4-YEAR OPPONENTS LIKE AND RESPECT EACH OTHER

The race for the four-year seat on the Davis County Commission has been low-key and clean, both candidates agree. They also agree they like and respect each other and either of them would make a good county commissioner.

But Democrat Howard Stoddard and incumbent Republican Gayle Stevenson disagree on a key issue: Each thinks he's a little bit better qualified than the other for the job.Stevenson was appointed interim commissioner in July after incumbent Glen Saunders resigned to take the county clerk's job. Stevenson, a lifelong Davis County resident, was ready to enter the political arena anyway and had announced as a candidate.

Stoddard, also a lifetime county resident, is retired from the U.S. Postal Service and has run previously and unsuccessfully for the county commission and clerk.

But Stoddard sees the political scene as different this year and is running on the theme "It's an Excellent Time for a Change." County government has come under strong criticism lately, including a lawsuit charging two commissioners and a former commissioner with misuse of county funds and malfeasance.

He believes his 38 years of federal employment, including 10 years as Clearfield postmaster and his 11 years as a West Point city councilman, give him the experience he needs for the commission job.

Stevenson cites his 33 years as a teacher and administrator in the Davis school system as his greatest asset, along with the hands-on experience he's gained since being appointed to the job in July.

Some of that experience, Stevenson readily admits, has not been pleasant. The ongoing battle between the commissioners and the county auditor and the legal complaint against his two fellow commissioners - Stevenson was not named in the suit - have made the job tough, he said.

"I've had second thoughts about staying in; I'd be less than honest if I didn't say so," Stevenson said. "I don't function too well in this kind of controversial atmosphere.

"It's not my style. My leadership style is to get people to achieve, to work to their potential, and their productivity drops in this kind of confrontational situation.

"I believe in working toward a consensus rather than through confrontation, but I'm going to stick with it," Stevenson said. "Quitting isn't my style, either."

Stevenson said the job of county commissioner is more complex and involves many more hours than he imagined, and the job has been an education for him. "The citizens of Davis County have very good government. I took a lot of things for granted - roads, flood control, police and fire protection - before I stepped in here."