Rocky's Bold Leadership
Last month, the North Dakota Senate narrowly failed to override Gov. Doug Burgum's veto of House Bill 1273, passed by the Republican-dominated state Legislature to prohibit municipalities from utilizing approval voting—a method wherein voters are permitted to vote for all candidates they approve of. The ban was specifically targeted at the city of Fargo, an island of highly competitive politics amid the otherwise ruby-red state.
The residents of Sarasota, Florida, were not so lucky last year, when Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law an act prohibiting the city's usage of ranked choice voting, a measure previously approved by 77% of Sarasota residents. In an act of defiance, Newberry, Florida, Mayor Jordan Marlowe announced his switch to Andrew Yang's electoral reform-based Forward Party last week.
Here in Salt Lake, voters may recognize ranked choice voting as the method agreed to by the city council for the upcoming citywide mayoral election and a concomitant handful of down ballot city council elections. Though the Utah Legislature has, as of yet, been supportive of localities piloting electoral reform measures, Salt Lake residents might rightfully look upon the assaults on municipal autonomy in Florida and North Dakota with worry.
As recent debates over the rights of transgender athletes and educational funding have illustrated, the cavern between our city and the rest of the state cuts across fundamental, moral fault lines as much as political and religious ones.
As much as any of the direct issues of the campaign, the mayoral race poses a fundamental reckoning on how Salt Lake City shall project itself to the world. While I acknowledge Mayor Mendenhall and the city council's credit for strides in electoral reform, candidate and former Mayor Rocky Anderson's record speaks to his ability to elevate the voices of the downtrodden, as ranked-choice and approval voting measures strive to. His willingness as mayor to challenge ostensibly insuperable power structures made Salt Lake an international model for human rights and mitigation of the climate crisis.
Rocky Anderson has, time after time, demonstrated an ability to represent Salt Lake City, boldly, as a champion of sustainable development and democracy, whether against the Legislature or, famously, against former U.S. presidents Bush and Trump.
Yet, as most advocates of ranked choice voting and other electoral reforms would admire, Anderson has demonstrated an oft overlooked willingness to bring people together, as seen in his lead role in encouraging the bridging of religious divides during the latter part of his mayoralty.
Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis famously described states as "laboratories of democracy," a principle that necessarily begins at the local level. If Salt Lake City's experiment in electoral reform is to avoid the fate of Sarasota and other municipalities that have fallen prey to overbearing legislatures in an age of threats to the ideals of American democracy, it must have a leader with a proven record of holding the line.
Rocky Anderson, perhaps more than any other politician in Utah history, has demonstrated that ability.
SHIV PARIHAR
Salt Lake City
Care to sound off on a feature in our pages or about a local concern? Write to comments@cityweekly.net or post your thoughts on our social media. We want to hear from you!
More by City Weekly Readers
-
Feedback from April 10 and Beyond
- Apr 16, 2025
-
Feedback from April 3 and Beyond
- Apr 9, 2025
-
Feedback from March 27 and Beyond
- Apr 2, 2025
- More »
Latest in Letters
