Mark Shurtleff: Attorney general tackles Utah's toughest issues

A year later, Sharon suffered a stroke that left him in a coma, in which he remains. Jewish people in the United States saw a videotape of his meeting with Shurtleff and invited him to speak to a gathering of wealthy Jews in New York. He shared his meeting with Sharon with the audience, explained his passion for Israel and then dazzled them by singing an ancient Jewish song to them in Hebrew — "Vi Juda le Olam Teshev." It has fostered a unique connection with the Jewish community.

Shurtleff has started a Utah chapter of the American-Israel Friendship League and facilitated several exchanges between the United States and Israel and the LDS Church.

He wears a blue bracelet on his right wrist with the names Udi, Gilad and Eldad engraved on it, along with the Jewish star of David. The bracelet was given to him by the family of Ehud (Udi) Goldwasser, an Israeli soldier being held captive by Hezbollah militants. Shurtleff visited Israel again earlier this fall on a fact-finding mission; the trip was paid for by Jewish groups.

Shurtleff also has cultivated strong ties to the Latino community because he has been sympathetic to the plight of illegal aliens. He has weighed in on various issues, such as allowing the children of illegals to have drivers' licenses and to pay in-state college tuition. As a result, he has been criticized him for being pro-illegal aliens.

"I'm not," he says. "But we have a problem. I'm for resolving that problem in a way that is humane and workable. Kids didn't have any choice in this. What do you want them to do, join a gang? Let's have them learn English and get an education. They're going to drive anyway, so why not give them a license with their names, addresses and insurance on it? It's like the polygamy thing. They're here; we've got to deal with them. You can't deport 12 million aliens.

"Let's prosecute gangbangers, drug dealers and ID theft," he says.

He claims an affinity for the Latino culture. He speaks Spanish fluently, a carryover from his LDS Church mission, and two of his adopted daughters are from Mexico. Shurtleff has made stirring speeches to the Latino community.

Then-Mexican President Vicente Fox, who was visiting Utah at the time, was in the audience for one of those speeches and was so moved by it that when he returned home he started an official process to honor Shurtleff. Last month, Shurtleff flew to Mexico City to receive the Order of the Aztec Eagle, the highest award a Mexican president can give to a non-Mexican.

Once again, Shurtleff found himself on the front page, this time receiving an award from another country. Given Shurtleff's high-profile performance to date and his aggressiveness in office, there are some who think he is using the Attorney General's Office as a stepping stone.

"I can honestly say I have not looked that far ahead," he says. "I've always thought the Senate was it as far as political offices go. If there's any other office, maybe it will be the Senate, but not in the near future. My wife says the kids have to be grown."

Meanwhile, he will tell you he has uncompleted work to finish.

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E-mail: drob@desnews.com