In the rows of stately portraits of governors lining the walls of the Utah Capitol, one is notably absent.
In his 4 ½ years in office, Jon Huntsman Jr. never sat for his portrait, just one of the items left unfinished as he turns over the state's reins this week to become U.S. ambassador to China, leaving behind a legacy with no third act.
It falls to his successor, Gary Herbert, to see many of Huntsman's goals to their conclusion, whether its completing health-care reform, bolstering the state's last-in-the-nation education spending, repealing the remainder of the sales tax on food, getting the economy back on its feet or pushing ethics reform.
Huntsman also is abandoning, for now, his role as a moderate voice in the Republican Party, challenging the conservative orthodoxy on things like liquor reform, civil unions and climate change.
"Probably the biggest disappointment for many Utahns was that Governor Huntsman was really starting to use that political capital," says Kirk Jowers, director of the Hinckley Institute of Politics at the University of Utah. "There is a little bit of an incomplete grade, because it really looked like he was starting to spread his wings and use that capital on a whole host of issues, and that was cut short."
Huntsman's spokeswoman, Lisa Roskelley, says the governor is confident he is leaving the state in capable hands, and the work that he started will move ahead. Herbert has said he plans to focus on continuity, at least on many of Huntsman's priorities.
"I'm a firm believer that we all stand on the shoulders of those who have gone before us," Herbert says, "and certainly I will stand on Governor Huntsman's shoulders."
Huntsman exhibited an engaging, well-honed public persona -- he sported a pearly white smile and a year-round tan, rode dirt bikes and ate at taco carts, played rock music and once joked that he wanted the rock band The Killers to play at his second inaugural.
It was a common-man touch that belied his lineage from one of the state's wealthiest families and a personal net worth of up to $70 million.
It is an image that Paul Mero, president of the conservative think tank The Sutherland Institute, derides, saying Huntsman has more style than substance.
"The Jon Huntsman family fits that People magazine persona, good-looking people, wealthy, hip," he says. "They'll adopt their children Madonna-style, and for some reason that seems to resonate, even in Utah. It's baffling to me honestly."
The reformer » In his first term as governor, Huntsman tapped his political capital to resuscitate the Real Salt Lake soccer stadium, negotiate the largest income-tax cut in Utah history, broker a deal to end months of litigation stalling the construction of Legacy Highway and coax the Legislature to repeal a portion of the sales tax on food.
"The fact that more than half of the sales tax on food has been removed is a huge legacy to, I think, all the families of Utah, but especially those who are poor," says Linda Hilton, an advocate with the Coalition of Religious Communities. "Without Huntsman's commitment to that issue ... we wouldn't be where we are today."
But there were two overarching goals, as Huntsman explained last May, that were his top priorities: make the state a pre-eminent destination for business and bridge divides in Utah's communities.
He took action on the first the night of his inauguration, purging much of the existing economic-development staff and absorbing the functions into the new Governor's Office of Economic Development.
"That was a substantial 'we trust you' [from the Legislature]," says House Speaker David Clark, R-Santa Clara, "and the governor has crafted what is a very dynamic [entity] in the good times, and I hope may be a lifeline in the tough times we have now."
Utah lured companies such as Goldman Sachs, Disney, Hershey's and Procter & Gamble; several other heralded deals fell through. The state has been trumpeted by national publications as among the most business-friendly, and it's economic output has jumped nearly 36 percent to $109 billion, outpacing the Rocky Mountain region and the nation.
Huntsman was able to sell renewable energy as an economic-development opportunity, working with legislators to craft targets for renewable production and incentives for development.
"He was very proactive to the benefit of the state and the state's economy," says Tim Wagner, a former clean-energy expert with the Sierra Club, who served on Huntsman's climate-change task force. "He ran up against some roadblocks in the Legislature, but I think, in the end, he set the framework, and that's a framework that probably is going to define the state for many years to come on that issue."
