Diplomacy Huntsman's guiding light

Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. might as well have been the executive branch's ambassador to the Utah Legislature, given how diplomatic he's been throughout his first session in office.

The new governor has kept a low public profile these past 45 days, preferring to play the role of diplomat — one that's more familiar to him than that of politician.

"I'm not a very good politician, " Huntsman said. "I'm a trained diplomat."

Before making his first run for public office last year, Huntsman, a former executive in his family's chemical empire, served as the U.S. ambassador to Singapore as well as in other diplomatic capacities for the United States.

Although he has met regularly with legislative leaders privately throughout the session, Huntsman has made only a limited number of public appearances during the session.

At one, a press conference called to announce aid for flood-damaged southern Utah, the governor patiently waited while several lawmakers spoke before him.

Past governors, including Huntsman's predecessor, Gov. Olene Walker, lobbied openly for their pet programs. They also held weekly press conferences to publicize their legislative agendas.

Not Huntsman.

He has held only two press conferences that dealt with a range of legislative issues since the session began in mid-January. Both were previously scheduled tapings of the governor's monthly press conference on the public television channel KUED.

Even his staff was cautious about commenting on the session, even in the last hours. Anything they might say, they seemed to fear could unravel the governor's relationship with lawmakers.

The only real friction that surfaced between the governor and lawmakers came early on in the session, when Huntsman said he wasn't going to budge on spending for roads. But that issue was quickly settled once new revenue projections showed the state had even more money available than expected.

Huntsman said his dealings with legislators needed to take place out of the spotlight.

"That's the only way I know how to get things done in a legislative context. You meet regularly, you're very clear and specific about what your objectives are," he said.

The public heard enough about his agenda during the campaign, the governor said. "That was the period for public engagement, the campaign, followed up by the inauguration speech and then succeeded by the State of the State."

Huntsman said once the legislative session is under way, governors have a choice to make.