Bluffdale voters strip mayor of powers

BLUFFDALE — The latest round in the ongoing fight among elected officials in this southwest Salt Lake County city goes to the City Council.

Mayor Claudia Anderson was stripped of her administrative powers for the second time in nine months, this time by a vote of Bluffdale residents.

Nearly 67 percent of the 1,334 residents who cast their ballots in a special election Tuesday voted to uphold an ordinance passed by the Bluffdale City Council in September that takes some executive and administrative powers from the mayor and delegates them to the office of city manager.

That means Anderson will relinquish her title as CEO of the city, along with some administrative duties, to a city manager. The City Council will decide how that position will be filled in the interim while a nationwide search for a city manager is conducted.

"The citizens have had an opportunity to vote and express their wishes," Anderson said in a statement after the election. "I will respect the will of the people. I hope this city becomes what the citizens want."

Councilman Jess Kelley said Bluffdale has reached a point in its maturing that it needs the "professional guidance" of a city manager.

"The biggest thing to me is that a city manager will be a professional," Kelley said. "They know the ins and outs of the law and have the expertise to guide the city properly."

Councilwoman Nancy Lord said Bluffdale has been lacking that expertise since Anderson fired former administrative services director Brent Bluth — for the second time — in January.

No matter the outcome, several Bluffdale residents interviewed at polling stations said their votes are neither an endorsement of the City Council or the mayor.

"I voted for (the referendum), but frankly this is just kind of a middle step for me," said Justin Ethington. "I think, at the next election, we need to toss them all out. I think they're more interested in bickering than serving the people, so I can't wait to get them out and start fresh with people who can get along."

A feud that began shortly after Anderson took office in January 2006 has gradually escalated from differences of opinion and heated disagreements to name-calling and lawsuits. Anderson twice has sued the City Council, heaping a little more than $100,000 in legal bills and, residents say, embarrassment on the city.