Salt Lake City Weekly - City Weekly and Politics

City Weekly and Politics

In its origin as a publication promoting Salt Lake City-area nightlife during a time when state alcohol regulations were more strict, City Weekly developed a reputation for its tendency to challenge established viewpoints—a reputation which now extends to the paper's coverage of local politics.

Apart from covering scandals about former Democratic Salt Lake City Mayor Deedee Corradini, the paper controversially editorialized against her and her associates. The paper often listed her actions as "misses" in the "Hits & Misses" column on the opinion page.

City Weekly attacks on district attorney Neal Gunnarson so upset him that he stole hundreds of copies of the paper from the racks in 1997. Technically, this is theft because only the first copy of publication is free; additional copies are one dollar each. An article appearing in the issue posited that Gunnarson was being too soft on Mayor Corradini, claiming that his weak prosecution didn't "pass the smell test."

During the 1999 mayoral elections, the scandal-ridden Corradini declined to seek re-election. City Weekly endorsed Rocky Anderson in a crowded primary. Anderson was an attorney who was once retained by the paper. Facing Stuart Reid, a member of Corradini's administration, Anderson won, but the paper remained neutral during his 2003 re-election. However, during Anderson's second term, he was visiting another city and crossed a police picket line in order to attend a scheduled meeting. He later remarked to a reporter that the line was not a picket line, but a demonstration, so there was no harm in crossing. This did not sit well with John Saltas, who viewed it as a repudiation of a useful labor negotiating tactic, and since that time Saltas has made several critical comments toward the Mayor in his columns.

In 2004, City Weekly published a series of articles criticizing embattled Salt Lake County mayor Nancy Workman. Workman was acquitted of criminal charges for misuse of County funds, but was forced out as a candidate by vote of the Salt Lake County Republican Party Central Committee. The Central Committee then proceeded to nominate and accept by acclamation candidate and developer Ellis Ivory. In the ensuing election last minute replacement Ellis Ivory, was defeated by Democrat Peter Corroon.