Is he:

A) The mayor The Nation hailed as a progressive, in part, for his living-wage initiative?

B) The mayor the state Legislature chided, in part, for his living-wage initiative?

C) The man Davis County demonized for his State of the City speech in January?

D) The man Outside Magazine lauded for his State of the City speech?

The answer is E: All of the above. Clearly, Salt Lake City's two-term mayor has two vastly different images.

At home, he is yelled at by North Salt Lake Mayor Kay Briggs at an open-space rally. He is the target of jokes and attacks by lawmakers. He also is the politician whose endorsement can kill a deal - think funding for the Major League Soccer stadium - and the mayor who can't persuade the City Council to adopt a new city flag.

Stymied at home, Anderson has found success beyond the state. There, Rocky is a rock star.

Consider this:

Today through Tuesday, the mayor will host a summit with movie star and environmentalist Robert Redford to teach 45 U.S. mayors - from Washington, D.C., to Chicago, to Seattle to Euless, Texas - how to combat global warming.

In June, the liberal weekly The Nation extolled Anderson as one of eight "progressive city leaders" for tackling greenhouse gases when President Bush wouldn't.

And the August edition of Outside Magazine will list Salt Lake City as one of the top 10 places to live, work and play. Aside from being "one of the nation's most underrated outdoor meccas," Salt Lake City was picked because of its top politician.

"When the mayor of the largest city in Utah uses his annual State of the City address to evangelize about sustainability, greenhouse-gas reduction, and the downsides of Wal-Mart, you know something's brewing on the Wasatch Front," the magazine gushes.

The magazine, however, failed to mention how Anderson's evangelism angered Davis County residents, who were blistered by his criticism of the Legacy Highway and their daily auto commutes to Salt Lake City. Or that the City Council formally apologized for the mayor's remarks.

City Council Chairman Dale Lambert says it's not surprising liberal groups rally around a liberal mayor's agenda, while conservative Utahns have railed against it. He says Anderson deserves the praise - but so do other leaders and residents who make the city what it is.

"He may say things that sound interesting to people who do not have to fully live with the consequences of making statements that are going to obviously offend a number of people in the state," Lambert says.

Noting the mayor is courting national and international attention, Lambert says Anderson could find greater success at home if he paid as much attention to local audiences - and was more diplomatic.

This year, Anderson traveled to other states touting his city's successes with environmental programs and downtown development, while he tried to withdraw Salt Lake City from the Utah League of Cities and Towns and the Economic Development Corporation of Utah.

"To be successful here, you also need to build alliances locally," Lambert says.

So while The Nation pointed out the mayor's living-wage initiative as a sign of progress, Anderson couldn't bring the Legislature to allow him to keep it.

Even within the city - where voters are more liberal and Anderson believes he was re-elected in 2003 to pursue an environmental agenda - opinions about Anderson vary widely.

Anderson supporter Peter Cole, co-owner of downtown's Squatters Pub Brewery and participant in the city's environmental business program, says the mayor may be lacking praise here because people are put off by his personality. And while Cole may not notice environmental improvements each day, he argues the mayor is charting a course for the city that makes it more livable.

"What we're doing as a city is making a difference," Coles says. The mayor "cares deeply about the city."

Not nearly as much as he cares about his national image, counters Sugar House resident and activist Helen Peters. She was tempted to write The Nation to say, "That's not the mayor I know. Let me just tell you about a perspective from a citizen, what it's actually like to be here."

Peters worries about saving vacant portions of Mount Olivet Cemetery from development; the drop in the city's capital improvement budget that goes to fund parks, streets and sidewalks; and the battle with North Salt Lake over open space.

"He has a rhetoric that appeals to [outside groups]," she says. But "things at the city are not where they need to be."

Not even environmentally. Anderson says the Kyoto Protocol - to which he committed city government - doesn't go far enough.

The city has eliminated the equivalent of 23,700 tons of carbon dioxide per year, saving around $86,000 annually. The mayor successfully pushed for a light-rail line to the University of Utah. His administration also has added bicycle lanes and encourages residents to buy wind power.

But even Anderson's environmental programs manager, Vicki Bennett, can't avoid the smog mucking up the valley air.

"The air quality, it drives me nuts," she says. "The problem is Salt Lake City can only do so much. We're a fairly small proportion of this valley. What we have control over, I feel good about. The rest is that outreach side of things."

Anderson's reach is longer outside Utah. "There's not a tremendous amount of political courage or willingness to change anything very quickly in this state," he says.

The mayor didn't invite any of his Utah counterparts to the Sundance Summit, save Salt Lake County Mayor Peter Corroon.

He wants the state to change its energy policy, but thus far Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. has only conceded to explore adjusting heating and lighting in state buildings.

But Dianna Delling, a senior editor at Outside Magazine, believes talk is as important as action.

"I like the idea of a person in charge doing what he thinks is right for the citizens, even if, at times, he's fighting an uphill battle."

hmay@sltrib.com

Rocky's global reach

* Attended U.N. conference on Kyoto Protocol in India in 2002.

* Received EPA climate protection award in 2003.

* Presented information on Kyoto Protocol at U.N. conference in Argentina in December 2004.

* Described Salt Lake City's "smart growth efforts" in Miami in January 2005.

* Discussed urban policy at conference in Wisconsin in February 2005.

* Attended a G-8 strategy session on global warming in London in March 2005.

* Talked about the city's climate protection measures in Denver in April 2005.

* Hosted two European Parliament members in June who invited Anderson to address an upcoming conference in Washington, D.C., about moving beyond Kyoto. Salt Lake City's measures

to protect the environment

* Implemented rules requiring new and renovated city-owned buildings be energy-efficient.

* Purchased five parking-enforcement vehicles that use less gasoline.

* Replaced 35 SUVs in the city fleet with smaller sedans or pickups.

* Acquired 89 compressed natural-gas vehicles, including shuttle buses at Salt Lake City International Airport.

* Encouraged walking with orange flags, crosswalk signs and streetlight countdown timers.

* Added 14 miles of bike lanes and 45 downtown bike racks in past four years.

* Provided three bicycles for city employees to use when they travel to meetings.

* Started offering 90-gallon recycling bins to residents and businesses.

* Converted 1,630 traffic lights and all of the bulbs in the City-County Building to be energy-efficient.

* Purchased wind power for the City-County Building; encouraged residents and businesses to buy wind power.

* Launched a program to encourage businesses to conserve energy.

* Planned effort to encourage city employees to turn off office lights and computers.

* For more information on The Sundance Summit, go to http://www.sundancesummit.com.

* The Nation article, go to http://www.agenceglobal.com/article.asp?id=530.