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Competitive? Probably not. But if the Salt Lake City mayor's race has one thing, it's contrast.

Incumbent Mayor Ralph Becker preaches walkability, sustainable living and smart growth — intent on making Utah's capital the greenest burg this side of Boulder, Colo.

His 79-year-old opponent, J. Allen Kimball, hopes to see more industrial manufacturers on the west side, fewer "pushy" bicycle initiatives and 1300 East widened into a "highway."

Yes, on Nov. 8, voters certainly have a choice.

Kimball, a retired engineer who ran his family business selling construction equipment, has an easy humor and folksy tongue.

"The only thing I've run for before is a traffic guard in the seventh grade," he remembers. "And I won, so I'm on a roll."

The self-described "old codger" jokes that he approves of Becker 84 percent of the time — a nod to the mayor's sparkling approval rating — but it's "the other 16 percent I'm working on."

Drilling down, Kimball, the "constitutionalist" who says he is sympathetic to the tea party, has little in common with the environmentally conscious Democrat.

Kimball insists traffic congestion on Foothill Drive could be solved by broadening 1300 East into an "arterial highway." Becker says sawing down that corridor's trees and introducing higher speeds wouldn't be "very neighborly."

Kimball argues "there's too much sharing of the road to the benefit of the bicycle." Becker, a daily bicycle commuter, defends doubling the city's bikeways since taking office in 2008.

"There are a lot of people in our community who want to ride their bikes who feel unsafe on the streets," he says. "I don't apologize for pursuing, very actively, changes in our roads to accommodate all forms of travel safely."

"Dead set" against a planned Utah Performing Arts Center on Main Street, Kimball alleges City Hall "is not qualified to be in commercial ventures." And he argues adjacent Regent Street should "blossom" without city involvement. "If somebody wants to come in and build a $100 million theater, that's fine — I'd be OK with it," the challenger adds. "I just wouldn't get in bed with it."

A Broadway-style playhouse has remained a Becker priority. The City Council could give its initial nod to the taxpayer-funded project by year's end.

Becker counters that downtown would not have Abravanel Hall, Capitol Theatre, Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center and other cultural hot spots without taxpayer support. "This community has a very strong and rich tradition of the public investing in our facilities and the arts," he says. "I don't see the Performing Arts Center as being something different."

Adding it up, about the only common denominator between the candidates: Both have lived most of their adult lives in the Avenues.

After facing down a crowded mayoral field in 2007, Becker didn't see a single opponent surface this year until the filing deadline had nearly expired.

Amid his first-term triumphs, Becker points to passage of a nondiscrimination ordinance and what became the mutual commitment registry. The mayor also eliminated the city's two-bar-per-block limit and launched a sweeping sustainable-living rewrite that removes obstacles to wise energy use and urban agriculture. He is equally proud of "aspirational" moves such as guiding the North Temple makeover, securing airport TRAX funding and steering the Sugar House streetcar effort.

Becker concedes his share of controversies, including restricting off-leash dogs at Parleys Historic Nature Park and his short-lived effort to place the public safety headquarters on Library Square. But he stresses a commitment to engage the community on all decisions — think the busy online forum "Open City Hall" — popular or otherwise.

"We tried to work through all of our matters where we bring people into the decision-making theater," Becker notes. "The whole objective ... has been to become a city that we all enjoy living in even more and are proud of even more."

So what's in store if he wins a second term? Expect more emphasis on mobility with "complete streets," more focus on neighborhood business districts and another major rule rewrite to foster "livability."

Small businessman to the core, Kimball worries the city has not been welcoming enough to new companies, including manufacturers.

"Why did Cabela's end up in Utah County?" he asks. "Why did IKEA end up in the southern part of this valley? Why did so many of those move out? Because it's difficult to put a business in Salt Lake City."

Kimball laments the exit of all the "builders" along 300 West and suggests there is "great potential for industrial growth on the west side."

"Mayor Becker is sort of a mainstream man, a downtown man," Kimball says. "My background is in industrial distribution and in manufacturing, and that mostly occurs on the west side. There's opportunities there that need to be leveraged."

For his part, the mayor says he maintains strong partnerships with the Salt Lake Chamber, Downtown Alliance and Economic Development Corp. of Utah. Becker says downtown is now livelier, but pledges to improve the city's business-loan program. And if he's re-elected, he wants to focus those dollars on stagnant patches of the city that could become successful commercial districts.

So given Becker's substantial edge in name recognition and his $240,000 campaign cash advantage, does Kimball stand any sort of chance?

"It's sort of like a tennis match," the political novice says. "If he makes a lot of unforced errors, I'll win."

djensen@sltrib.com Ralph Becker (i)

Age • 59

Education • Bachelor of arts in American civilization, University of Pennsylvania. Master's degree in geography and planning, University of Utah. Law degree, U.

Career • Founder, Bear West consulting firm; Utah House representative, 1996-2007, five years as House Democratic leader.

Family • In a relationship, with two children from a previous marriage.

Interesting fact • Worked as a firefighter for the U.S. Forest Service.

J. Allen Kimball

Age • 79

Education • Bachelor of science in mechanical engineering, University of Utah. Master's in business administration, University of Utah.

Career • Retired engineer; past president of Kimball Equipment Co.

Family • Married with five children.

Interesting fact • As a boy, rode in grader that cut the roadway for what would become Foothill Drive.