After year of change, Utah politics much same

The past year was a big one in Utah politics.

But as much as things changed — a new governor elected, Salt Lake County government getting a shake-up — politics in Utah remains much the same.

Republican, Republican, Republican.

Democrats started 2004 quite hopeful. Republicans started it a little smug.

Scott Matheson Jr. was finally getting into elective politics, as a number of Utah Democrats hoped for years he would, running for governor. Trouble was, so was Republican Jon Huntsman Jr., as a number of Utah Democrats feared for years he would.

Yes, 2004 saw the dawning of a new political dynasty here. The Huntsmans.

While back-room power players for years (a Deseret Morning News report several years ago found Jon Huntsman Sr. one of Utah's most powerful people), the Huntsmans had not stepped up to the elective plate before, never been on a ballot.

Monday, Jon Huntsman Jr. will be sworn in as Utah's new governor — a Republican like the last three before him.

And there are plenty more Huntsmans coming up the road (just look at the family Christmas card to see — I'm not kidding — dozens of them).

One Huntsman or another could be influencing Utah politics for decades to come.

But besides Utah's new Kennedy-like family, 2004 brought a whole bunch of other stuff, too.

• Financial and county car scandals in Salt Lake County drove out incumbent (and indicted) GOP Mayor Nancy Workman. Other top county employees resigned. A write-in campaign by homebuilder Ellis Ivory caught the public's and media's attention, but Ivory fell to Democrat Peter Corroon in the mayor's race. (And Merrill Cook lost, but then you could read eight of my previous year-end columns to see the same comment about Cook.)

• Democratic Rep. Jim Matheson defied the odds again to win re-election in the 2nd Congressional District. And in winning, he reaffirmed that Utahns don't like extremely negative campaigns, especially those paid for by outside sources.

For the first time anyone could remember, two brothers were on the ballot in major Utah races. Scott (the older) and Jim (the younger) both predicted Utahns would make their own choices, not just vote aye or nay because of the men's last name. And they were right. Thousands of 2nd Congressional District voters picked Jim Matheson but then switched parties and voted for Huntsman for governor.