Rocky Anderson

Anderson restructured Salt Lake City's criminal justice system and, after reviewing the peer-reviewed literature indicating that DARE is ineffective in reducing drug use, discontinued the DARE program in Salt Lake City schools. Instead, he supported the implementation of other programs — ATLAS and ATHENA — that have demonstrated some success.

Considered perhaps the "greenest" mayor in the United States, Anderson gained international renown for his Salt Lake City Green Program – a comprehensive effort to improve sustainability and reduce the City's environmental footprint – which achieved a 31% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from municipal operations in just 3 years. Elements of the program, which Anderson described as covering "everything from dog waste to nuclear waste", included initiatives to improve the efficiency of the City's fleet and use of electricity, measures to make Salt Lake City more bicycle-and pedestrian-friendly, and co-generation plants at the City's landfill and wastewater treatment facilities that recapture methane to generate electricity.

Anderson announced his intention to run for president in 2012 as a candidate for the newly formed Justice Party. He announced on December 14, 2012, that he would not be running for U.S. Representative in 2014, or for U.S. President again in 2016. He subsequently endorsed Bernie Sanders in the 2016 Democratic primary.

Anderson formally accepted the 2012 presidential nomination of the Justice Party on January 13, 2012. His running mate was Luis J. Rodriguez, a Chicano activist and writer from California.

In March 2012, Anderson announced that he was seeking the presidential nomination of Americans Elect in addition to campaigning as the Justice party nominee. The following May, Americans Elect announced that it would not run a presidential nominee in 2012.

Anderson was nominated by the Natural Law Party in Michigan and appeared on the ballot under the party banner with running-mate Rodriguez. He also sought the presidential nomination of the Peace and Freedom Party, but withdrew his bid for that nomination in August 2012. He received 43,018 votes, or 0.03 percent of the vote.

Formerly a member of the Democratic Party, Anderson expressed his disappointment with that party in 2011, stating, "The Constitution has been eviscerated while Democrats have stood by with nary a whimper. It is a gutless, unprincipled party, bought and paid for by the same interests that buy and pay for the Republican Party."

On August 11, 2011, major news media in Utah reported that Anderson had denounced the Democratic Party and had resigned his membership of the party. Anderson wrote in a letter to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee that "Until the Democratic Party shows some spine and draws a line in the sand — that an end to the tax breaks for the wealthy needs to be part of any debt/budget bill — please take my name off your list." He added: "I'm done with the Democratic Party. As I said on Amy Goodman's show a couple years ago, I've put my 'Proud Democrat' coffee mug in storage. I think now I'll just throw it in the garbage and have done with it" and that "The Constitution has been eviscerated while Democrats have stood by with nary a whimper. It is a gutless, unprincipled party, bought and paid for by the same interests that buy and pay for the Republican Party."

On November 29, 2011, the Salt Lake Tribune quotes Anderson as saying, "I'll be announcing my candidacy," for the 2012 presidential nomination of a new national political party. This party was not named, though it was later reported to be called the Justice Party. Its formation is reported to have been discussed among Anderson; Margaret Flowers, a medical doctor and proponent of a single-payer health plan; Kevin Zeese, an organizer of the Occupy D.C. movement; and former U.S. Rep. John Anderson, who ran for president as an independent in the 1980 presidential election.

In January 2008 he founded High Road for Human Rights, a non-profit organization set up to achieve major reforms of US human rights policies and practices through unique, coordinated and sustained grassroots activism that complements the work of other human rights organizations.

Anderson testified before the U.S. House Judiciary Committee during a hearing on September 25, 2008, concerning executive-branch abuses of power, and spoke at rallies organized by High Road for Human Rights in which he called for accountability for torture. He has also researched, written, produced, and narrated two multimedia pieces focusing on torture and the undermining of the rule of law.

Anderson has emphasized the apparent discrepancies between Obama's positions as a candidate for the 2008 presidency and the actions he has taken as president, believing that "President Obama has betrayed us in almost every single way from being a candidate to being the President of the United States." Anderson has pointed to Obama's failure to close the Guantanamo Bay detention camp, refusing to prosecute what Anderson deems to be the "war criminals" of the Bush administration, continuing renditions, violating the War Power Clause of the Constitution and the War Powers Resolution by committing military troops to Libya without congressional authorization, and continuing, and even expanding, the occupation in Afghanistan. He stated that Obama is "the least deserving recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in the history of the Nobel Peace Prize."

