"We act as a resource to the Eagle Mountain recorder," Cragun said. "She's called us and asked for help. But, frankly, she's working independently. She and the city attorney have looked at the law and made the decision, and I think they've handled it well."

Lofgren said he wants to get his record expunged, but Peterson was unsure if expunging his record after filing to run would qualify Lofgren for office.

"We haven't even investigated that yet because we're not even aware if that process is being done," she said. "If he comes to us with proof of expungement we'll look into it then."

But even if he is unable to clear his record before January, Lofgren said state law allows him to hold public office.

According to the code, "any person convicted of a felony, or any person convicted of treason or a crime against the elective franchise may not hold office in this state until the right to vote or hold elective office is restored as provided by statute."

By state law, convicted felons regain the right to vote when they are sentenced to probation. And that's what happened in Lofgren's case.

That "or" in the code, Lofgren said, means the fact that he can vote means he can hold office. And that's why he accepted an interim appointment to the City Council in 2001.

Lofgren said he has been contacted by a number of Eagle Mountain residents since knowledge of his conviction first became public earlier this week. Most has been positive. He said he hopes voters and his opponents will focus on what he sees as the real issues in this election — the recently approved full-time salary for the mayor (which he wants to repeal), the future of the city's sewer system and the acquisition of water rights.

"There are a whole bunch of issues in Eagle Mountain that need to be looked at, and I think it's unfair that (the election) is coming down to a dumb thing I did 15 years ago," Lofgren said.

The primary will be Oct. 4. Michael Edwards, Brian Olsen and Brigham Smart have filed to run for mayor as well.

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E-mail: jtwitchell@desnews.com