Morgan County Council picks Donald Mathews to finish term

MORGAN — Tuesday was Election Day, but for Donald Mathews, Monday was "Selection Day."

That's when Mathews was appointed by the Morgan County Council to fill the end of a term on the council. What's more, the only other person who applied for the position was Austin F. Turner, his general election opponent this fall.

"I applied because I thought it would give me a jump-start on my next term, assuming I win," Mathews said. "The six months of additional experience can do nothing but help me."

After further contemplation, he clarified that statement.

"I guess, if you look at it, it could go one of two ways: It could be an advantage because I'll have experience, or, in today's environment, being an incumbent is not really an attractive place to be."

The council opening occurred when David Gardiner resigned in May. Mathews will represent District 5, or north Morgan, which is bounded by the east side of Stoddard Lane east through and including Croydon, and including all areas north of the Weber River and the north side of 200 East north through Round Valley.

Mathews, 57, has lived in Morgan County a total of 18 years. After spending a decade here, he was transferred to Phoenix in 2000 by his employer. He returned in 2002. Mathews is a national account manager for textile services company Alsco, formerly American Linen. He and his wife have five children and eight grandchildren.

Mathews said he was disappointed more people didn't apply for the brief council term and understands that it was a difficult decision for the council to pick between the two men.

"I'm excited about the opportunity. I'm anxious to get involved. But I understand there's a huge learning curve, so I just plan on being a sponge the first couple of meetings and learn much as can," he said.

A newcomer to politics, Mathews said he attended a couple of council meetings during which the group was discussing issues interesting to him.

"I thought, 'I should get involved in this kind of thing.' Then I did some checking and found out that a seat would be vacant in November, so I thought I'd give it a shot," he said.

Mathews said his priorities will be helping manage county finances during a bad economic downturn and trying to boost economic development. He also wants to see the county build a stronger relationship with Morgan city, in particular working together to get a hotel built in Morgan. He also wants to bolster the Weber State University extension office and work on programs with Davis Applied Technology College.

e-mail: bwallace@desnews.com