By Jeremiah Stettler
The Salt Lake Tribune
Now he will be campaigning for himself -- again.
Christian Burridge, a former congressional hopeful, announced plans Tuesday to seek a countywide Salt Lake County Council seat, a political post that Democratic Councilwoman Jenny Wilson plans to vacate next year.
It's a critical seat for the council's narrow 5-4 Democratic majority, which must defend two open spots. Not only has Wilson confirmed she will not pursue re-election, but Democratic Council Chairman Joe Hatch also has announced that he will step aside after the 2010 election.
"It is not a partisan thing," Burridge said Tuesday. "It is a trajectory thing."
That trajectory has everything to do with Democratic Mayor Peter Corroon, who Burridge says has done a "phenomenal job" of protecting open space, encouraging ethical leadership, maintaining critical services and exercising the fiscal discipline needed to preserve the county's coveted triple-A bond rating.
It has been a tough balancing act, Burridge said, but Democrats "have done a great job."
"I'm a firm supporter of Peter Corroon," he said. "It would be helpful to maintain his alliances on the County Council to get his agenda implemented and maintained."
But Burridge also would bring a geographical rarity to the current council: a west-sider. With the exception of Republican Councilman Michael Jensen, who lives in Magna, Burridge would be the second councilman to hail from the west side of Interstate 15.
Burridge is a South Jordan father of four who works as a personal-injury attorney for Siegfried & Jensen. While he served for one year as county Democratic Party chairman between 2007 and 2008, his background contains a campaign of his own.
Burridge was a one-time candidate for Congress in 2006, running unsuccessfully as the Democratic nominee against then-incumbent Chris Cannon in Utah's 3rd District.
jstettler@sltrib.com
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