Salem picks Jon Cope as new mayor

SALEM, Utah County — Former Mayor Stanley Green's son, Peter Green, 23, was one of three candidates who wanted to fill the shoes of his father, but instead was the first one eliminated.

Instead the City Council tapped Jon Cope, 55, for the top city position. Cope ran against Stanley Green in last November's election and lost.

Stanley Green stepped down as mayor on May 14, just five months after taking office, citing health and family concerns. He left the City Council in the hands of mayor pro tem Lynn Durrant until a new mayor could be selected.

The City Council met behind closed doors for half an hour before emerging Wednesday and selecting Cope and Shane Olsen, 47, an LDS seminary teacher and freelance designer and artist, as the two chief candidates.

The council then voted secretly, selecting Cope to fill Stanley Green's term through December 2011. The next mayoral election is November 2011.

Cope was away on business and sitting in an airport listening to the procedure by telephone when he learned he had won the post. He is a member of the Planning Commission and served on the City Council about 20 years ago.

— Rodger L. Hardy