When an undercover raid at Woods Cross High in the mid-1990s revealed that students were peddling drugs in the parking lot, a student-body officer offered classmates this consolation during a school assembly:

"At least we don't have gays at our school."

Those words -- an apparent reference to the gay-straight alliance controversy then haunting East High -- struck student Weston Clark, who was gay, like a sledgehammer.

The pain triggered something within Clark, chairman of the Salt Lake County Democratic Party.

"It sparked my interest in activism," he said. "I had to do something about that. I had to be part of a process to change that, whatever it might be."

The change didn't happen immediately -- "I felt too small and powerless at the time," he said -- but it started Clark on a political path that stretched from an advanced U.S. government class to the trenches of a Republican senator's race to the staff of the county Democratic Party.

Now, after shepherding Democrats toward several election-year gains in Salt Lake County (including a majority-making seat on the County Council), Clark won re-election as party chairman at Saturday's party convention at Cottonwood High. He ran unopposed.

Unlike his bomb-throwing counterpart in the county GOP, James Evans, Clark has captured few headlines during his inaugural year as Democratic chief. Instead, he has remained a somewhat obscure rudder of the minority party, raising money, recruiting candidates and rarely pitching an attack on Republicans.

"I don't know anything about him," Evans said. "I don't even know what he looks like. If I ran into him on the street, I wouldn't even know it was him."

Yet a behind-the-scenes boss "fit what needed to be done, perfectly" while Republicans struggled nationally and the Utah GOP was strained by ethics investigations and Sen. Chris Buttars' polarizing tirades, said County Councilman and former county party chair Joe Hatch.

"When someone is self-exploding," Clark explained, "the last thing I want to do is go in and help them."

Clark wasn't always a Democrat. He made his first post-high-school plunge into politics as a volunteer for Sen. Bob Bennett's 1998 re-election campaign. He fought hard for the Republican, believing whole-heartedly he was on the "right side of the campaign."

But ideologically, the party label didn't fit. Republicans didn't share Clark's views about gay rights, diversity, poverty and health care. Not only that, but he began to wonder whether GOP rule, without a strong competing voice, undermined the democratic process.

By the time he finished his bachelor's degree in social studies, he had made his leftward shift.

After crisscrossing the country for his partner's legal career, Clark returned to his home state and immersed himself in the day-to-day workings of the state Democratic Party.

It was a volunteer gig that, within months, turned into a paying job. But Clark soon decided to venture into the occupation he'd trained for in college: teaching. He landed a job at Bountiful's Viewmont High teaching European History, world civilizations and debate.

He remained in the classroom until last year, when he decided to commit his time to chairing the county's Democratic Party. He succeeded Christian Burridge, who resigned shortly before the 2008 convention. He's also pursuing graduate studies in city and metropolitan planning at the University of Utah.

Democrats in last November's election picked up several high-profile offices in Utah's largest county, including the seats of House Speaker Greg Curtis and GOP County Councilman Mark Crockett. President Barack Obama even edged out Republican John McCain in the county.

U. Hinckley Institute of Politics Director Kirk Jowers says Clark's low-profile approach may have served the party well last year.

Why? Because the chairman, who describes himself as "very liberal" on his Facebook page, may have done more to push moderate Utahns away from the party.

"Because he is, by his own words, so far to the left, his approach is probably the most effective," Jowers said. "He could run the risk of alienating the more moderate Democrats and independents leaning Democratic if he did take an in-your-face public approach."

Even so, Clark says he's willing to take that confrontational stance if it keeps the party pressing forward. During his coming two-year term, he plans to focus on training precinct chairs and continuing the momentum gained in the last election.

jstettler@sltrib.com

Leadership Activist works to make a difference

Name » Weston Clark

Age » 29

Hometown » Salt Lake City

Partner » Brandon Mark

Occupation » Graduate student at the University of Utah.

Education » Bachelor's degree in social studies at the University of Utah; pursuing master's degree in civil and metropolitan planning.

Most-admired political figure » Franklin D. Roosevelt

Favorite book » Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Polland

Fun fact » Anxiously awaiting the latest "Star Trek" movie.