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Godfrey has grown into the job over the years, learning to work with people to solve problems and relax around crowds. During his first months in office, Godfrey's shyness and stiffness around people was interpreted as aloofness, especially in a political crowd where schmoozing is the norm.

"He was a track guy," says Reid. "He had done things alone. And he was only 29 years old. Six months before that he would have been working for me four levels down."

"I did not enjoy going around working the crowd," Godfrey confesses. "I had a hard time with that. Stuart used to tell me, 'You gotta go out and talk to people. They want to see you.' But it felt presumptuous to me — why would they want to talk to me? I really struggled with that.

"I do it now, and sometimes I even enjoy it."

He takes a measure of satisfaction now as he pulls his car out onto the road again and drives past areas of Ogden that have been rejuvenated under his watch.

"We're over the hump," he says. "It's not just a hope anymore. By no means are we done. But you should have seen this place 10 years ago."

Does he have any other political ambitions after this? Probably not.

"I have no idea what I will do next, probably get back into the private sector," he says.

"He has not expressed any desire to do anything political beyond this point," says Monica Godfrey. "This is not a stepping stone. He just wanted to help Ogden."

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E-mail: drob@desnews.com