https://www.facebook.com/SenatorDabakis/videos/298001164168957/
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, Dec. 11, 2018 (Gephardt Daily) — Democratic State Sen. Jim Dabakis announced Tuesday he will run for Salt Lake City mayor in 2019.
Dabakis made the announcement by way of Facebook Live, outside Rose Park Elementary School in Salt Lake City. He volunteers there weekly, he said.
Dabakis has served as Utah’s 2nd District State Senator since December 2012.
“I will be running for mayor,” Dabakis said in the video. “I’m not running against anybody. I happen to know all the people who are in and I hope a bunch of other people will get in. This ought to be democracy at its best. If you’re thinking about getting in: jump in the water.”
In the seven minute video, Dabakis also outlined the three major tasks he envisions for the mayor.
“Mayors ought to be doing things for the next generation, as well as this week and this month,” he said. “So with that in mind I think there are three major tasks for mayors. First, they should be ambassadors for the city. Everywhere they go, every time they get in a restaurant, every time they get in a theater, everywhere they go they ought to be saying, how am I doing? Is it OK– is the city running well? How are our 2,600 employees? Are we spending your $300 million well? How’s it going? Mayors ought to be there, getting business, they ought to be hopping on red eyes to talk to people that are going to bring good paying jobs, they ought to be active, they ought to be great ambassadors. Whether it’s the LDS Church or whether its the ACLU, to all the community.
“Second, I think the mayor needs to know how to run a $300 million a year business. And in my case, that will mean finding the best professionals whatever their party, whatever their group, we need to find the best professionals humanly possible, and have them be whispering into the mayor’s ear all the time. There’s not very many mayors, the political people, that have experience running those kind of businesses, and that’s really important.
“Third, I think the mayor needs to be thinking many years ahead. We cannot turn off this bad air overnight. But as President Kennedy said, a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. So the mayor needs to talk to the legislature constantly about what we’re doing about our air, and what we’re doing about the broader issues of transportation and low income housing and affordable housing. So that kind of visionary view of the city today and in a generation is something the mayor needs to do. The mayor needs to be the cultural master, Salt Lake’s future depends a lot on the culture and on the arts, and I think that’s also part of the mayor’s visionary role.”
He also said he hopes more people will join the race for mayor.
“I would love to see it like that Republican convention kind of debates where there’s just not enough podiums to go around. So if you’re thinking about it, get in. I’m in, I know the other people that are there, it’s going to be a fun year in 2019, and I hope that you’ll consider well your vote. One thing I’ve learned in politics is issues are really important but it’s the heart and soul of the candidate that you need to know. If you know where somebody is on a checklist of issues that’s good. But if you know where somebody’s heart is, if you know where their integrity is, then whatever the decisions will be, and you might not always agree with them, you can depend that they’re going to do the right thing.”
Mayor Jackie Biskupski has said she plans to seek re-election, and other candidates that have announced they will run are businessmen David Ibarra and former Salt Lake City Councilman Stan Penfold.
Dabakis announced in February he would not seek re-election to his seat in the Utah Senate.
