No special election in West Jordan

WEST JORDAN — A long-shot attempt to call a special election to allow residents here to vote on a proposed change to the city's form of government fell far short of gaining City Council approval Tuesday.

A group of residents seeking to change the city's government from one based on a city manager to one based on a strong mayor had sought to have the council send the issue to a citywide vote in June.

But they weren't holding their breath, resident Jeff Haaga said after Tuesday's meeting. And their expectations were right — the motion to call for the special election failed to garner a second, so the proposal died with no vote and no discussion.

"We're patient," Haaga said afterward. "We've been thinking about doing this for four or five years. If it takes two more years, that's OK. We want to follow the law."

The residents want to see the city run by a full-time mayor who serves in a role similar to governor or president — a powerful elected official with the authority to hire and fire city staff, and who is more accountable to the residents of the city.

Councilman Mike Kellermeyer, a supporter of the proposed change, made the motion to call for the special election. He told the council it was not his intention "to discuss the pros and cons of either form of government, and that should not be the discussion at this time by this body. Members of this legislative body would be free to do this as individual citizens through town meetings, mailings, advertising, committees, etc."

Instead, he said, the council should support putting the question before residents.

The residents pushing for the change have been circulating a petition that would put the issue on a ballot, but it probably would not be voted on until June 2006. In the meantime, the mayor and several council members are up for re-election this November. And Kellermeyer, in a letter to the council, said people considering a run for office deserve to know before November whether the seat they are seeking will still exist in the same form a year later.

At a council meeting last month, Councilman Rob Bennett proposed a resolution that would express the council's opposition to a change in the form of government. He said the city was in "a period of success and prosperity" under its manager-council form of government and said 63 percent of cities nationwide with populations greater than 25,000 operate with a strong city manager.

That resolution was tabled because the petition sponsors had agreed to fine-tune the nuances of their proposal, which was seen as a hybrid of multiple forms of government rather than a clear-cut, strong mayor form.