Shurtleff enjoys public service

Shurtleff acknowledged he was surprised at how state politics are played but stopped short of calling it dirty. "I wouldn't say dirty necessarily, but there are a lot of different motives," he said, adding quickly that most of the elected officials he deals with are well-intentioned.

"They want to serve the public just like I do. Yet some of the processes people go through . . . I wonder sometimes about whether decisions are being made based on principle," Shurtleff said.

He said it is unfair that his "independent, reasoned legal advice" has been criticized by officials including the governor and members of the Legislature just because he told them something they didn't want to hear.

"My job to the people who elected me is to give my best legal advice," he said. "They don't have to follow my advice. I don't make policy. But to attack or to suggest other reason or motives for that is disappointing."

Shurtleff was, well, disappointed at the reaction he received when he spoke out against the anti-gay marriage amendment going before voters this November. Shurtleff, who opposes same-sex marriage, called the Legislature's proposed constitutional change "a bad law."

He said he debated whether to make his concerns about the amendment's language public. "I thought, 'Oh boy, here's a tough one. Do I say anything politically? Everybody's saying be quiet,' " Shurtleff recalled. In the end, he said he owed it to voters to speak up.

Lawmakers were furious, especially since Shurtleff hadn't raised any concerns about the amendment before they approved it. "A lot of people said, 'Well, you didn't speak up during the session so you have to shut up now.' I've never understood that," he said.

He said he didn't examine the amendment wording closely until after the session ended and his counterpart in Nebraska pointed out the potential legal problems with some of the language. His resulting opposition has cost him votes, he concedes.

Still, Shurtleff maintains a comfortable lead in the polls and is already talking about whether he would consider running for an unprecedented third term. He joked that he'd like to win with around 60 percent of the vote to give him some leverage with lawmakers.

That's a real possibility. The most recent Deseret Morning News/KSL-TV poll showed Shurtleff leading 57 percent to just 20 percent for his Democratic opponent, Salt Lake attorney Greg Skordas.

Not bad for a candidate who says he doesn't like campaigning. "I know that some people do. I've heard them say that they thrive on it," Shurtleff said. For him, though, he hates the time it takes away his family life.