Huntsman also delivered major reform to liquor laws, doing away with Utah's 40-year-old private-club requirement, as a way to bolster the $7 billion-a-year tourism industry, blunting any potential opposition from the LDS Church.
Quin Monson, a political scientist at Brigham Young University, says it was an example of Huntsman's style -- not rocking the boat and parlaying his high public approval to get what he wants from the Legislature.
"It's kind of a small achievement," Monson says, "but in some ways it's so notable because it had proven to be so elusive."
The progressive » Huntsman spoke often of being the governor for all Utahns, not just the Republican Party, and, as a result, ended up breaking from the GOP line on more than a few occasions.
"He was very progressive, and what I mean by that is he really saw the big picture and he came in with some very clear vision and direction," says House Minority Leader David Litvack, D-Salt Lake City. "It just wasn't talk. He walked it. He believed in human rights, and it wasn't a belief that was reserved for when he was in his office at the Capitol."
Bob Springmeyer, a Democrat who took on Huntsman in 2008, chides the outgoing governor for being unwilling to do the dirty work of leading the state, but frequently found himself running to the right of the Republican governor.
"He was probably the best Democratic governor we've had since Scott Matheson," Springmeyer says.
Huntsman's most prominent break with his party came earlier this year when he endorsed civil unions for gay couples, drawing national headlines.
"In my mind and in the minds of a lot of Utahns, [civil unions] equate to equal rights for all people," Huntsman said in April. "If it equates to equal rights for all our citizens, it's a conversation we need to have."
Will Carlson, public policy director for Equality Utah, says that, while Huntsman didn't change laws, he may have changed minds.
"He's broken down the myth that equal rights is a partisan issue," Carlson says, "and I really feel like that is substantial -- even if it's not a change in policy, that new perspective that, even if you're conservative, you can believe everyone deserves equal protection under the law."
But Mero calls it a betrayal of conservatism, giving Huntsman an "F" as a social conservative (as well as a fiscal and economic conservative).
Rep. Craig Frank, R-Pleasant Grove, a leading conservative legislator, says it was an example of Huntsman straying from the GOP platform as he focused on some grander office.
"The difference between Governor Huntsman and Governor Herbert is Governor Huntsman used Utah as a springboard for bigger and better things past our state borders," Frank says, "and I believe that was always part of his original intent."
But standing beside President Barack Obama in May, Huntsman, who had vowed to serve out his second term, said the call that now takes him to China was not part of his plan.
"I stand here in my final term as governor with plenty to do," Huntsman said. "I wasn't looking for a new job in life, but a call from the president changed that."
Voices on Huntsman's legacy
"From my perspective, [his legacy] is mostly negative. I don't think that there is a positive legacy unless making people feel good is a legacy. ... The fact is this guy is exiting the state at a time when the economy stinks, so his legacy will not be burdened by the consequences of the economic downturn. But his legacy benefited from the economic bubble. But it fits his persona. It's just superficial."
» Paul Mero, President of The Sutherland Institute, a conservative think tank
"He's been a terrific leader for the state, a man of integrity, a man of vision and a man who has raised the bar for all of us."
» Incoming Gov. Gary Herbert
"What I personally appreciate about Governor Huntsman was it just wasn't talk. He walked it. He believed in human rights and it wasn't a belief that was reserved for when he was in his office at the Capitol. I got to know him as an individual and his family and understand how important these things like human rights were to him."
» House Minority Leader David Litvack, D-Salt Lake City
"His big legacy was that he was a true uniter. Governor Huntsman made almost everyone feel comfortable and proud as a Utahn and really kept some of the divisions in Utah from ever really appearing. He gained Utahns' trust and with that trust he was able to venture outside on some social and environmental issues and I think surprise some people that Utahns were willing to go along with him even if he was taking a minority position."
» Kirk Jowers, director of the Hinckley Institute of Politics at the University of Utah
