As Godfrey explored the possibility of running for office, word made its way through City Hall back to Mayor Glenn Mecham, who then ordered his attorney to meet with Godfrey.

"The attorney told me I'd be fired if I continued to explore running for mayor," says Godfrey. "I told him that it doesn't seem right that I could lose my job over this. The attorney knew I was right, but said he was asked to meet with me. I told him, 'Don't worry; I'm going to quit."'

Looking back, Reid marvels at Godfrey's temerity. "He was working in the bowels of Ogden City, the lowest level you could be, three or four levels below me, in neighborhood development," he says. "He had been there less than a year. He took his ideas to the boss and they basically told him he was a worker bee, not a thinker, and go back to work and don't worry about it. So he quit."

In early June 1999, Godfrey decided to run for mayor — "We felt good about it; we just thought he was going to lose," says Monica — and he began to campaign in earnest. The campaign committee consisted of Godfrey, Monica and a few friends.

It was a late start, especially for a political novice whose only political office was eighth-grade class president. He simply knocked on doors and told people what he was going to do to revive Ogden. "He probably knocked on every door in Ogden," says Monica.

His opponent was Robert Hunter, a three-time Weber County commissioner and Ogden city manager who had never lost an election.

"Nicest guy in the world, and a formidable opponent," says Godfrey.

Hunter papered the town with campaign signs and billboards and had endorsements from all the politically connected.

On election night, the Hunter crowd gathered in the Ben Lomond Hotel to accommodate everyone. Godfrey, with his family and a few friends, convened in the basement of his home to watch the election results on TV.

"We did not think we were going to win," recalls Godfrey.

Godfrey won every precinct.

"Everyone was absolutely shocked that this kid got elected," says Reid. "His message was change. That's how he won."

 · · · · · 

The now 37-year-old Godfrey has stepped on a few toes to encourage Ogden's renaissance, as Godfrey calls it.

He cut the mayor's office staff from five to three and the city's executive staff from nine to six. He started a good-landlord program in which business license fees were reduced for landlords who don't rent to felons and keep their property crime-free and clean.

Failure to comply meant fees would be quadrupled.

He also supported a police fitness test, which didn't sit well with some police.