SALT LAKE CITY — Rocky Anderson wants his old job back.
On Wednesday, he announced his campaign for Salt Lake City mayor, seeking to reclaim the position he held from 2000 to 2008. In an hour-long speech inside a Ballpark neighborhood salon, he blasted the current administration of Mayor Erin Mendenhall and the city council of having a "do-nothing" attitude.
"Our city, my home for almost my entire adult life and a place I've always loved, is degraded, filthy in so many areas, unaffordable for most people, and experiencing the failures of homelessness policies that have wholly ignored best practices," Anderson said.
Throughout the speech, Anderson heaped criticism on Mayor Mendenhall (and her predecessor, Jackie Biskupski) over the city's handling of homelessness, policing and other issues, while touting his previous accomplishments including the Olympics, public transportation changes, the orange pedestrian safety flags and the Salt Lake City International Jazz Festival.
He promised if elected he'd institute sanctioned homeless camps, fund government or co-op housing and get police response times down to six minutes or less.
"I get things done," Anderson told reporters afterward. "I’m running for mayor for one reason and that is we need to turn this city around. I can build the team and we can look back, after not even a full term, we’re going to look back after a short period and see major major changes that are beneficial to Salt Lake City."
Anderson's administration faced its own criticism, with him often being labeled combative for fights he'd pick with the city council and other communities. Anderson defended himself, saying many of his stances were proved right by history.
"I'm not afraid to take on tough fights, even if they're unpopular at the time," he told reporters.
Appearing at an event Wednesday dealing with homelessness, Mayor Mendenhall declined to comment on her new challenger.
"I'm focused on managing this city and governing, not campaigning," she told FOX 13 News. "We’re focused on helping people be safe and not scaring them."
Mayor Mendenhall could face a number of challengers in her re-election bid. During her first run for office, there were eight candidates in the race.