On June 12, 2007, following a meeting in a City Council workroom, Anderson was involved in a physical and verbal confrontation with a real-estate developer, Dell Loy Hansen. After challenging Anderson to speak to him, Hansen reportedly knocked Anderson off-balance. Anderson responded by threatening to "kick [Hansen's] ass." On June 18, a spokesman for Anderson indicated that the possibility of legal action against Hansen was being explored. It has since been determined that no charges will be filed.

Anderson received the League of United Latin American Citizens's first-ever "Profile in Courage" award, as well as the National Association of Hispanic Publications' Presidential Award, in 2006.

In 2006, he expressed his view of the Democratic Party:

In August 2005, Anderson violated Salt Lake City policy when he used $634 in public funds to purchase meals and alcoholic beverages on two occasions for musicians who performed at the Salt Lake City International Jazz Festival and for visiting mayors from throughout the country. The Deseret News published four consecutive front-page articles on the story, and portrayed the purchases as "bar tabs,".

When interviewed in September 2005 by the Deseret Morning News, Anderson stated that he disagreed with the policy, asserting that the provision of hospitality to out-of-town visitors is an important mayoral function, and that exceptions to the policy had been made previously. The policy was subsequently changed to allow appropriate purchases of food and alcohol when entertaining out-of-town guests. Mayor Anderson used his private funds to reimburse the City for expenditures incurred while entertaining visiting mayors.

In October 2005, local politicians accused Anderson of improperly spending public money. This time the issue centered around travel to Italy connected with the 2006 Winter Olympic Games. Anderson responded that the trip to Turin was to continue the longstanding Olympic tradition of delivering the Olympic message and did not cost Utah taxpayers any money. The Salt Lake City District Attorney cleared Anderson of any wrongdoing in the case.

State Senator Chris Buttars of West Jordan publicly denounced former Mayor Rocky Anderson for having "attracted the entire gay community to come and live in Salt Lake County" after a Dan Jones poll indicated strong support for allowing domestic partnerships. In the 2004 election, 63% of the city population voted against banning same-sex marriage, in agreement with Mayor Anderson.

As mayor, Anderson rose to nationwide prominence as a champion of several national and international causes, including climate protection, immigration reform, restorative criminal justice, LGBT rights, and an end to the "War on Drugs". Before and after the invasion by the U.S. of Iraq in 2003, Anderson was a leading opponent of the invasion and occupation of Iraq. Anderson was the only mayor of a major U.S. city who advocated for the impeachment of President George W. Bush, which he did in many venues throughout the United States.

In 2003, Anderson received the Climate Protection Award from the United States Environmental Protection Agency, and the Sierra Club acknowledged his environmental work with its Distinguished Service Award. In November 2005, the Salt Lake City Green program led to Salt Lake City receiving the World Leadership Award for environmental programs, presented by the World Leadership Forum in London.

Anderson's two terms in office were extremely eventful, with Anderson playing a leading role in hosting the 2002 Winter Olympic Games; He organized and co-hosted dozens of mayors for three consecutive years at the Sundance Summit. He also founded the Salt Lake City International Jazz Festival, as well as providing national and international leadership regarding climate protection. He conducted a successful national campaign to require that airports across the country screen all checked luggage, expanded the area's light rail system, significantly expanded protected open space, implemented an innovative and highly successful Restorative justice program and created a city wide after-school and summer youth program.

As part of the Salt Lake City Green program, Anderson committed Salt Lake City to the Kyoto Protocol goals in 2002. He mandated that all city buildings use energy-efficient light bulbs and replace SUVs in the city fleet with high-efficiency, alternative-fuel vehicles. Anderson almost doubled the city's recycling capacity in one year. The City surpassed its Kyoto goals in 2006, seven years ahead of schedule.

After working with Mitt Romney and leading Salt Lake City through the 2002 Winter Olympics, Anderson handed off the Olympic flag at the closing ceremonies of the 2002 Winter Olympic Games. One of Anderson's key achievements was working effectively with the Utah State Legislature and Mitt Romney in making certain that public safety needs would be adequately financed. Romney later said, "I think a lot of people would look at (the Olympic funding deal) and say it was a minor miracle. [Rocky] was instrumental, key, in reaching a solution."

