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The behind-the-scenes battle between Salt Lake City mayoral candidates Ralph Becker and Jackie Biskupski for LGBT support has been intense.
It also shows how far that community has come.
The lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community is split in its support — with Becker being lauded for anti- discrimination legislation on his watch and for making it possible for LGBT folks to add their partners to a registry allowing them to get insurance coverage and other benefits.
On the other hand, Biskupksi is an LGBT icon, becoming the first openly gay person elected to the Utah Legislature, serving for more than a decade in the House.
She was recently endorsed by two LGBT heavyweights: state Sen. Jim Dabakis, D-Salt Lake City, and Democratic Salt Lake County Council member Arlyn Bradshaw, both of whom ran for their respective offices as openly gay candidates.
She also gained the backing of the Utah Stonewall Democrats and Mark Lawrence, director of Restore Our Humanity, which helped fund the plaintiffs in the federal court case that paved the way for same-sex marriage in Utah.
But some high-profile LGBT advocates had an op-ed piece in Friday's Salt Lake Tribune endorsing Becker. The group included Salt Lake City Council member Stan Penfold, executive director of the Utah AIDS Foundation; Brandie Balken, former executive director of Equality Utah; and Bruce Bastian, a member of the Human Rights Campaign board.
Equality Utah has taken a neutral position in the mayor's race with a co-endorsement of Becker and Biskupski.
But that neutrality has not protected the group from backroom political bruises.
For years, the group has been advocating for a public dialogue and a city non- discrimination ordinance addressing public accommodations.
A news conference was scheduled for early August to announce a public discussion on the topic through the mayor's Human Rights Commission, which then would take the information, write a report and suggest recommendations for an ordinance.
The proposed news conference did not sit well with Biskupski's campaign, since it was so close to the Aug. 11 primary and would highlight Becker's standing with the LGBT community.
Because of the pushback from the Biskupski corner, the news conference was postponed.
But on Saturday, at Equality Utah's annual fundraising banquet, the panel discussion on public accommodations sponsored by the Human Rights Commission will be announced.
That respect for the growing political clout of Utah's LGBT community is a far cry from the 1990s when Republican Merrill Cook was running for Congress against Democrat Rocky Anderson.
One fall morning in downtown Salt Lake City during the 1996 campaign, all the lampposts were adorned with pink fliers touting Anderson's support for the gay community. The idea was to hurt Anderson politically.
But even Cook, who maintained he had nothing to do with the fliers, understood this important constituency. The Mormon teetotaler later showed up at gay bars handing out his own campaign material.
Meanwhile, another race featuring a high-profile LGBT member has divided support among that community.
Derek Kitchen, a lead plaintiff in the landmark Kitchen v. Herbert lawsuit that struck down Utah's ban on same-sex marriage, is in a tough race for the District 4 Salt Lake City Council seat.
His opponent, Nate Salazar, has been endorsed by LGBT activist Babs De Lay, the Stonewall Democrats and the Utah Pride Center's Nikki Boyer.
This time, Equality Utah did not stay neutral. It has thrown its backing behind Kitchen, noting the important role he played to bring marriage equality to the Beehive State.