This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2006, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

The Legislature

Lawmakers locked the mayor in their sights after he joined a 2001 lawsuit against Legacy Highway. In 2002, they discussed yanking millions in sales-tax revenue intended to pay the city's Olympic tab. They approved a bill, later vetoed, to recover damages from anybody who sued them over state construction projects and lost.

The feud continued in 2003 as two lawmakers persuaded their colleagues to hold up $2.6 million owed Salt Lake City until Anderson agreed to bow out of future Legacy suits and pay more attention to the west side.

Legacy started the war, but Anderson's attacks on the state's liquor, gun, abstinence, English-only and anti-gay laws kept the battles raging. His strained ties with the Capitol Gang may have hurt the city's shot at a Major League Soccer stadium.

The City Council

This relationship is infamously strained. A majority backed Anderson's 2003 opponent. Even council members who back his positions see him as an ineffective lightning rod. Council members questioned his ability to issue certain executive decrees. They ordered a damning audit of the creation of a monument honoring organ donors at Library Square. They stole his thunder when they created their own ordinance extending health benefits to city employees' adult designees, including gay partners.

Anderson and Councilman Dave Buhler traded some memorable jabs. The first came after the mayor suggested some LDS members of the council were doing the bidding of their church by considering giving up the city's easement through the Main Street Plaza. The second erupted after Anderson's 2005 State of the City speech in which he criticized automobile commuting and singled out Davis County for its support of Legacy Highway.

The LDS Church

In the end, Anderson delivered what the church wanted on the Main Street Plaza - control of the property. But some Mormons can't forgive him for taking too long to get there. Mormons overwhelmingly backed his opponent in the 2003 race and they continued to slam him in subsequent polls.

Anderson offended some when he questioned whether the LDS temple would be the only icon of the 2002 Olympics. He needled the church about its renovation plans for its Main Street malls. And he expressed concerns of some non-Mormons that they won't feel welcome as the church remakes downtown.

In addition, Anderson's liberal positions on liquor laws and gay marriage irk many LDS members.

The Staff

Anderson's firing of employees started soon after he took office in 2000, typecasting him as a tyrant mayor. He has been through a handful of chiefs of staff. There has been turnover among his planning and community development directors and environmental advisers. And he is on his ninth communications director.

Deeda Seed marked the most memorable exit. The former councilwoman was fired as his spokeswoman in 2005 - even after previously working as his chief of staff. On her way out, she labeled him "abusive" and called his office a hostile workplace.

Later, Anderson fired his office assistant, who griped that she was asked to clean out the bird cage of the mayor's pet parrot.

Staffers who remain - including several long-timers - defend their boss and call the work invigorating.

- Heather May