From Deseret News archives:
Eagle Mountain to pick a mayor tonight
Whoever is chosen will guide city for the next 5 months
Only two residents expressed interest to be the interim mayor by a 5 p.m. Monday deadline.
The council will decide at the 7 p.m. meeting at City Hall if David Lifferth or Chad Larson will be the city's executive for the next five months.
One city councilman said whoever is chosen must understand that he is stepping into a big role — and expectations are high.
"We definitely want someone who's willing to serve," Councilman Brian Olsen said. "I would expect that person to lay aside their professional commitments and serve the city full time."
Olsen said the interim mayor will be expected to attend all necessary meetings on the city's behalf and oversee Eagle Mountain's infrastructure.
That, he said, will require 40 hours or more per week. The interim mayor will receive the full-time salary and benefit package the City Council approved in June.
Olsen has filed to run for mayor in the next election but said he didn't think the situation was dire enough for him to step down from City Council and take the interim mayor job.
"The City Council has some critical decisions coming up in the next few months," he said. "I made a commitment when I took office to finish my term, and I intend to do that."
The City Council's mayor pro tem, Vincent Liddiard, has been acting as mayor since Kelvin Bailey resigned June 30, citing professional and family commitments.
The interim mayor selected tonight will serve in the position until Jan. 2, 2006, when the winner of the November election takes office.
Lifferth, an accountant, said he is interested in the position because he wants to maintain the pace established by Eagle Mountain's previous elected officials.
"I would continue what we've been doing without any sharp turns," he said. "I'm fearful that if we make any sudden changes, we'll lose the ground we've gained and the progress we've made in the last few years at the City Council level."
Lifferth said he is not going to run for mayor in the regular November election, but he has filed to run for one of the two City Council seats that will be open.
Larson could not be reached for comment.
A decision is expected — but not guaranteed — at the meeting. Members of the council were to receive copies of each candidate's statement of intent and be allowed to interview them by phone Monday evening. Olsen said the process is moving quickly, but the city can't afford to wait any longer.
"I think the council should have acted more quickly than it did," Olsen said. "My intention is that this city move forward and appoint someone off this list."
E-mail: jtwitchell@desnews.com
