As an adult, he has run for several partisan offices but never won. In 1976, he sought the Republican nomination to replace Democrat Allan Howe in the U.S. House of Representatives. The GOP instead put Dan Marriott on the ballot, and Marriott went on to beat Howe.

Hughes also ran for a seat in the state Legislature in 1988 but got out of that race after questions arose about his residency in the district. And he ran unsuccessfully for the state Republican Party's chairmanship.

All the while, he was working in his private surgical practice. He successfully ran for the chairmanship of the Utah Immunization Action Committee, presidency of the Utah Medical Association and presidency of the Utah Cancer Society.

He sees this run for mayor as a way to cap his lifelong interest in politics. But he credits his first thoughts of running to Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson, whose vocal role in national and international politics — especially his criticisms of President Bush — stirred Hughes' desire to offer a counterpoint.

"You usually make an emotional decision and you back it up intellectually," Hughes says. "I was disappointed in Rocky and embarrassed by him."

If Hughes is elected, on the top of his list is a city-run health-insurance supplement to provide coverage for the uninsured. He models his plan after San Francisco's.

Another goal would be to increase a spirit of restoration and preservation in Salt Lake's neighborhoods. He wants to offer tax credits to homeowners who add improvements to their property.

But Hughes says his top priority is to change the tone of city government. He wants to foster a cooperative spirit that allows residents, elected officials and city employees to work together on whatever is most important to the community.

"There's so many issues related to just getting along with each other and the civility of working together," he says. "I seriously think I can get people of all different attitudes and ethnic diversity together — I've treated them in my office for 35 years. I'm kind to everybody. I treat everybody the same. Every colon looks the same."

Hughes vows that he's in the race to win it, but he calls the campaign an experience that he will cherish whether he wins or loses. He lists the things he has learned with the wonder of a school kid reciting the day's lessons.