Inside a building that was once home to a candy company, Mike Zuhl proudly shows off the crown jewel decoration at the Matheson-for-governor campaign headquarters in Sugar House.

Hung from a wall in the middle of the offices is a large weathered banner with simple brown lettering on a white background. It reads:

Matheson

for

Governor

Democrat

"That's from the 1976 race," Zuhl exudes. "Norma Matheson handpainted it."

In and of itself, the sign reveals two significant truths about Scott Matheson Jr.'s bid for the governorship of Utah. One is that there's a family legacy steering the ship, one that traces back to 1976 when the late Scott Matheson Sr. won his first of two gubernatorial elections and his wife, Norma, helped paint the signs.

Two is that the Democrats are not above a little recycling if it will help keep expenses down.

"Welcome to the place of the people," smiles Zuhl, a veteran political operative who was Gov. Matheson's budget director from 1981 through 1984 and is now would-be governor Matheson's campaign manager. "We don't have the money the Republicans have. We cut corners where we can. I just mopped the floor — probably something they don't do at the Huntsman camp."

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My visit to the Matheson campaign headquarters came on the heels of a similar visit to the campaign headquarters of Jon Huntsman Jr. — Matheson's Republican opponent in the governor's race.

After surviving numerous intra-party bids for the Republican nomination, the Huntsman camp had the feel of a battle-tested bunker. Huntsman campaign manager Jason Chaffetz compared the atmosphere to that of a football team that has won its league championship and is getting ready for the bowl game, meaning this fall's general election.

By contrast, the Matheson camp — after no serious challenges from within the Democratic Party to Scott Jr.'s nomination — had the feel of spring training.

"I think there are advantages both ways," says Zuhl. "If you're already up and running, like the Republicans, you've had a chance to work the kinks out and get some momentum. On the other hand, we've had the luxury of being able to sit back and position ourselves — and not spend a lot of money. It's good for us to be here with most of our resources."

Zuhl, who successfully ran Palmer DePaulis's bid for Salt Lake City mayor in the 1980s and who has himself run unsuccessfully for mayor twice (against Deedee Corradini and as one of a large cast when Rocky Anderson won his first term), says Scott Matheson likes to compare this year's governor's race to the Triple Crown in horse racing.

"Scott compares the Republican Convention to the Kentucky Derby and the Republican primaries to the Preakness Stakes," says Zuhl. "Those are the races Smarty Jones won this year and those are the races Huntsman has won so far. But what Smarty Jones didn't win was the Belmont. It's the longest and the toughest of the three, and we're fresh for that third leg."

From the people's campaign, that's the party line, straight from the horse's mouth.

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Lee Benson's column runs Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Please send e-mail to benson@desnews.com and faxes to 801-237-2527.