Church influence helping mold downtown

Wilson: The Nordstrom battle is history. And now it will appear to some that the vote by the Salt Lake City Council, with a majority of active LDS members, was steered by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The church played trump cards by opposing the moving of Nordstrom to The Gateway and by an ambitious plan to redevelop Crossroads Plaza and adjacent properties. So, the perception by many in our town will be that the Mormon Church once again gets what it wants, when it wants and under conditions it wants.

Only perceptions, of course. But two important deals have been made this year by LDS Church influence. First was the city decision to sell the right of way reserved by the city on what was formerly Main Street between South and North Temple streets. And now we have the Nordstrom deal.

Which raises an important question: Is Salt Lake City a temporal community in the spirit of American democracy or does the city continue to be steered on the big issues by the traditional power center of the city, the LDS Church?

This is an important question because there has never been a time when our city was so split on issues that divide the LDS Church and others in our community. These differences have important political and cultural results.

How do we solve this enduring and sometimes destructive split? It seems silly to suggest that the Mormon Church stay out of issues like the plaza right of way and Nordstrom moving. After all, there is nothing in the separation of church and state doctrine that prohibits a church from participating in politics. Nor is there anything fundamentally wrong with citizens opposing the church just because it is an organized religion. But this understanding solves nothing.

The LDS Church has avoided many political questions over its history by establishing the principle that the church would only get involved if the issue had a "moral" consideration. The church has jumped freely into issues like liquor by the drink, pari-mutuel horse betting and liberalization of liquor laws. Few have faulted them for that. In this regard, the church does what other major religions do around morality and politics.

But the plaza and Nordstrom affairs have dragged the church into issues beyond the "moral" definition because it concerns property the church owns. One important reason the church opposed Nordstrom moving must have been the church's commitment to Meier & Frank, the buyer of ZCMI. It would make sense for Meier & Frank to prefer Nordstrom leave town rather than be a competitor several blocks west at The Gateway. Did the church have a fiduciary responsibility to Meier & Frank?

In short, it is business deals that cause the LDS Church to be so active in politics in Salt Lake City. Can business deals now be minimized for the LDS Church? Can the church return to the principle of moral issues now that the plaza matter has been resolved and now that it owns almost all of the property surrounding Temple Square?

Going back to the "moral" standard by the church may solve much of the divisiveness of our city.

Webb: It would not be practical or possible for the church to become a passive bystander on downtown issues as long as it is a major property owner downtown.

Downtown Salt Lake City is the world headquarters of the 11 million-member church, and, short of uprooting it all and moving it to Bountiful, the church will always be the anchor of downtown, the largest property holder and clearly the biggest influence.

And that's as it should be. Even the most rancid critics of the church have to acknowledge the church's enormously positive contributions to downtown ever since Salt Lake City was settled. Having the church downtown is a city planner's dream come true. It employs thousands of people downtown, has created and maintained beautiful buildings, gardens and parks, and provides hundreds of units of housing downtown, with more to come. The church and its businesses contribute generously to arts, cultural and civic institutions, in cash, real estate and volunteer work by executives.

When downtown has a serious problem, as it did with a declining Crossroads Plaza, the church steps up as a problem-solver with a vision that will enhance and solidify downtown for years to come.

So the church clearly earns its right to be a player downtown, to be involved and be an advocate in planning and zoning decisions as would any major property owner.

There is a big difference, however, in the church's involvement in secular downtown issues and its advocacy and positions on fundamental moral issues relevant to the church's basic doctrine. Planning and zoning decisions are purely secular. I'm confident one can remain a church member in perfectly good standing and disagree with the church on such secular issues. The church fully understands there will be differences of opinion on these matters, even among its dedicated members.

Members can obviously also disagree with church leaders on doctrinally based moral issues, such as abortion or gambling, but they would clearly be out of sync with church doctrine and teachings.

Republicans may have yet another choice next year in the 2nd District congressional race. Henry Autry, a prominent business leader in Salt Lake City, is considering jumping into the contest, according to a number of sources.

Autry would join the two front-runners in the race, John Swallow and Tim Bridgewater, along with second-tier candidates Mike Dunn and David Wilde. Swallow narrowly won the GOP nomination last year over Bridgewater and then went on to lose the general election against Rep. Jim Matheson by less than 1 percent of the vote.

Autry would be a very interesting addition to the race because he is African-American, is not a member of the LDS Church but is conservative with solid Republican credentials and is a very capable leader with significant business experience.

Some GOP leaders are quite excited about a possible Autry candidacy. Autry has held senior executive positions in the financial services, technology and manufacturing industries. He led American Express' operations in Utah and is currently founder and CEO of Contrado Partners, a financial services software company.

Democrat Ted Wilson, former Salt Lake mayor, is a political consultant. He recently stepped down as director of the Hinckley Institute of Politics at the University of Utah. E-mail: [email protected]. Republican LaVarr Webb was policy deputy to Gov. Mike Leavitt and Deseret News managing editor. He now is a political consultant and lobbyist. E-mail: [email protected].

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