Salt Lake City can’t displace its Japanese community again [Video]

In the mid 1970s, my wife and I bought our home in the Central City neighborhood of Salt Lake, where we still live today. We have always enjoyed the rich diversity of our area. It was clear early on, however, that our neighborhood needed protection from unplanned development. We became involved in the neighborhood council and succeeded in getting the area rezoned to save our housing and to save the best of what we had.

This experience in community action introduced me to the political life of Salt Lake City and eventually led me to run and win a seat on the City Council — and ultimately to follow Ted Wilson, whom I greatly admired, as Salt Lake City mayor.

As mayor, I continued to learn about, appreciate and foster the strength and uniqueness of our neighborhoods. I learned that we as a city are stronger and richer when we respect …