Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. tiptoed around a simmering dispute over Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson's order granting domestic partner benefits to city employees. "It's a local government issue and it should best be left to mayors and their city councils," Huntsman said Wednesday after an appearance at the Allies Dinner, sponsored by Equality Utah. He said it would be up to the attorney general to decide whether the state would get involved in any legal battles over Anderson's action. During his campaign for governor, Huntsman endorsed the concept of "reciprocal benefits," which would grant certain rights to cohabitating adults, whether they be gay partners, a heterosexual couple living together or family members sharing a home. Those rights would include such things as end-of-life decision-making power, joint property ownership and inheritance. Republican state Sen. Greg Bell had sponsored legislation to implement the concept, but it got little traction in the conservative Legislature and there was little sign of Huntsman actively lobbying for it. The governor said Wednesday that he was not sure whether the issue would be on the agenda in the upcoming legislative session. He said he would speak to Bell when the session, which begins in January, gets closer. "I think it's good for a whole lot of different people," Huntsman said Wednesday. "It doesn't necessarily favor one group over another."