The newly minted lawmaker, appointed to fill out the term of former House Minority Leader-turned Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker, sponsored four bills. None made it to the House floor and two - including a proposal to repeal Utah's ban on gay couples adopting children - were closeted in the Rules Committee without a single public hearing. The other bill smothered in Rules would have created an independent redistricting commission to replace the highly partisan fight that now occurs in the Legislature every 10 years.

"The political game can be frustrating at some level," Chavez-Houck said in an interview.

"Welcome to the club," said Becker, who spent almost a dozen years in the GOP-controlled Legislature. "It can be difficult for Democrats to get legislation passed."

But Chavez-Houck would likely have settled for a spirited debate on her adoption bill, HB318.

"I have a number of families who [wanted] to testify at a public hearing to share their stories about what it would mean for them to adopt," she said. "In a state that touts itself for its family values, I get concerned when the voices of all families are not allowed to be heard."

But conservative gatekeepers in the Legislature had different ideas about family values.

Will Carlson, manager of public policy for the advocacy group Utah Equality, identified Rules Committee member Rep. Mark Walker as the one responsible for bottling up HB318.

Walker, R-Sandy, said he alone could not have blocked the bill from emerging, but acknowledged lobbying other Rules Committee members.

"It wasn't a hard lobby," Walker said. "I just went to each of the members and requested that they hold it, on my behalf, because I wasn't comfortable with it."

"I just go back to my underlying belief that it's in the best interest of a child to be reared in a home with a mother and father," Walker said, adding HB318 was "not ready for prime time."

Carlson said current law, which prohibits unmarried, cohabiting couples from adopting, is not only misguided, but fails to accomplish what its supporters intended. A gay single person, he noted, is exempt from the 8-year-old ban.

"The question is, 'Why are gay and lesbian couples disqualified?' " said Carlson. He said HB318 supporters were not asking lawmakers to "automatically support it, but to hear it."

During most of the session, Chavez-Houck remained optimistic she could get a hearing for the bill. But veteran lawmakers knew its fate was sealed early on.

Rep. Jackie Biskupski, D-Salt Lake City, was one of just two Rules Committee members supporting a public hearing for HB318.

Republicans "believed their plate was already full with controversial issues," Biskupski said, pointing to proposals to make animal torture a felony and reform immigration laws. "They just killed [HB318] from the beginning, and their intentions were to never let it out."

Chavez-Houck, a longtime advocate for Latino rights through such organizations as Centro de La Familia, is used to prolonged fights. She doesn't expect the conservative Legislature to change overnight. But she believes that among the crop of upcoming politicians are the makings of a more centrist Legislature.

Becker, who knew Chavez-Houck for a decade before he encouraged her to run for his vacant seat, said she has the passion and sound judgment to be successful.

"She has patience, which is a good characteristic to have on the Hill," said the mayor.

"There's a steep learning curve to learn the rules, people and process, and it can take up to a year or two. She's a fast learner."

Chavez-Houck, who hopes to win election in November to a full two-year term, said she is up to the task.

"We're going to keep bringing up [the adoption bill]," she said. "We won't give up."

While the adoption bill may not pass anytime soon, Chavez-Houck says, "the start of changing public policy is to at least have an open dialogue."