It's still only four hours a night. But it's restful sleep. And that's been a long time coming.

After months of being dogged by scandal and rumor and innuendo - and, he says, the media - Curtis feels vindication. Elected by his Republican colleagues as Utah House speaker last week, Curtis' life is back on the track he set before his day job as Salt Lake County Mayor Nancy Workman's legal adviser blew up in his face.

He's quieter, reflective, more "mellow," friends and foes say. The man known for his volatility and in-your-face style seems changed by the specter of the possible end of his political career. And observers say transformation bodes well for Curtis as he tries to unify a starkly divided Republican caucus while working in tandem with new Utah Senate leaders and moderate Gov.-elect Jon Huntsman Jr.

"He's going to have to be a statesman now," says Utah Democratic Party Chairman Donald Dunn.

After a decade in the state Legislature, Curtis has the leadership role he waited for, worked for. But his election as speaker is bittersweet. He may be able to relax, but he's frustrated about the Salt Lake County vehicle-abuse scandal. His professional life is less prominent than it was. In July, he slammed his head into his car windshield in a serious accident. And he narrowly won re-election when 46 percent of Sandy voters cast ballots for his Democratic opponent, Jay Seegmiller. The summer of waiting and wondering was difficult.

So, he'll take the speaker election; revel in it a little.

"I feel grateful that my friends and neighbors looked past [the scandal]. And it's even more so with my caucus - that they have my trust," he said after winning.

Born and raised in Salt Lake County, Curtis graduated from Brighton High School, earned a bachelor's degree in accounting from Brigham Young University, went on an LDS mission to New Zealand, worked as a bookkeeper and clerk at an Allied hardware store and graduated from the University of Utah law school.

After briefly trying private practice, he took a job as a West Jordan City prosecutor, setting himself on an unwitting path to government scandal. At West Jordan, he worked his way up to city attorney just in time to resign when then-Mayor Donna Dahl and City Council members questioned city administrators' diversion of $1.6 million to buy police cars.

At the same time, Curtis was elected to represent east-bench Sandy neighborhoods in the Legislature. His inclination for leadership became clear early on when he organized the "Mainstream Caucus" with other Republicans as a foil to the "Conservative Caucus." Curtis distinguished himself both for his passionate personality and his shrewd legislative maneuvering. He was a master at numbers, calculating state budget figures in his head. His legislation has been solid and procedural, but not particularly flashy.

Friend Cort Ashton, a Salt Lake County councilman, says Curtis inspired him to run for political office. "I would trust him with my estate, my business. There's nothing I wouldn't trust him with," Ashton said. "It's inspiring to me and encouraging to me to know we've got folks like that in government."

Salt Lake County District Attorney David Yocom never investigated Curtis for the West Jordan scandal. But that changed when Curtis was connected to irregular use of Salt Lake County vehicles and reimbursement for gas earlier this year. Curtis acknowledged that he had used his county car to drive legislators to a meeting in St. George and that he filled out redundant mileage reimbursement forms for his Salt Lake County job and his legislative job. He resigned. And Yocom accepted Curtis' explanation for mistaken "double-dipping" equivalent to almost $800.

Curtis is in private practice again, working as a prosecutor for Bluffdale's Justice Court and managing his own rental properties. He and his wife Theresa are raising six children, ranging from 7 to 19 years old, in the same Sandy neighborhood where they grew up. He reads policy papers when he can't sleep in the wee hours - the last was the Utah State University tuition tax credit study executive summary. His one-time guilty pleasure, the television sitcom "That '70s Show," has gotten too raunchy to watch with the kids. But that's OK, he figures, he doesn't have much free time, anyway.

Two months ago, Republican lawmakers hashed out Curtis' role in the Salt Lake County scandal and many concluded it was much ado about nothing. But the scandal that forced his former boss off the 2004 ballot still follows him.

He blames the media. "My detractors keep using it. There are people who don't want me to be successful," Curtis said. "At what point do we end the fascination with it? When do we reach a point of saturation?"

Maybe now. Curtis is one of the "remarkable" comeback stories of the election season, Dunn says.

Curtis may have won affirmation, but the 56-member Republican caucus is fractured. Two years ago, when Kamas Republican Rep. David Ure ran against two-term Speaker Marty Stephens, the first vote was tied. With a second vote, Stephens won by one vote.

This year, the vote was not so close - Curtis won't say what the final numbers were in his race against Ure. He earned a lot of good will for his legislative leadership campaign by spreading about $13,000 of his nearly $70,000 in campaign cash to several Republican legislative candidates. He also gave the Utah Republican Party $12,000 for candidates' mailings.

Curtis acknowledges his aggressive approach to the job will have to change. "I have to be able to work with everybody," he said. "My responsibilities are different now. I'm not going to step down off the dais to beat up on a bill. My job is not to have people upset or frustrated with me."

Some moderate Republicans who backed Ure see hope in Curtis' humble demeanor.

"I have interacted with a different Greg Curtis in the last four weeks than I knew before. I felt more contrition and compassion from Greg than I've felt in the last three or four years," said West Jordan Republican Rep. Steve Mascaro. "All of the troubles Greg has had may make him work harder to reach out. It may well be this has given him a new perspective."

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Tribune reporter Nicole Warburton contributed to this story.

Greg Curtis, House speaker

Age: 44

Notable facts:

l This 10-year veteran of the Legislature is an attorney who several years ago was a founder of the "Mainstream Caucus" of moderate Republicans designed to counterbalance the growing power of the staunch conservatives.

l An attorney in private practice, Curtis resigned earlier this year as legal counsel to Salt Lake County Mayor Nancy Workman in the vehicle-abuse scandal. He paid the state nearly $800 for mileage reimbursement.

l The Utah native served as Majority Leader, the No. 2 post, for the past two years. He is generally well respected among colleagues, but is known to have a temper.