But the August showcase also will trumpet two unlikely Democrats from an even unlikelier state - Utah Mayors Ralph Becker and Peter Corroon.

Both are east-coast transplants who propel Salt Lake City's progressive agenda. Both stand for sustainability, environmental stewardship, mass transit and human rights. They are the kind of Democrats, insiders say, that should shape the party and the nation.

"You can expect to see your mayor and many of the other Western leaders in prominent roles," Democratic National Convention Committee CEO Leah Daughtry told roughly 100 party activists Friday huddled at the picturesque base of City Creek Canyon.

Salt Lake City is a part of the new relevance of the West, Daughtry said - a concept Democratic Party organizers hope to drive home by holding the convention in Denver.

She stopped short of promising a speaking slot for either Becker, Salt Lake City's mayor, or Salt Lake County Mayor Corroon, but said both, and others in the Rocky Mountain region, will be highlighted.

Smiling when asked specifically about Corroon, Daughtry said, "Of course he's [Howard] Dean's cousin, so he's got a little leg up." Dean is Democratic National Committee chairman.

Friday's forum was the sixth in a series focused on engaging Western Democrats, including Utahns, in "shaping the story we tell from our convention stage," Daughtry said. A minister from Brooklyn, N.Y., she is staying in Utah's capital for the weekend to attend the semiannual conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Daughtry said Becker and Corroon are "emblematic" of a Democratic platform that has invigorated the primary electorate.

Pointing to the party's 50-state strategy, she insisted all states should have the same voice as the "edicts from on high in Washington."

"It's been a long time since Montana and South Dakota have had their say," she said.

Becker agreed, adding that Western cities such as Salt Lake City and Denver are leading the way by modeling sustainability practices for the rest of the country.

"We are going back to that notion of sustainability with new vigor," he said, pillorying the GOP for "exploiting" minerals and natural resources across the West.

"Republicans have built their dogma around a fight for development rather than environmental protection."

The capital mayor called it fitting for Democrats across the country to come to the region to share "our agenda for the future."

He said convention-goers will feel the same Western hospitality in Denver that they did during the 2002 Winter Olympics in neighboring Salt Lake City.

Convention organizers are calling on residents in the mountain states to post "authentic" pictures on www.DemConvention.com to introduce the region aside from Hollywood caricatures. The images, along with video from the forums, will be showcased during the Aug. 25-28 convention.

Daughtry said demonstration zones also will be easier to accommodate in Denver than at Boston's claustrophobic convention in 2004.

On this day at least, Democratic enthusiasm appeared contagious in the Beehive State.

Laura Arellano, a Sandy resident petitioning to be a "Hillary woman" delegate, said she is beginning to buy the political prominence of the West.

"I'm starting to believe every vote counts," Arellano said. "Especially here."

djensen@sltrib.com