There is a portrait of one of her personal heroes, Eleanor Roosevelt. Nearby is a framed copy of the 1948 United Nation's "Universal Declaration of Human Rights" and a picture of Reberg and her two sisters standing with former President Clinton.

Behind the door of Reberg's office hangs a print signed by Julia "Butterfly" Hill, the 23-year-old woman who in late 1997 climbed into a California redwood to prevent its destruction and came down 738 days later, having helped save the ancient tree and several acres of surrounding forest.

"Although I don't necessarily agree with the tactics she used, Julia at the time thought there were no other options open to her," Reberg said. "I really respect her for taking a stand and doing what she sincerely believed was right."

The same might be said of Reberg, who was forced to fight a battle of her own last month over her nomination to serve as the committee's director.

In March, Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. named Reberg his choice to lead the committee, filling a vacancy created when Huntsman fired the advocacy group's longtime director, Roger Ball. A member of the governor's transition team said Ball's problem was that he fought too aggressively to keep utility rates low for Utah consumers.

Huntsman's nomination of Reberg, a former US West lobbyist who helped push a bill through the 2000 Legislature to protect phone company revenue at its customers' expense, was viewed by some as a signal the governor intended to put the interests of the state's utilities ahead of its residents.

It was a view strengthened when Huntsman stated publicly he wanted a consumer services director who would be "fair and balanced" - a catch phrase frequently uttered by Utah legislators bent on seeing the Committee of Consumer Services either abolished or forced to weigh the interests of utilities when fighting for better rates.

At least one well-known Utah consumer advocate urged Reberg to withdraw her name from consideration. Reberg declined, saying: "I wouldn't be true to myself if I withdrew. That's just not me."

She eventually was confirmed as the committee's new director on a 4-2 vote of its members.

To those who know her, it was typical Reberg.

"Leslie's never been one to back down from a fight," said Salt Lake County Councilman Randy Horiuchi. "She is one of the most energetic people I've ever known, and if she is in a battle and gets her dander up for a cause she believes in, everyone better watch out."

Reberg was Horiuchi's chief of staff from 1996 through 1998 when, before the county's recent change in government, he served as a Salt Lake County commissioner.

Horiuchi attributes Reberg's political activism and sense of public service to her mother, Gay Littleton.

Littleton "was legendary in Ogden" where, as a city councilwoman, she created the state's first Women's Crisis Center and became known as a champion and advocate of citizen's rights, Horiuchi said. "Leslie really picked up on that."

Reberg concedes as much.

"I was raised in a matriarchal family, one that consisted of very strong women," Reberg said. "My mother shook the cage all her life, from outside the system and from inside. And I'm trying to raise my daughter to be the same way."

During her service from January 2001 to January 2005 as director of Salt Lake County's Community Services Department, Reberg's resume lists her accomplishments as establishing a $2.6 million open space trust fund, helping develop the draft of a parks and recreation master plan, and aiding with the reauthorization of the Zoo, Arts and Parks program.

The question is whether Reberg's brand of activism - she primarily has worked within existing corporate and governmental structures to accomplish her goals - will translate into her being a strong advocate for a committee that traditionally has prided itself on its independence.

"Leslie is very bright and very capable," said Ted Smith, a Salt Lake attorney who was Reberg's boss during her tenure from 1999 to 2001 as US West's community relations manager. "She works very hard and has good analytical skills, so I'm sure she will do well in whatever position she is in."

While at US West, Smith noted that Reberg reached out to the company's union membership, helping improve the dialogue.

"We never had any huge labor issues at that time, but Leslie, being very much the Democrat, clearly identified with those folks in the unions who tend to be more of the Democratic persuasion."

Susie McAllister, secretary treasurer of the Communications Workers of America Local 7704, said one of the jokes at the time was that if the union members were ever forced to go on strike, Reberg would be out serving refreshments to those on the picket line.

Reberg noted after her appointment that she intends to fight just as hard as her predecessor, but in her own way, to protect the interests of the state's residential and small-business utility customers.

"The law is pretty clear what my role is - I am to be an advocate for consumers," she said.

steve@sltrib.com