But out back, in the garage, Keith Christensen's eyes really glint. That's where the rancher's boy from Delta stores the spoils of his million-dollar businesses: a rare banana-yellow Harley and a BMW motorcycle better equipped than most college dorms.

His bicycle may be there, too. The same one he used to tour Tiananmen Square and, on his 50th birthday, pedaled across the coast of Spain with a friend of Lance Armstrong.

But these days, the fit and affable 56-year-old is less likely to talk about his toys. Instead, he rolls up his sleeves and recites why a businessman is best suited to accomplish the hard work of reviving Salt Lake City.

"If you want a professional politician or a bureaucrat, that's not me," the mayoral candidate explains. "I really want to be known as a CEO who impeccably manages the departments of the city, but with a vision for the future of Salt Lake."

For Rocky Anderson's handpicked successor, the unlikely ride to the mayor's race has been curvy and colorful.

Born on a Delta farm, Christensen quickly grasped the importance of sweaty labor.

"Ten- to 12-hour days were luxuries," he recalls about the ranch. "It didn't bother me to work long hours."

On western Utah's expanse, he also learned the value of land -Christensen now builds condos in places like Park City - investing in real estate and ranches to help pay for college.

After a year at Weber State University, Christensen served an LDS mission in Cambridge, Mass. He returned for a management and finance degree from Brigham Young University then shuffled off to Puget Sound for law school.

Back in Utah, in the top corner of the Hotel Monaco building, Christensen began buying and selling shopping centers for clients.

"When I was in my early 30s, I was doing deals for tens of millions of dollars," he says, joking that clients would get rich and he would get a box of chocolates. "I decided if I could do it for them, I might as well do it for me."

So, despite some shaky years with the stock market in the mid-1980s, the "recovering attorney" - and father of three adult kids - branched out into business for himself.

Today, he co-owns Wind River Petroleum and its 31 Top Stop convenience stores in Utah and Idaho, along with the aircraft-parts company, which helps satisfy the pilot's urge to fly. A snapshot of Christensen's jet sparkles as his computer screen saver.

Christensen's wife, Kristina, who spent years in the arts in New York before meeting the mogul in 2000 on a blind skiing date in Colorado, marvels at her husband's passion for civic service.

"He's a businessman," she says, "But he's someone who has a real magical ability to put people with opposing views together."

Anderson agrees, but explains his support a different way.

"He's the most capable of running the city," the mayor says. "And he's also shown tremendous guts to the powers that be."

Indeed, Christensen's independent streak made headlines this summer when the longtime Republican suddenly changed his political status to unaffiliated.

"I got sick and tired of people calling me a Republican businessman," he says, noting he never has been active in party politics. "It's important that people understand I'm an independent thinker."

Still, since the move, Christensen has lost ground in the officially nonpartisan race. A recent Salt Lake Tribune poll showed him with 8 percent, trailing Jenny Wilson (25 percent), Dave Buhler (23 percent) and Ralph Becker (16 percent). The survey also put him in fourth with the Republican vote - behind two Democrats - with just 6 percent in the left-leaning city.

Former Sen. Jake Garn, a GOP mayor back in the 1970s and a Christensen supporter, bristles over the partisan labels.

"I could never see anything Republican or Democratic about potholes, fire, police, etc. Yet people constantly talk about it," Garn complains. "Keith has a background that fits perfectly for this type of job. I was not as well qualified to be mayor when I was mayor."

Despite a long stint on the airport board, Christensen had no thought of politics until he was recruited for City Council in 1993 by an outgoing restaurant owner on the Fourth of July.

"They appealed to my patriotic side," Christensen says.

He would go on to serve two terms and was tapped by the governor as a trustee for the 2002 Winter Games.

Christensen's eight-year tenure was loaded with weighty issues: From finessing Utah's Olympic bid - he once had his tires slashed at City Hall after an Olympic debate - to anti-discrimination rules for gay employees, to the advent of light rail.

He helped scuttle the university TRAX line, but resurrected it after negotiating protection for businesses on the 400 South corridor.

"We did it and we did it right," he boasts. "That's my style."

