development and "not tuned into taking care of neighborhoods," he said.
Wilde's assertion about commercial development does not seem to be supported by the raw numbers. Murray retailers sold approximately $1.41 billion dollars worth of goods in 1997, according to an economic census by the U.S. government; in 2002, that number dropped slightly to $1.37 billion. The 2002 numbers, however, do not include sales from stores that have opened since then — Costco, Best Buy, Barnes & Noble, Thomasville Furniture and several restaurants.
The city relies heavily on its retailers to fund services. Murray officials are watching legislative agendas for the 2006 session in January for proposals that may include redistributing sales taxes to ding Murray's bottom line. But Snarr's personality has interfered with legislative lobbying on Murray's behalf, Wilde claims.
"I feel like I can work not only cooperatively in Murray government, but I've spent five years in county government," Wilde said. "I've served in an honorable, dignified way."
Independence is one of Murray's hallmarks, Snarr said. The city works with other governments when it needs to, but generally Murray and its services stand alone. The city runs its own power, police, fire, parks and recreation departments, and has its own library system.
"We'll not deny that we are a very independent city," Snarr said. "We control our destiny and provide immediately for our constituents."
Snarr wants to control the city's destiny by fully developing unused land, like the Fireclay district between 4100 South and 4500 South, from State Street to I-15. He initially wanted Real Salt Lake to build its professional soccer stadium at the site, but scrapped that idea when it was apparent Real was not considering Murray (the team chose Sandy). Now, he says 60 of the 100-or-so acres in Fireclay are under contract with buyers who caught Snarr's vision of a transit-oriented development dependent on light rail and a walkable design.
"I don't like areas that have sat for decades and not given great value back to the area," Snarr said. "We can even do better. We can preserve history and bring back much greater value to the properties."
Voters will decide Nov. 8 whether they prefer Snarr's emphasis on development or Wilde's focus on neighbor- hoods. They also will vote for a council member from District Two — either incumbent Robert D. Robertson or Josh Tillotson — and will re-elect incumbent Patricia W. Griffiths, who is running unopposed for District Four's council seat.
"We have a real special feel — a hometown feel — to this city," Wilde said. "There is such a feeling among people in Murray that 'this is my hometown. This is where I want to live.' "
E-mail: kswinyard@desnews.com