From Deseret News archives:
Bluffdale mayor empties her office
Employees of Anderson's Bluffdale-based Audio Enhancement on Wednesday removed all of the mayor's furniture and decorations, leaving her office completely bare and leading to speculation that she is stepping down.
In an e-mail statement Wednesday evening, Anderson said she simply took her personal items home because the City Council has allocated money for new office furniture in the 2007-08 fiscal year budget.
"I have been criticized for using my money for city purposes," she said, "and want all this to stop."
More than 38 percent of Bluffdale's registered voters cast their ballots in the single-issue special election Tuesday, with nearly 67 percent voting to uphold an ordinance passed by the Bluffdale City Council in September to shift powers from the mayor to a city manager.
City employees said Anderson wasn't in the office Wednesday and didn't leave any messages about the meaning of her office being cleaned out.
Linda Robertson, one of the referendum sponsors who initiated the challenge of the City Council's action, said people shouldn't jump to conclusions about the vacant office.
Robertson said she hopes Anderson doesn't resign, calling her "an asset to the community."
"I hope the citizens will realize what a jewel we have here in this city," she said.
Other residents say they're fed up with the feud between the mayor and City Council that has been going on since shortly after Anderson took office in January 2006.
Some residents have said the mayor fell out of favor with her constituency after she filed a pair of lawsuits against the City Council, losing both and costing taxpayers more than $100,000 to cover the council's legal costs.
Bluffdale resident Paul Featherstone said he's hoping a city manager can bring back some professionalism to city operations, something he says has been a casualty of the governmental infighting.
"I don't disapprove of the mayor," Featherstone said. "I think she's doing a great job in a difficult situation. But I do feel like we need someone in there to mediate, and I'm hoping a (city manager) can do that."
E-mail: jpage@desnews.com
