Andrew Card, President Bush's chief of staff, will address Friday's session of the National Conference of State Legislatures, NCSL officials announced Monday.

But because of time constraints and other issues, no leading Democrat will be sought to balance out the election-year conference, which runs through Friday morning in the Salt Palace.

Utah House Speaker Marty Stephens, who just happens to be president of NCSL this year, said in a Monday opening-day press conference that Bush himself will not attend as had been hoped. And, accordingly, Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., the presidential Democratic nominee, was not invited to speak to the estimated 4,000 legislators from across the nation signed up for the convention.

Stephens had said previously that if Bush came, Kerry would be invited. But Kerry would not be invited to speak without the president.

Stephens noted that Donna Brazile, former Democratic presidential nominee Al Gore's 2000 campaign manager, is Friday's main speaker, along with conservative editor William Kristol.

And if someone looks at NCSL keynote speakers year after year, "there is balance" politically, Stephens said, even if one party or the other may have more speakers at one convention.

For example, former Democratic President Bill Clinton spoke two times at NCSL conventions, and leading Republicans were not found to offset what Clinton said, noted Stephens, R-Farr West.

Perhaps Salt Lake Mayor Rocky Anderson has already been partisan enough to offset Card's invitation.

Stephens said Anderson "was pretty partisan, went after President Bush" before a Saturday night social event sponsored for the Hispanic caucus of NCSL.

Stephens did not attend the event but said several Republicans who did complained to him that Anderson said Bush "lacked integrity" and that Anderson made other comments taken as disparaging of the president.

Stephens said such "partisan" comments are usually not heard at NCSL conventions, which try to strike a nonpartisan tone. The Hispanic caucus meetings are not technically part of the NCSL's official meetings, and Anderson came at the invitation of that caucus, not of NCSL itself, said Stephens. Still, "It is not typical of the tone" of NCSL events, Stephens said.

Anderson denied criticizing Bush.

Invited to speak by former Clinton director of intergovernmental affairs Mickey Ibarra, who was raised in Utah, the mayor said he spent most of the time praising the work of Hispanic public servants such as Ibarra and his brother.

"I did stress, and this is not partisan, that Republicans and Democrats alike need to pull together to provide better affordable housing options," Anderson said. "And Section 8 (low-income housing) cuts under the Bush administration have hurt a lot of people in cities throughout the country. This was all said in the contexted theme that everyone in public service wants to help other people, and in pursuit of that we all need to do things to bolster, rather than diminish, affordable housing opportunities.