PLEASANT GROVE —— After a short and emotional debate Tuesday night, the Pleasant Grove City Council voted against a resolution that would have prevented one of its members from running for re-election.

The 3-2 vote assured council member Mark Atwood — and any other permanent, full-time city employee — would be able to run for public office in Pleasant Grove. Atwood, who is employed by the city's public works department, was silent throughout the discussion.

"This has been one of the more difficult things this group has faced," Councilwoman Cindy Boyd said. "We have strong emotions about it, and we are not pinpointing anyone. We just need to consider it for the sake of avoiding conflicts of interest."

While all council members agreed that no one is being singled out, Atwood is the only current council member who would be affected had the resolution passed.

Jeff Wilson, a Pleasant Grove police officer and former member of the City Council, was in attendance and expressed his opinion. Wilson said he felt personally attacked by the resolution and said he feels that being involved closely with the city as a policeman helped him to be better informed of things going on throughout the city.

Wilson, who was defeated in the last City Council election by current member Bruce Call, made a plea with the council to reject the resolution. He said the city has a reputation for honest employees who could do a great service for the city as members of its council.

Call said he researched the issue by talking to employees of the city, residents and supervisors. He said he thought land developers, real estate agents and title adjusters are more likely to have conflicts of interest, yet they are allowed to run for office without scrutiny.

Call said, "While I am a fan of avoiding conflicts of interest, I feel the awkwardness in the workplace and the chance of harm in the workplace does not warrant excluding 150 city employees from the right to run for public office."

---

E-mail: sstewart@desnews.com