Interesting mayoral primary in Salt Lake City! Ralph Becker (Democrat) tore through the pack – getting 38.5 percent of the more than 27,000 votes cast for mayoral candidates – and Dave Buhler (Republican) finished a surprising second, about 2,900 votes behind. Left out were Jenni Wilson (Democrat), who managed just a bit more than 23 percent of the primary vote total despite the fact that she had led in polls through most of the summer. Keith Christensen, who had disavowed his GOP ties and was the personal preference of current Mayor Rocky Anderson, received just 8 percent of the vote.

The primary turnout was 29 percent – not bad. The general election on Nov. 6 should bring out a lot more voters, especially with the controversial school voucher referendum.

A Salt Lake Tribune poll this past weekend reflected the eventual order in yesterday’s primary although the margins were considered too close to call. However, the poll did track – and accurately so – the big push by Becker.

If one looks at the campaign from a branding perspective of messaging and positioning then the results reflect appropriately which candidates did a better job at this task – Becker and Buhler. Add in their propensity for “press the flesh” campaigning and it becomes evident that these two contenders had stronger “fire in the belly” passions for the race than the others. Without the benefit of incumbency, these campaign dynamics will become even more critical in the remaining eight weeks. And, this is why Wilson’s strong name and family ties recognition as well as Christensen’s large budget and endorsement by the current mayor mattered so little in the outcome.

Candidate strategies also have to adapt to what I believe will be a harsher set of realities that will demand more than the rather congenial nature of the primary campaign evident from all sides. With the announcement by Wilson asking her constituency to support the new front-runner, hubris would indeed be Becker’s worst enemy if he thinks he can sail comfortably through the general election. While demographics suggest voters would readily accept Becker’s political ilk, he’ll need to “press the flesh” in precincts throughout the city where his message hasn’t yet particularly resonated (e.g. the west side).

Buhler’s challenge – at least on paper – is even more daunting, given his Republican and LDS ties. Buhler’s branding throughout the primary was focused on displaying his “nice guy” image, a clear counterpoint to the perception of the current mayor as a combative, contentious personality (I do not agree with that perception. Anderson has been aggressive but he also has cultivated an essentially effective culture of political vision and leadership appropriately aligned with the potential direction of urban growth and development.) Now that Buhler has survived the cut, he will have to prove a genuine, independent identity committed to the type of progressive vision that has largely captivated Salt Lake City voters for the last three decades. Voters may agree on him being likable but will they be able to trust him for speaking truthfully on the public’s behalf when it comes to the most contentious points of downtown redevelopment.

Traditionally, a mayor’s own political vision translates into the political consciousness and behavior undertaken by those actively engaged in the development of the city. Therefore, a mayor’s potential status quo orientation will be numbing in the face of urban revitalization and community development. In other words, the effective mayor always will give legitimacy to his ideology of leadership by matching progressive rhetoric with progressive action. Both candidates claim to be progressive and both claim to be nice, reasonable, likable men. Yet, I believe there are extraordinary differences in political vision between them. As voters, we should aggressively explore those contrasts in the next eight weeks.