Gov. Gary Herbert clearly sounded frustrated at being asked yet again where he stands on several campaign reform issues, including a pair of citizen initiatives.
Standing among a group of reporters continuing to push him on his positions after a recent press conference, the state's new governor attempted to explain his decisionmaking process.
Herbert said while he may not have the diplomatic skills of his predecessor, U.S. Ambassador to China Jon Huntsman Jr., he is willing to listen to all sides.
"If I'm wrong, I'll modify. I then run the risk of being a flip-flopper. So I'm damned if I do, and damned if I don't," he said. "But I am pretty open."
It's that openness, however, that may be leading Herbert to remain undecided about any number of issues since he took over as governor in early August.
Take the citizens' initiatives, one each on legislative ethics and redistricting. Herbert has said he's not sure if he'll support or oppose the efforts of the residents behind the petition drives, even though he labeled their goals "laudable."
The governor also, in the words of his staff, continues "exploring" whether to begin disclosing contributions made to his political action committee as they are received, a concept he has said he backs for all candidates in lieu of putting limits on contributions.
And climate change? While Herbert publicly questioned global warming at a Western Governors Association meeting in Park City this summer, before he became governor, he's now called for the state to host a major forum to hear from both sides.
Words such as "indecisive" and even "waffling" are starting to come up in conversations about how Herbert is doing in his new role — and whether voters will want to keep him in office.
Under a new constitutional amendment on succession, Herbert must run next year for the remainder of Huntsman's term. While some potential GOP challengers have already stepped aside, others are waiting, especially the Democrats.
"He seems to be in that stage of having your cake and eating it, too, afraid to offend anybody," said Utah Democratic Party Chairman Wayne Holland. "The longer he delays taking positions on virtually anything, the more vulnerable he is."
Holland said the governor may be more timid on issues such as climate change and gay rights than Huntsman was out of fear of offending the far right of the Republican Party.
"Right now, he wants to keep the base kind of appeased, at the same time giving himself some room to appeal to the more mainstream voter in the fall of next year," Holland said. "Whether he can continue to juggle all those balls remains to be seen."
Even Republicans have noticed.
"I think there will come a time, depending on the issue, that I believe Gov. Herbert will be decisive," Sen. Curt Bramble, R-Provo, said, noting "the jury may be out for Gary on several critical issues."
Even as a Utah County commissioner and as lieutenant governor under Huntsman, Herbert's "been slow to jump if jumping is not necessary today," Bramble said. "He's gone from being No. 2 and feeling like he had a pretty good grasp of the issues to not knowing which way is up."
Still, Bramble, an adviser to a possible candidate in the 2010 governor's race, Sen. John Valentine, R-Orem, said he's willing to give Herbert a chance. At least for now.
"If we're having the same discussion six months from now about decisiveness, I think there is a good chance he'll have one or more Republican challengers," Bramble said.
In the meantime, he said, "I think we owe it to our governor to be fully supportive and helpful with the administration today. It will be up to the governor to demonstrate his leadership."
Kelly Patterson, director of Brigham Young University's Center for the Study of Elections and Democracy, said Herbert is still trying to find his leadership style.
"A collaborative style can work. It just depends on whether the collaboration leads to a paralysis. But you haven't seen any evidence of that yet," Patterson said. "This seems to be on-the-job learning."
Herbert has to learn much faster, though, because of the looming election. For Herbert, that complicates the already difficult job of settling into leadership, Patterson said.
New leaders need time to understand the right balance between assertiveness and cautiousness, he said. It takes time "to figure out whether to get out front of any issue and try to lead it, or sit back a bit and see how it unfolds."
University of Utah political science professor Matthew Burbank said it's not clear yet whether Herbert is trying to avoid taking stands because he needs to shore up positions that may not have been well-thought out.
"Part of it is a recognition that he has to be more careful with his words and his positions," Burbank said. "Now he's in a position where lots of people are paying attention to him."
Burbank said Herbert's re-election could be tougher if it turns out he's just waiting to show how conservative he is on issues key to the GOP base, such as gay rights.
"If what he does is simply go through the motions but always comes down conservatively, that does leave an opening for a candidate to take advantage of," Burbank said.
Herbert spokeswoman Angie Welling said Herbert "is very deliberative. He likes to do his homework and look at all sides of an issue before publicly taking a stand on it. At the same time, to suggest he has not taken some hard-line stances is unfair."
She cited as an example one of the issues that sparked Herbert's reaction after the recent press conference: his opposition to limits on campaign contributions. "He stated that position very clearly, and then he was criticized for being so direct," Welling said, a reference to concerns raised that he was dismissing a proposal to set contribution limits under consideration by the Governor's Commission on Strengthening Utah's Democracy, a group started by Huntsman.
"Once he does his homework, once he formulates his opinion, he's not afraid to state that opinion," Welling said. "He doesn't appreciate being pushed or feeling like he's being forced to rush to judgment."
The public, she said, "appreciates having a governor who takes his time and explores all sides of an issue before making a decision. It's just in their best interest."
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