Council may become family affair

The appointment of a new South Salt Lake council member could boil down to a family affair.

After Councilman Poponatui Sitake resigned in July to take a job out o -state, South Salt Lake opened up the application process to residents who want to fill the vacant seat. The position will be appointed by the six remaining council members on Sept. 6.

One applicant is Randy Fitts, Holladay's city manager, who is also a former mayor of South Salt Lake, an in-law to current Mayor Bob Gray and father to South Salt Lake City Council member Casey Fitts.

Randy Fitts did not return numerous calls for comment on Tuesday. He will be interviewed along with six other applicants at a South Salt Lake public work session today. Individual meetings with the candidates start at 7 p.m., and Fitts will be interviewed at 9 p.m.

"I have mixed emotions about it," said Casey Fitts, an at-large councilman. "I think there would be some difficulty from the community if he were appointed to that position. I think it may be perceived as a conflict. It could be seen as too much influence from one family."

The younger Fitts also manages his father's business, U.S. Novelty & Party Supplies.

Outside of the family relations, Casey Fitts said his father's job with Holladay could be another conflict of interest. Holladay and South Salt Lake, neighboring cities south of Salt Lake City, have dramatically different demographics.

South Salt Lake is a working-class city of 22,000 residents, but that population triples with daytime employment. Holladay is a wealthier community that abuts the bench of the Wasatch Mountains with some 20,000 residents.

If problems arose between the two cities, Casey Fitts said his father would withdraw from the council.

But the two cities have historically worked together on a variety of issues. They share a contract for animal-control services and joined together for a school-district feasibility study earlier this year.

Father and son have spoken in-depth about the position, and Casey Fitts believes his dad's qualifications and experience in South Salt Lake would make him an asset to the council. Randy Fitts was a two-term mayor in the city who retired in 2001.

Gray agreed there could be ethical problems with three family members in city offices.

"It could create some difficulties," he said. "In speaking with Randy, he's not real sure where he's going with that. He initially thought he might be able to do some good, maybe help out a little bit. But he's starting to have second thoughts."

The mayor does not vote to appoint the new council member.

Other applicants include planning commissioners Francis Lilly and Herbert Goldhardt, former planning commissioner Lloyd Anderson, former councilman Boyd Marshall, and residents James Fleming and Geri Miller. The city is accepting applications until the end of the month.

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E-mail: astowell@desnews.com