"I don't think unchecked power is healthy in any political system," Matheson said Wednesday during a meeting with the Salt Lake Tribune editorial board.

He said electing a Democratic governor for the first time since his father retired from the office in 1984 is "our best hope to break open this closed system."

Matheson pointed to the increasingly conservative bent of the Utah Legislature, which Matheson criticized as a "closed-caucus culture" where "opposing viewpoints get marginalized."

"The result is we're spending a lot of time debating a number of things that are really not at the core of what we ought to be talking about."

He pointed to lengthy arguments in the last session of the Legislature over whether the United States should pull out of the United Nations, while the state's "education crisis" was glossed over. "We need to stay on task."

In a recent debate, Republican Jon Huntsman Jr. countered Matheson's call for balance by saying democracy is about majority rule.

"Whether the balance is what you want or not, it is the will of the people," Huntsman said.

Huntsman spokesman Jason Chaffetz said the Republican gubernatorial candidate has shown throughout the campaign that he is independent from the GOP establishment and the Legislature.

"Affirmative action for Democrats is not really a compelling argument to win the governor's race," said Chaffetz. "Particularly in the governor's race, people vote for the person."

Utah Democrats several years ago ran an election-year advertising campaign based on restoring political balance, using unevenly matched riders on a children's teeter-toter to illustrate the point. Minority party candidates in that election fared poorly.

Political analysts at the time said that voters aren't often motivated by abstract notions like partisan parity when deciding which choice to punch on the ballot.

Matheson, however, said the balance argument has been effective, citing the successful 1974 election of Republican Jake Garn against Democrat Wayne Owens. Garn, he said, stressed the need to balance the votes of then-Sen. Frank Moss with a Republican in Utah's second U.S. Senate seat.

Lifelong Republican Mary Lindsay, of Cottonwood Heights, agrees with Matheson's point.

"We do need more political balance," said Lindsay, 72. "I do think there is a lot of funny stuff going on, that's why we need two parties. When you've got all Republicans in, they protect each other."

But Lindsay said the argument won't sway her vote in the governor's race, adding, "I don't think most people vote that way.

"I think political balance is something that resonates with some people," said Utah Democratic Chairman Donald Dunn.

"Given the scandals [with the administration of Salt Lake County Mayor Nancy Workman], I'm hoping people will feel the need for a change."