Jan. 25--Other advocates for the poor call Pamela Atkinson the "Queen Mum."

It's an acknowledgement -- ever so slightly snide -- of her lilting British accent, age and influence.

Some might say Gayle Ruzicka is the most powerful woman in Utah, or Margaret Dayton, chairwoman of the Utah Senate Rules Committee, or Salt Lake County Attorney Lohra Miller.

I think it's Atkinson.

After years of working for Intermountain Health Care and hauling bags of dog food to homeless camps, she's the closest thing to an unaffiliated saint Utah has. Comparing her to Mother Teresa has become a favorite cliche. She's an ordained elder in the Presbyterian Church.

Plus, Atkinson has a special place in Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr.'s inner circle. He calls her a "hero." Besides leading both of his transition teams, she also taught his youngest daughter, Asha, to brush her teeth. She's an adopted grandma and senior adviser at once.

And lawmakers can't rough her up like they do other unpaid lobbyists for Utah's vulnerable. That would be rude.

"She's not one you criticize," says Senate Minority Leader Pat Jones. "She has the most charming English accent. She looks like this wonderful grandmother. It completely disarms people.

"But you can bank on her standing up for what she believes in. And she will not back down. We need more like her."

With declining state revenues and waves of budget-cutting consuming Capitol Hill, Atkinson this

year will be caught between the governor and legislators. In many ways, who gets money and who doesn't could rest on her.

Atkinson downplays her undisputed brand of soft power. She insists she's "just one" pleading for the poor.

Advocacy is second nature for Atkinson who was raised in poverty in war-ravaged London. She became a nurse and immigrated to the United States. In 1986, IHC recruited her to Utah. While working in the Beneficial Life Tower, Atkinson was just as likely to be found in the Jordan River Bottoms, passing out sleeping bags and socks. Once, she called me to the hospital deathbed of one of her "homeless friends."

Atkinson "retired" six years ago and took posts on 19 boards. That has been winnowed down to 10 -- including the BMW Bank board. It earns her a company station wagon and a stipend she dedicates to Pamela's Mission Fund -- for rent, medications and bus tickets home.

"I don't think it's money to use for me," she says.

At times, Atkinson's soft power and her cozy relationship with Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. and lawmakers chafe her peers in the trenches. Some advocates complain that she tailors and limits her requests to the line items in the governor's budget. Three years ago, her advocacy for Huntsman's working group on the minimum wage helped lawmakers brush off legislation raising the wage immediately from $5.15 to $7 an hour. After a year, the working group folded without reaching a consensus on what to do.

She is braced for this year's session, which opens Monday. "I feel part of both teams," she says. "It's going to be tough. If the money isn't there, the decisions have to be made."

Undoubtedly, she will face other King Solomon cases as legislators ask her opinion and she's tugged by the governor's priorities. For now, she's trying to keep other advocates calm, unified and on message.

"The most important thing she's saying right now is: Don't make them mad," one advocate says.

Rebecca Walsh is a columnist. Reach her at rwalsh@sltrib.com

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