The Utah Democratic Party, which meets in convention Saturday, will re-elect as its chairman Wayne Holland, whose salary is being bankrolled by the United Steel Workers.

Last month, the Utah Republican Party picked Stan Lockhart, a powerful lobbyist for Micron, as their chieftain.

Of course, yet another group of political cynics would recognize Utah's situation as a quaint caricature of the two-party system: The Democratic Party run by a union leader and the GOP headed by a big-business influence peddler. It's a cliche that reaches back as far as the donkey and elephant symbols.

But some observers don't see it as that benign.

"It certainly looks like a conflict of interest," says Bill Buzenberg, executive director of the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Public Integrity. "Unfortunately, this is business as usual in the way our democracy operates. The public needs to be asking, 'Is this the way we want our parties to operate?' "

Not surprisingly, the two men at the top of Utah's mainstream elective politics don't see the negatives. Neither party, by the way, pays its chairman, though the Democrats tried it during the term of Donald Dunn, Holland's predecessor.

"Those who have known me for a long time know I'm a pragmatic progressive," says Holland. "Collective bargaining [as a union leader] has done that for me - it gets you into a position that you have to do what is best for all. Rather than me trying to influence the party with my personal philosophical direction, my training has been to try to find common ground for everybody."

Lockhart says Micron, a major employer in Utah County that has benefited over the years from state economic development incentives - often as a result of the new chairman's lobbying, will gain no advantage from his being the GOP head.

"I don't get any more influence or access as party chair than I had before I was party chair," Lockhart says. "[Access] is something that I already have had. I don't view party chair [as] being a position to have anything to trade."

Lockhart has a point, of course. His closest friend is Republican Senate Majority Leader Curt Bramble and the lobbyist is married to Rep. Becky Lockhart. The Lockharts and Brambles often vacation together on a houseboat on Lake Powell. Access doesn't get much better.

"The delegates elected me because I am going to represent the principles of our party, not because I'm representing anyone else," Lockhart says.

Andy McCullough, legal counsel for the Libertarian Party, is mostly bemused by the major parties' situation, but says, "You have to say a compromise somewhere has been made" at least in the public's perception.

Still, it shouldn't come as a shock to voters, he says. "We all know to some degree that the Republicans are captives of big business, especially after the mess in Congress over lobbyists and influence. And Democrats have been traditionally captives of organized labor. That's an oversimplification, but they certainly have their alliances."

Richard Davis, a Brigham Young University political science professor and the chairman of the Utah County Democratic Party, is not concerned with Holland's union connection.

"Unions have been traditionally supportive of the Democratic Party. They see the party as far more sympathetic to their concerns than the Republicans. That's still generally true."

Holland's labor background has not been an issue in the party since he was elected, Davis says. But he acknowledges that some voters might have a problem with the appearance of conflict.

"My preference would be that an individual either have no salary or that they be paid directly by the party. Then, you don't have that perception. We may get to that. The party would have to be financially capable to pay a chair without having to rely on someone else to do it."

Democratic Rep. Ralph Becker, the House minority leader who is running for mayor, says conflict issues for party officials are different than those of elected officials.

"This is not a public servant, this is someone who is elected by party members to be the head of their party," Becker said. "It isn't unusual for someone to come out of a sector or business that aligns itself with the politics of the party. In a way, that is kind of natural."

Perceptions apart, every Utahn knows the real difference between Democrats and Republicans in Utah is a matter of raw power. In Utah, one of the most conservative states in the nation, Republicans control the majority of federal, state and local offices. Outside of Salt Lake County, Democratic power diminishes rapidly.

In the Legislature, for instance, GOP members outnumber Democrats nearly three to one.

But Holland says that is changing, following the rest of the Rocky Mountain West where Democratic governors now outnumber Republicans. Most Utahns are not affiliated with either party, and Holland preaches that if voters take the time to listen to the Democratic message they discover a party that shares their Western values.

"We are ahead of where I thought we would be," Holland says, pointing to Phil Riesen's House win last fall and a near upset of GOP House Speaker Greg Curtis.

"A great advantage for us is that we now have the faces to go with our message of pragmatic Western individualism," Holland says, referring to Congressman Jim Matheson and Salt Lake County Mayor Peter Corroon. "Here is the tangible example that you can talk to and listen to and converse with."