Mansell says he will offer a less strident piece of legislation that will let city councils, elected by the people in their cities, have a say in how the city is defined.

Big of him.

On the surface, the Sandy Republican's retreat from his developer-bashes-the-city-planner legislation seems a victory for the public, which demonstrated outrage over the bill in letters to newspaper editors and e-mails to the Legislature.

But then he tipped his hand to what he really wanted to do, which should make citizens shudder if they want their elected city leaders to be accountable to them.

Mansell, a real estate magnate who for the past year has served as president of the National Realtors Association, said he only introduced the bill to send a message to city leaders: They either buckle to the will of the big developers or they will have to deal with The Man, who seems to think his name should be changed to Caesar.

Mansell, who was Senate president until he stepped down from that position last year because of his duties with the National Realtors Association, had a reputation while Senate leader for ruling with an iron hand. That might be good, except the discipline included implied threats that if legislators didn't go along with his projects, usually beneficial to his particular industry, they wouldn't get their bills through.

When Mansell sponsored a bill last year that stripped regulatory authority from certain real estate transactions, regulators in the State Securities Division feared it was an invitation to widespread fraud and that investors were put in jeopardy of losing their life savings. But they were told to keep quiet about it, and lawmakers hearing the pros and cons of the bill in a committee hearing never heard the regulators' concerns.

Mansell also sponsored a bill that sailed through the Legislature last year basically removing the incentive for home sellers to market their properties without hiring a real estate agent and paying the 6 percent fee.

Some have wondered if Mansell's bill to intimidate city councils on zoning issues was a reaction to the public outcry recently over a project involving Mansell's son that would reconstruct the Salt Lake County-owned Meadowbrook golf course, making it smaller and converting the remaining land into a real estate development.

But before we get too hard on Mansell, we should remember he isn't doing anything outside the culture that we, as voters, have created.

For one thing, it doesn't matter if Mansell's bills and activities in the Senate create a public outcry. There is no consequence. Mansell will be re-elected for as long as he wants. He is a Republican in a district that will always elect Republicans and he has developed powerful connections in the Sandy Republican Club, which rules politics in the southeast sector of Salt Lake County, and in Sandy City Hall.

Mansell, it is said, will not run for re-election this year. But it is also said that he, like Caesar, already has his hand-picked successor, and, with his blessing, that person will win.

A cursory look at the Legislature this year and the issues that it has put on the agenda indicates that lawmakers can arrogantly do whatever they want, as long as they are Republicans and move in the right (or far right) Republican circles.

The Legislature, it seems, has even decided Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. has gotten too uppity for his own britches. The lawmakers want to show him who's boss, even though the people who elected him as the statewide leader might actually think he is supposed to be boss.

Sen. Howard Stephenson, R-Draper, sponsored a bill that would allow lawmakers to override the governor's order preventing Envirocare from expanding its radioactive waste disposal site in Utah's West Desert. Coincidentally, Envirocare pumped $10,000 into a PAC to support the newly created Conservative Caucus at the Legislature.

Rep. Margaret Dayton, R-Orem, has sponsored a bill to neuter the governor's ability to veto a Legislature-passed budget that he disagrees with, a move the governor's office has called a blatant power grab.

There is also a bill, sponsored by Rep. Brad Johnson, R-Aurora, that would gut the authority of the state archaeologist and state historic preservation officer and lower the standards that currently protect sensitive areas and historic relics on public lands.

It's all part of the Legislature-will-tell-you-what-is-good-for-you-and-don't-talk-back mentality that permeates the hallowed halls of lawmaking in Utah.

And who cares whether you like it or not. They know, because of the political climate of Utah, that they will be re-elected, no matter what.