"Wow, Jenny Wilson sure has a lot of makeup on."

"Did she get a makeover?"

Then, things got wacky.

Camped with her fellow Democrats, as usual, on the left side of the table, Wilson took an uncharacteristic stroll to GOP territory. One by one, she chatted up her five Republican colleagues as committee delegations and zoning tweaks droned on.

But instead of lobbying for votes, Wilson was logging valuable campaign mileage in her bid for Salt Lake City mayor. During the small talk, a hired-gun photographer snapped away from across the room, carefully cataloging some bipartisan beauty shots. Couldn't have been a news guy, observers reasoned, since the agenda was as barren as the Don Imus ad pool.

Indeed, Wilson had spent part of her morning doing campaign photos. The afternoon show even drew a VIP of sorts. Sitting discreetly near the back of the room was Wilson's dad, former Salt Lake City Mayor Ted Wilson.

Love for hire

Are the Democrats who roam the hip office space at Love Communications really turning red?

Probably not. But the left-leaning ad firm prone to campaigning for progressives has cozied up to its first Republican.

Salt Lake City mayoral candidate Dave Buhler, a GOP lifer, confirmed that he has hired Love to do his advertising and media.

"It's nice to have them in my corner," Buhler said of the firm known - when not backing Dems - for writing witty banter satirizing Utah's weirdness.

Equally interesting is whom Love is not working for: Jenny Wilson. This, despite helping the Salt Lake County councilwoman knock off rock-ribbed Republican Steve Harmsen to win an at-large seat in 2004.

Wilson, reportedly the mayoral front-runner, shrugged off the move, saying she respects Love, but "I found a good fit with another firm."

Presumably, money was a factor. Given Love's willingness to take on PR challenges like Real Salt Lake, they likely caved for whoever cut the biggest check.

* Have a tip? Contact DEREK P. JENSEN at djensen@sltrib. com, 801-257-8785Â; CATHY MCKITRICK at cmckitrick @sltrib.com, 801-257-8778; ROSEMARY WINTERS at rwinters@sltrib.com, 257-8737; KRISTEN MOULTON at kmoulton@sltrib.com, 831-0467; STEVE GEHRKE at sgehrke@sltrib.com, 257-8717.