Anderson endorsed Romney's subsequent 2002 gubernatorial bid in Massachusetts. Romney later endorsed Anderson's 2003 mayoral re-election campaign. Anderson has criticized Romney's changes in position on certain issues since he decided to run for president of the U.S. "The Mitt Romney who ran for and served as governor of Massachusetts was a very different Mitt Romney than has been running for President of the United States ... the real Mitt Romney — the Mitt Romney we all knew and [who] served as governor of Massachusetts — was very reasonable, very moderate — he felt that Roe versus Wade should be the end of the debate on choice; supporter of stem cell research — he was not the right-winger that he seemed to be when he decided he would run for President of the United States."

In December 2001, state and federal officials organized a raid at the Salt Lake City Airport to enforce immigration laws against undocumented employees, who were arrested, imprisoned and fired. In response, Anderson created the Family to Family program, which made it possible for Salt Lake City families to provide direct emotional and financial assistance to the airport workers and their families, while gaining a better understanding of the plight of immigrants. Additionally, the Mayor spearheaded a challenge to English-only legislation in Utah in 2000, and later spoke at large demonstrations for comprehensive immigration reform.

Anderson signed an executive order in 2000 implementing a full-fledged affirmative action program in City hiring. This program led to historic levels of ethnic minority hiring and retention in City government. The percentage of the City government's workforce that was drawn from the ethnic minority community increased more than 30% in seven years, and the number of senior City administrators from the ethnic minority community has increased by over 85% since 2000. Thirty-two percent of Anderson's appointments to City boards and commissions, and one-third of the staff in the Mayor's Office, were of individuals from ethnic minorities.

In 2000, Anderson asked the Salt Lake City Police Department to end its participation in the DARE program. He told DARE officials: "I think your organization has been an absolute fraud on the people of this country ... For you to continue taking precious drug-prevention dollars when we have such a serious and, in some instances, growing addiction problem is unconscionable."

Anderson ran for Mayor of Salt Lake City in 1999, defeating 10 other candidates in the primary campaign, before winning 60% of the vote in the general election against opponent Stuart Reid. He won re-election by a 7% margin against Frank Pignanelli in 2003.

Establishing a reputation as a fiscal conservative, during the 1999–2007 period Anderson increased the balance of Salt Lake City's general reserve fund by more than 62%, from $20.3 million to $32.6 million.

After winning a contentious primary election against Kelly Atkinson by a margin of 11%, Anderson ran for Congress as the Democratic nominee in Utah's Second Congressional District in 1996 against Republican Merrill Cook. Without any financial help from the Democratic Party (some local Democratic leaders viewed Anderson as being too liberal because of his support of the ACLU, his opposition to U.S. policy toward Nicaragua in the 1980s, and his opposition to the death penalty), he garnered over 100,000 votes in the district. Anderson lost the 1996 race to Merrill Cook by 29,680 votes, achieving 42 percent of the ballots cast versus Cook's 55 percent.

After President Obama's election, Anderson was soon critical of many of his policy positions and staff selections. He opposed Susan Rice, whom Obama appointed as United States Ambassador to the United Nations. Anderson faults Ms. Rice for "doing nothing" to stop the 1994 genocide in Rwanda as a staff member of the National Security Council. Anderson was critical of the appointment by Obama of John Brennan as his counter-terrorism adviser because Brennan, as a member of the George W. Bush administration, had publicly supported wiretapping, "enhanced interrogation" and the "rendition" of war-on-terror suspects to offshore prisons beyond the reach of American law. Anderson also pointed to what he described as Obama's change of position after he received the Democratic presidential nomination on the question of immunity for telecom companies that cooperated with the Bush Administration's wiretapping program.

Though Anderson is not a Mormon, he was raised as one and was a practicing member of the LDS Church in Logan. However, he has described his disagreement with certain doctrines of the LDS Church, particularly the denial prior to 1978 of the priesthood and hence temple ceremonies to men of black African descent (see Black people and Mormonism). Anderson also expresses disagreement with what he describes as the LDS teaching of personal moral abdication through obedience to people in positions of authority. Anderson believes in the principle of personal conscience and individual accountability, and considers what he sees as a call for blind obedience as being incompatible with that principle.

In 1978 Anderson graduated, with honors, from George Washington University Law School, earning his J.D.

Ross Carl "Rocky" Anderson (born September 9, 1951) is an American attorney and politician. He served two terms as the 33rd mayor of Salt Lake City, Utah from 2000–08. He is the Executive Director of High Road for Human Rights and a founding member of the Justice Party.