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SLC Mayor Ralph Becker Announces Bid for Re-Election

Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker is running for a 3rd term. He announced his bid for re-election to reporters Monday morning at a local café.

Becker says he has the energy and commitment to continue to lead the city as he has for the past seven years.

“People wanted a vibrant downtown,” Becker says. “They wanted a livable and sustainable city. They wanted mobility options…To that end, seven years later, we certainly have a list of accomplishments.”

Becker says Main Street has become a bustling center for entertainment and business under his tenure. He adds the new airport TRAX line, Sugar House Streetcar and increased bicycle and pedestrian options have improved mobility for residents.

District-four City Councilman Luke Garrott is not happy with Becker’s leadership. That’s why he says he’s challenging the Mayor for his seat in 2015.

“I see an agenda that is aimed more at luxury, legacy projects, not enough on developing people, developing our potential, offering opportunity to children, taking care of the bread and butter of daily life like cost of living,” Garrott says.

The two-term councilman says he’d like to focus on making homeownership and living in the city more affordable, attracting better paying jobs and improving youth programs, which took a hit during the recession.

Whittney Evans grew up southern Ohio and has worked in public radio since 2005. She has a communications degree from Morehead State University in Morehead, Kentucky, where she learned the ropes of reporting, producing and hosting. Whittney moved to Utah in 2009 where she became a reporter, producer and morning host at KCPW. Her reporting ranges from the hyper-local issues affecting Salt Lake City residents, to state-wide issues of national interest. Outside of work, she enjoys playing the guitar and getting to know the breathtaking landscape of the Mountain West.
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