Two years later, during "the tumultuous year of MLK, RFK, LBJ and Vietnam," his zeal for public office flagged. Indeed, during their college courtship at the University of Utah, Buhler promised his bride he never would run for political office.

Six campaigns later - locked in a statistical tie for first place in the Salt Lake City mayoral chase - he still is breaking that pledge.

All the while, the 50-year-old who grew up in the shadow of Liberty Park has been an unlikely political success.

He hunches and has a dour face. But Buhler is decidedly sunnier than his visage projects. And his clever and catchy ad campaign - some call it the best - has gone far to sell "Dave" as the self-deprecating "reasonable guy," able to needle outgoing Mayor Rocky Anderson with a soft-edged humor.

"That's my whole history," he manages with a disarming murmur. "I am someone who works well with others. I'm not a divisive personality."

Buhler's background as a moderate Republican - he once was teased because, due to a lack of room in the GOP-clogged Legislature, he had to sit on the Democratic side of the aisle - makes that case.

"He has a real open mind and looks at the issues rather than having a knee-jerk opinion," says Kay Christensen, a Democrat, who served as chief of staff and deputy mayor under Deedee Corradini. "Dave is the most prepared to be mayor. He really looks ahead and thinks about long-term effects, unintended consequences."

Born in Salt Lake City and reared in the capital's public schools, Buhler served a two-year LDS mission just outside Washington, D.C., between his political-science studies at the U.

By his mid-20s, he had married and found work in Sen. Orrin Hatch's office doing special projects. Buhler pondered law school, but after Hatch's re-election in 1982, opted for a master's in public administration from Brigham Young University.

After Gov. Norm Bangerter's election in 1984, Buhler was one of the first staffers aboard, overseeing economic development. He also did some speech writing.

"I just kind of meshed with him," the father of five says. "He liked the way I wrote."

In 1988, Buhler ran Bangerter's re-election campaign - a stunning come-from-behind victory in which the incumbent had trailed by 40 percentage points in the polls. In a twist of fate, it was Ted Wilson, the father of current mayoral front-runner Jenny Wilson, whom Bangerter defeated - with Buhler's help.

"I remember thinking, 'Oh, we just brought this little girl into the world, and her daddy is going to be unemployed,' " Buhler recalls about the long odds. "It was quite a year."

In short order, he parlayed the win into a job as executive director of the Utah Department of Commerce. Suddenly, at 32, Buhler was managing 200 employees, seven divisions and a $10 million budget.

In 1991, at just 34, Buhler took a shot at Salt Lake City mayor. The young Republican escaped the primary, but was crushed in the general by Corradini, a fiery Democrat.

"It was kind of an impetuous thing to do," Buhler grins. "After managing Bangerter's campaign, I thought I could do anything. But I learned it was quite different to be a candidate when nobody knows who you are."

He hopes it will be different this time, especially after serving one term in the Legislature and two on the City Council.

Even so, Buhler acknowledges facing an uphill battle in the left-tilting island of Salt Lake City, which has not elected a Republican mayor in more than 30 years.

"I'm well aware of the conventional wisdom that it's difficult for someone of my political persuasion to get elected, if not impossible," he says of the officially nonpartisan race. "But I'm convinced it is possible."

And he is comfortable with his GOP roots.

"I am a Republican. It would be silly to change depending on who I'm talking to."

Jill Remington Love, a Democrat on the City Council who serves as Buhler's campaign co-chairwoman, was quick to offer her endorsement.

"There's no doubt that he would be the strongest leader of those running," she says. "He listens, he tries to find compromise. He always meets me halfway and he always tries to come up with a solution. At the end of the day, that style is more important."

That style reference is a none-too-subtle swing at Anderson, who repeatedly has quarreled with Love and still more with Buhler.

"He would be a terrible mayor for Salt Lake City," Anderson barks. "We've made so much progress changing the reputation of Salt Lake City around the country. He would obliterate that progress in no time at all."

Other critics have suggested Buhler has little to show for nearly two terms on the council. The candidate shrugs off the swipes. He points to keeping Hogle Zoo in the capital, agreeing to insurance benefits for gay employees' partners, championing open-space protection and adding police without jacking up taxes over eight budgets.

He also is proud of his 1995-99 Senate stint during which he helped pass worker-compensation reform and carried legislation to get the popular Zoo, Arts and Parks tax onto the ballot.

When Buhler lost his state Senate re-election bid - "It was mine to lose and I lost it," he concedes - "I figured I was done with politics."

