Herbert builds his own team of rivals

Like his predecessor, Gov. Gary Herbert is relying on a formal group of advisers that includes business and community leaders.

But unlike former Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr., Herbert has added a pair of political rivals within the GOP to what he's now calling the Governor's Advisory Team.

The team is a no-cost version of Huntsman's Utah Policy Partnership, originally organized in 2005 as a nonprofit organization with a $150,000 budget and a managing director on the payroll.

Herbert has kept business leaders Scott Anderson, Dinesh Patel, Steve Starks and Greg Miller, as well as community advocate Pamela Atkinson, on his team.

New to the roster are Salt Lake Chamber President Lane Beattie and University of Utah Hinckley Institute of Politics Director Kirk Jowers. Both considered challenging Herbert in 2010.

Neither, though, chose to run against the governor in next year's special election to fill the remainder of Huntsman's term. The winner of that race will be up for reelection in 2012, just two years later.

The governor said his decision to include Beattie and Jowers in his inner circle has nothing to do with politics.

"Anybody in my position would want to have the best and brightest around him," Herbert said. "They may want to run against me down the road. That's something they'll have to decide."

The team is intended to be a sounding board, the governor said. "I think it's easy to get isolated up here," he said. "I don't want to have people around me who just agree with me, who are 'yes' people."

At their first meeting with both new members last week, the team focused on Herbert's budget. It's his first big test as governor since taking office in August.

He's set to deliver his proposed spending plan for the state on Dec. 11 and has pledged not to raise taxes despite a looming shortfall of as much as $850 million.

Some lawmakers are already talking about the need for so-called targeted tax hikes of some $100 million next session. Even the Chamber has chimed in, with Beattie calling for temporary boosts in gas and other taxes.

"It's clearly a number-one issue with me as we're getting ready to roll that out," Herbert said, adding he was willing to listen to Beattie's proposal. "We're not as far off as people think."

Beattie, a former state Senate president who is heading Herbert's advisory team, said he's not there to drive his own agenda.

"It's to have a small, confidential group that the governor can be forthright with in his discussions and the business community can be forthright in their own opinions," Beattie said.