Huntsman is not afraid to shake things up

Legislative/executive relationships are never perfect, nor should they be. Separate branches of government are meant to check and balance, and disagreements are inevitable and healthy.

Huntsman will have to learn to let the legislative process play out. A session has a natural rhythm, with runs and troughs and deadlocks and momentum much like a basketball game. The trick is getting into the flow and having a great sense of timing.

When a governor has an agenda and budget priorities all lined up, the legislative process is just beginning. The lawmakers have to grapple and push and pull on the issues and budget for a few weeks before things start to clear up. They need some space and time to work their process before the governor steps in and pushes his priorities too hard. In the end, a win at the Legislature requires 38 House votes, 15 Senate votes, and one vote across the plaza. The governor, ultimately, has plenty of clout.

• I'm a bit perplexed by all the slightly veiled criticism of my old boss, Mike Leavitt, on the PC (political capital) issue. Leavitt is one of the most popular and successful politicians Utah has ever produced.

It's true that he chooses his battles carefully and prefers not to throw himself against political brick walls. But he took on plenty of really hard issues, could be tough as nails, and in session after session he got everything he wanted out of the Legislature. Part of Leavitt's PC problem was that he made tough tasks look relatively easy. He's smart enough to see, and align himself, with political waves. He usually outworked and outmaneuvered the opposition.

I think much of the current grumbling about Leavitt is at its core more of a personal matter, with some people feeling that Leavitt was in the game mostly for Leavitt and perhaps not for others.

You don't get where Leavitt is today without being tough and capable, with consummate political and communications skills.

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Republican LaVarr Webb was policy deputy to Gov. Mike Leavitt and Deseret News managing editor. He now is a political consultant and lobbyist. E-mail: lwebb@exoro.com.

Democrat Frank Pignanelli is Salt Lake attorney, lobbyist and political adviser. A former candidate for Salt Lake mayor, Pignanelli served 10 years in the Utah House of Representatives, six years as House minority leader. Pignanelli's spouse, D'Arcy Dixon Pignanelli, has been appointed as executive director of the state Department of Administrative Services by Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. E-mail: frankp@xmission.com.