COMMISSION CONTESTS PIT 3 IN 1 RACE, FRIENDS IN THE OTHER BATTLE FOR 2-YEAR SEAT BOOSTS VOTER INTEREST

"Interesting" is the word that pops up most frequently when participants and observers are asked about the three-way race for the two-year seat on the Davis County Commission.

Interesting, indeed.The candidates are Golden Sill, Democrat and former Layton mayor; William "Dub" Lawrence, Centerville, the Democrat-turned-Republican who was county sheriff but lost his job in 1978 to a last-minute write-in opponent and two years ago launched an unsuccessful write-in campaign of his own for sheriff; and Layton Mayor Richard McKenzie, an independent who defeated Sill two years ago for the mayor's job and who announced his write-in campaign Oct. 5.

Sill, a lifetime resident of Layton, served four terms on the Layton City Council and as mayor for three years until defeated by McKenzie three years ago. He spent 32 years in the Davis school system as a teacher and administrator in addition to 28 years of active and reserve U.S. Army duty.

Sill said he is running for the commission at the urging of fellow Democrats and because he sees some problems with the way county government is being handled.

"I believe in efficient government, of living within the bounds of your revenue. I'm against higher taxes without public approval," Sill said. "We need to look into areas where some cuts can be made, to eliminate waste and duplication.

"I'm familiar with the budget process _ I was involved in it for years in city government _ and I know how cuts can be made to make a department operate more efficiently but without crippling it," said Sill.

The Democrat, who while he was Layton mayor strongly opposed construction of the county's garbage-burning plant, agrees it's too late for further opposition on that issue but said the plant should be watched carefully to ensure that it doesn't turn into a financial fiasco for the county's taxpayers.

Sill also believes the $44,000 annual salary for county commissioners is too high and should be cut drastically, perhaps to $10,000 a year. "County employees are doing the work, and they don't make near that," he said. He also urges closer scrutiny of travel and convention expenses for county employees.

Sill opposes all three tax-limitation initiatives on Utah ballots Tuesday but supports holding the line on taxes.

Lawrence, a Centerville resident, was sheriff from 1974 to 1978, losing the 1978 election to Republican Brant Johnson, who mounted a write-in campaign two weeks before the election when the GOP candidate died.

In 1974 Lawrence defeated incumbent Republican Sheriff William L. Peters _ now a county commissioner who has endorsed Lawrence's opponent, McKenzie.