New Year's is a time for political pundits to reflect upon the last year and make predictions on the future year.

So here it goes:

• 2007 marks the end (perhaps) in the elective office of one of Utah's great political characters: Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson.

Rocky, as almost everyone who knows him calls him, has been a political thorn in the side of many of Utah's power brokers. A true liberal Democrat, he angered all kinds of folks.

He got into a scrap with leaders of the LDS Church early in his tenure over the Main Street Plaza.

He became a clear target for legislative Republicans when he personally joined an environmental lawsuit over the Legacy Parkway in south Davis County. The lawsuit ended up costing the state tens of millions of dollars in delays, and Davis County commuters stuck in traffic on I-15 cursed Rocky even more after he said he didn't want all that northern traffic fouling the air of Salt Lake City.

Anderson was a public face of the 2002 Winter Olympics, before he became the public face of anti-Bush, anti-Iraq war demonstrations. As he bashed President Bush while various national veteran groups gathered in the downtown Salt Palace for their conventions, Utah Republicans went nuts, again.

U.S. Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, even coined a new term for the pro-Rocky demonstrators: nutcakes. You can see "nutcake" bumper stickers around the city now.

In many ways, we've moved beyond Rocky even before he is gone. He's been out of state a lot the last several years campaigning for his new cause: the environment. He hasn't been baiting Republicans, Mormons, the media or even the City Council recently.

Goodbye Rocky, and good luck.

• While the 2008 elections may be a watershed nationally, don't look for much change here in Utah, by some accounts the most red state in the nation.

Huntsman, a moderate Republican, should coast to an easy re-election. He's has already said he won't seek a third term in 2012. No Utah governor, Republican or Democrat, has been voted out of office after his first term in 60 years. The Democrats haven't even found a candidate yet to run against him. And there little chance that he will get a significant GOP challenger, as well.

• Salt Lake County should continue its slow slide toward Democrats. County Mayor Peter Corroon, a Democrat, should win re-election (he says he will run again). And the nine-member County Council, now Republican by just one vote, could become Democratic controlled, as well.