Still, Christensen, who pondered a mayoral run in 1999, points to progressive causes as his priority. He argues that a healthy environment, fluid transportation and other quality-of-life factors will go far to ensure the city's success.

But Deeda Seed, a former council colleague, doubts the agenda is genuine. She notes Christensen favored deputizing city cops for immigration enforcement and voted against protection of employees based on sexual orientation - moves he has since renounced.

"I like him as a person. But I haven't seen any evidence in my experience working with him that he is progressive," Seed says. "He's somebody that kowtows to power and money."

Christensen stunned the mayoral field when he amassed more than half a million dollars - largely from the business community - and ramped up the summer fund-raising game.

"It's hard to beat an incumbent," he says. "In a way, I'm running against three elected officials right now."

If elected, Christensen would eye only two terms, a limit he advocates for every elective office. He would foster Anderson's environmental initiatives, smiling when asked if his green campaign signs are meant to send a message.

"Sure."

Christensen vows to be a "unifier," intent on stamping out partisanship and bias - religious or ethnic. He brings a populist message - stressing the need to connect the west side to its eastern neighbor - and says economic development will come naturally so long as the capital offers quality education and neighborhoods.

After months of research, Christensen pledged his support for the LDS Church's plans for a Main Street skywalk at its City Creek Center development. But he vows to focus on "every square foot" of the downtown boulevard, noting he knows the property owners.

Christensen also promises a kinder, gentler relationship with the Legislature. And he points to a fledgling coalition of valley mayors - an idea stressed by Garn - to help eliminate Salt Lake City's regional isolation.

Most of all, Christensen insists his business background best equips him to lead.

And supporters say those skills are invaluable when managing a massive work force and a $660 million budget. "The difference is experience," Christensen says. "You've got to have the guts to do it right and stop Band-Aiding things."

Except, of course, those occasional bicycle spills.

djensen@sltrib.com

Keith Christensen

Personal

* Born Dec. 7, 1950, in Delta.

* Married to Kristina Christensen.

* Three children, two stepchildren, two grandchildren.

Religion

* LDS (not active).

Education

* Bachelor's degree in management and finance, Brigham Young University, 1975.

* Law degree, University of Puget Sound, 1978.

Professional

* Private law practice specializing in real estate and natural resources law, 1978-88.

* Partnered in a ranching operation in the early 1980s.

* Launched land-development enterprise in Salt Lake City and Park City, mid-1980s-present.

* Published official commemorative book for the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.

* Co-owner, Wind River Petroleum, which owns 31 Top Stop convenience stores in Utah and Idaho.

* Owner, Christensen Industries, manufacturer of integration parts for aircraft systems, 1990-present.

* Active as a private real estate investor.

Political and Community Service

* Salt Lake City councilman, 1994-2001; two years as council chairman and two years as Redevelopment Agency chairman.

* Appointed in 1996 as trustee for 2002 Winter Games.

* Current member and past chairman of the Utah Air Travel Commission, sits on executive board appointed by the governor.

* Chairman of the Salt Lake Department of Airports Authority Board, appointed by the mayor in 2002.

* Chairman of the Essential Air Services subcommittee, 1992-93.

* Chairman of the International Air Routes subcommittee, 1994 and 1999.

* Member of the Utah Nature Conservancy Board.

* Member of Equality Utah.

* Member of the University of Utah Health Sciences Advocates.

* Honored by YWCA in 2000 for work on behalf of women and children.

* Sponsors a yearly charitable golf tournament through his business to raise money for Primary Children's Medical Center.

* Past president of the Ute Football Conference and coached for 10 years.

Fun Fact

* Used to be a barefoot water skier.

Three of Christensen's proudest votes

* Consistent votes in support of Olympics.

* Support for a minimum 8 percent of the general fund to be reinvested in infrastructure.

* University light-rail line.

Three votes Christensen most regrets

* Favoring pilot program to deputize city police officers with limited immigration-enforcement powers

* Failure to pass a more inclusive anti-discrimination ordinance.

* Vote for Merrill Cook.

This week's Salt Lake City mayoral candidate profiles:

Tuesday: Ralph Becker

Wednesday: Dave Buhler

Today: Keith Christensen

Friday: Jenny Wilson