The Deseret Morning News (DMN) can hardly be blamed for headlines like “Too much flitting about by Anderson?”.The editors know well, Rocky-bashing keeps their Davis County subscriber base happy. And after all, revenue takes precedent over social responsibility in a free market void of pesky liberal things like an informed citizenry.

But the content of the article – read objectively – speaks well of Mayor Anderson’s extensive travel. It’s hard to bash a guy for doing a good job and putting Salt Lake City on a par with other international cities. But no worries Davis county readers, a quick call to councilman Dave Buhler guarantees a gratuitous, pouty statement.

“If you’re a widow living in Central City, how does it benefit her that you’re receiving this award?” said Dave Buhler, the council’s chairman. “It’s up to him to justify, not up to me to justify, what he does.”

In Dave’s defense, he was probably quoted out of context and said that after complimenting Mayor Anderson’s strong environmental record.

It’s also little wonder the DMN ignored the following submission…

Turn down the heat on Mayor Anderson!

Dear Kersten,

I hope you will consider this as a “Letter To The Editor” as a comment in response to your story about the travels of Mayor Anderson.

I recently attended a meeting in New York of The Climate Group where Mayor Anderson gave one of the most exciting and hopeful presentations on how cities like Salt Lake City are making a difference. His presentation to our advisory board, which comprises corporate, academic, civic, scientific and governmental representatives, was truly inspiring and his pride in the steps your city has taken towards sustainability was a delight to behold.

Having covered civic politics earlier in my career, it was clear to me that Mayor Anderson represents a new kind of leader who looks beyond the limits of his political term in order to secure a better place for future generations of your citizens. Any fool can stay home and patch the potholes on Main Street but it takes a visionary to understand the impact that climate change will have on geographically distinctive places like your city and your state. I know many of us returned home to Canada, to England, to the Netherlands and to other regions of the US thinking about how we might follow Salt Lake City’s leadership in our own communities.

Many of us too are anxious to come for a visit to see this progress first hand. Mayor Anderson is a credit to your city and he is helping to develop an international reputation for Salt Lake City as the mother church of the sustainability movement.

Be proud of him, he deserves it.

Stuart Clugston, Vancouver, BC
Member of the Advisory Board The Climate Group
______________

Update: April 23, 2006 – Here is a letter to the editor that was published today in response to this article.