Luz on NWQ and the Inland Port

The NWQ deal will allow for the development of warehouses next to the International Center.

In a crowded chamber filled with residents raising their objections, the Salt Lake City Council, meeting as the Redevelopment Agency (RDA), voted to approve a $28 million deal that would allow development on land adjacent to the International Center. Since then, I’ve received a number of questions on the NWQ deal and renewed questions on the Inland Port.

Tuesday’s approval of the $28 million NWQ deal was disappointing, but the problem goes back more than a year when the city agreed to the deal in the first place. The takeaway from this $28 million fiasco is that Salt Lake City needs a fresh perspective on the RDA, its process, and the contracts the city signs to ensure they have the necessary provisions to protect the interests of our city and reflect our collective values.

As mayor, I will work with the city council to reform the process and determine the standards that we ought to use in making such deals. Our contracts should have performance metrics that ensure not just a certain number of jobs, but that those are decent paying jobs, that the employers provide healthcare, childcare and share our vision of a sustainable city.

Make no mistake: the developers won on this deal and Salt Lake City lost.

Worse, city residents once again felt their voices weren’t being heard, which reminds us all of the bad taste left by the state’s takeover on the Inland Port. The taking of the city’s land use authority and tax increment was an outright mugging.

My record on the Inland Port speaks for itself. I have always stood up for Salt Lake City and every single time the Inland Port came before the Utah State Senate, I voted against it.

However, when the majority pushed it through over the objections of our city, I did not give up. I continued to push for what we could get and what might help us in the future. On the Inland Port that was securing air quality and water monitoring so we’d have baseline data to show the effect of the Inland Port in its development and operation.

As mayor, I will continue to fight for Salt Lake City and will continue the lawsuit against the state and the Inland Port. The outcome of that lawsuit will ultimately define our strategy and the available options the city has or any recourse the city may take.

This does not mean we sit still and wait. Our city must plan out for different contingencies and figure out how we move forward regardless of the lawsuit’s outcome.

As mayoral candidates, neither of us can promise to turn back the clock on the Inland Port (and the State Prison relocation!), but I hope voters will consider my record, my experience, and my reputation on this and every issue before our city.

I am the candidate that has 11 years of experience in the Utah State Legislature where I have successfully passed 50 bills as a Democrat in a GOP-dominated government. We need that collaborative, bridge building experience in City Hall.

I am the candidate with 13 years of professional experience as an administrator and manager developing businesses, fueling entrepreneurs, and empowering communities—another skillset our city needs.

In addition to legislative work, like my senate work or my opponent's city council work, I have served in the executive branch as the head of a state division. Before all that, I worked for nonprofits and at the grassroots level advocating for the least fortunate among us.

We cannot predict the future on issues like the Inland Port authority, but if elected you can count on me to be what I’ve always been: a champion for Salt Lake City.

Sincerely,

Luz Escamilla