But in recent years, Buhler has bolstered his relationships on Capitol Hill as the Utah System of Higher Education's associate commissioner for public affairs. He says that lobbying experience will prove invaluable for a City Hall that has been marginalized by lawmakers under Anderson.

"I don't know that the voters of Salt Lake City understand how the city has been hurt," Buhler says.

If elected, he vows to salve the wound. He also pledges to preserve neighborhood character, replace aging infrastructure, fight property-tax hikes and help city schools by growing the tax base.

The man who treasures his family jaunts to Bear Lake, also would bleed green.

"I'm not going to turn back all of Rocky's [environmental] initiatives," he says, noting he wants to attract "clean-tech" businesses and create an "Office of Sustainability" to consolidate environmental efforts.

Buhler also advocates for a vibrant downtown.

He vows to tear down bureaucratic roadblocks for entrepreneurs and fund an aggressive program to keep downtown open for business during construction of the LDS Church's $1 billion-plus City Creek Center project.

Crowded with five kids aged 9-20, Buhler's east-bench home can be chaotic.

But, when he carves the time, Buhler devours biographies and books on 20th-century American politics.

And, dispelling any staid myths, Buhler may mix in a trip to New York, his favorite city.

If the polls are any measure, his folksy billboard campaign also has spiced his image.

Take "Bridge Builder," a wink to the proposed Main Street sky bridge that he supports, which also offers a concise critique of the current mayor.

"We're having a little bit of fun," he says about the playful media push. "There is a tendency in politics for people to take themselves way too seriously. I try not to."

djensen@sltrib.com

This week's Salt Lake City mayoral candidate profiles

Tuesday: Ralph Becker

Today: Dave Buhler

Thursday: Keith Christensen

Friday: Jenny Wilson

For more on the campaign - including a multimedia presentation from a recent candidate forum - go to www.sltrib.com.

Personal

* Born July 13, 1957, in Salt Lake City, grew up in Liberty Park neighborhood.

* Married Lori Goaslind, July 7, 1982.

* Five children, ages 9-20.

Religion

* LDS (active).

Education

* Bachelor's degree in political science and history, University of Utah, 1983.

* Master's in public administration, Brigham Young University, 1985.

Professional

* Staff assistant and later director of constituent services for Sen. Orrin Hatch's Salt Lake City office, 1979-1984.

* Administrative assistant to Gov. Norm Bangerter, 1984-1989.

* Executive director, Utah Department of Commerce, 1989-92.

* Vice president, Experior Assessments (formerly National Assessment Institute) 1992-2000.

* Associate commissioner for public affairs, Utah System of Higher Education, 2000-present.

* Adjunct in political science, U. of U., 1990-2006.

Political and Community Service

* Campaign manager, Bangerter re-election, 1988.

* Salt Lake City mayoral candidate, 1991.

* Elected to Utah Senate, 1994 (defeated for re-election in 1998), served 1995-1999.

* Elected to Salt Lake City Council, 1999 (re-elected in 2003).

* Vice chairman, Salt Lake City Council, 2001; chairman in 2002 and 2006.

* Salt Lake City Schools Volunteers Board of Directors, 1992-93.

* Utah Heritage Foundation, 1992-94.

* Trustee, Sugar House Community Council, 1992-95.

* Chairman of Governor's Task Force on Worker Compensation Reform, 1993.

* This Is The Place Foundation Board of Trustees, 1997-99, 2006-present.

* U. of U. board of trustees, 1999-2000.

* Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce Board of Governors, 2000-present.

* Advisory Board, College of Social and Behavioral Science, U. of U., 2003-present.

* National Leadership Council, Utah Museum of Fine Arts, 2005-present.

* Utah Advisory Board, Trust for Public Lands, 2005-present.

Fun Fact

* Had article about a 1901 Salt Lake City murder on notorious Commercial Street published in the Utah Historical Quarterly in 1992; later was reprinted as a "favorite reading."

Three of Buhler's proudest votes

* Voting in 2003 to keep Hogle Zoo in the city.

* Adding additional police officers in 2005 and 2006 without raising property taxes.

* Sponsoring bill in 1995 - first year in the Legislature - to allow credit cards, debit cards and checks to be used at state liquor stores.

Three votes Buhler most regrets

* Voting against east-west light-rail line in 2000.

* Repealing, in the last hour of the 1995 legislative session, minimum mandatory sentences for sex offenders.

* Opposing Mayor Rocky Anderson's proposal for orange pedestrian flags.