In debate, Crockett and McAdams differ in management styles and careers [Examiner.com]

Salt Lake County Mayoral Candidates Ben McAdams (D-left) and Mark Crockett (R-right)
Credits: McAdams campaign for mayor and Crockett campaign for mayor.

In a debate that one candidate called an interview for Salt Lake County’s “CEO job,” candidates for Salt Lake County mayor took turns laying out contrasting visions, and experience, for the office.

One, Democrat Ben McAdams, is a first term state senator, senior adviser to the Mayor of Salt Lake City, and a lawyer. The other, Republican Mark Crockett, is a businessman with a law degree and career turning struggling companies into successful ventures. Both touted their experience as appropriate for the chief executive position in Salt Lake County, reminding listeners of competing plans to reform the county.

In contrast to Republican Mark Crockett’s vision of a “bottom up” reform of county programs, Democrat Ben McAdams said he wants to conduct an “internal comprehensive review” to identify areas for improvement. Both seemed to agree that the county could be made more efficient, but Crockett disputed that McAdams has the skill set to make it happen.

“This isn’t a learn on the job position,” Crockett has said on multiple occasions, repeating it tonight. “Who do you trust to actually run a large complicated organization?” said Crockett. “A professional in-house lobbyist and politician? Or a somebody who is a businessman and run large corporations and has done it a lot of times before?”

Regarding McAdams plan, revealed last week, Crockett said that it “could largely have been lifted out of any business journal.” However, said Crockett, only a small percentage of efficiency projects in companies and organizations nationwide work because they are complicated and hard to do. “You have to have the skill set. You need to know what you are doing. I have helped companies and governments save billions of dollars a year. It’s not about having some list that may or may not be right–it’s about knowing how to guide all the stake holders through the process.”

In response, McAdams said that his experience as a corporate finance attorney working in mergers and acquisitions on Wall Street, and a record of working with people to find solutions.

Crockett disputed that “getting legislators together to talk about things” is the same thing as managing an organization. “I worked as a lawyer with Fortune 500 companies, too,” said Crockett. But “it’s not the same as managing things.”

“Good governing is a combination of experience and leadership,” said McAdams, arguing that the single most important element in success is learning to get along with people.

Crockett and McAdams will meet up again in a debate on Saturday at 11 at St. Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral, as well as on “Sunday Edition” with Richard Piatt on KSL at 9 AM Sunday Morning.

Tonight’s debate can be found on KCPW’s website.