COLORADO CITY, Ariz. — Dan Barlow, Colorado City's one and only mayor for nearly 19 years before he suddenly resigned from office two weeks ago, is on the ballot for re-election.

Barlow, along with 19 other men, was stripped of his priesthood, wives and children during a Jan. 10 church meeting conducted by Warren Jeffs, leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

Within hours of being expelled from the FLDS Church, Barlow submitted his resignation to the City Council and moved out of town.

Colorado City town clerk Kevin Barlow said Dan Barlow, Kevin's uncle, must submit a letter of withdrawal if he wants to get his name removed from the ballot.

"If he submits a letter of withdrawal before the ballots are printed, then his name will be removed," Kevin Barlow said Monday. If a "letter comes after the ballots are printed, then I suppose it could cause a little confusion. But I don't think so."

Also on the ballot for mayor is Councilman Edson Jessop, the current vice mayor, and a couple of write-in candidates.

Richard Allred, who teaches at a local private FLDS high school, and Donald Richter, a member of the city's library board, have filed as write-in candidates for the mayor's job, said Kevin Barlow.

Any other write-in candidates have until Thursday to fill out the proper forms and gather enough signatures to qualify for the March 9 primary election.

Once results of the primary election are in, he said, the City Council of Colorado City likely would appoint a new mayor.

Barlow, whose term ends in May of this year, received 100 percent of the nearly 350 votes cast for mayor during the 2002 elections. This will be the first time since the city's incorporation 19 years ago that a seat on the Colorado City Council, including the mayor's job, will change hands.

Across the street in neighboring Hildale, Utah, Mayor David Zitting said he would begin accepting applications for Joseph Barlow's vacated council position today.

Jeffs also excommunicated Joseph Barlow, a brother to Dan Barlow, on Jan. 10, and Joseph Barlow resigned from public office the same day. The Hildale City Council could appoint a replacement for Joseph Barlow's seat at its Feb. 17 meeting, Zitting said.

---

E-mail: nperkins@infowest.com