Salt Lake City officials will ask the UTA board to postpone next week's vote on UTA General Manager John Pingree's future at the transit authority until a state judge can decide who sits on the board.

Salt Lake Mayor Deedee Corradini sued the Utah Transit Authority and Salt Lake County Commissioners Randy Horiuchi and Brent Overson in 3rd District Court Thursday after the public learned that the two commissioners and half a dozen board members have been secretly planning to get rid of Pingree.Third District Judge Homer Wilkinson will hold a hearing Nov. 1 at 10 a.m. to consider the city's request for a temporary restraining order against UTA and the commissioners.

However, the UTA board is currently scheduled to vote on Pingree's future two days before the scheduled court hearing.

City officials Friday were to work to get that meeting postponed, Corradini told the Deseret News Friday morning.

Horiuchi said Friday morning he would hold a press conference later Friday to ask for Pingree's resignation for the bettermentof transportation and the healing of the community's split over light rail and the restoration of confidence in UTA.

Pingree's attempt to take away the county's appointment power "has caused the largest split in city-county relations over the past dozen years. . . . That's why I object to John Pingree," Horiuchi said. Despite the lawsuit, Pingree should resign promptly, he said.

The fight over Pingree's future is really a fight between Salt Lake City and the county over control of the UTA board. County commissioners have historically appointed board members on behalf of the entire county. But earlier this year Salt Lake City officials and Pingree interpreted a 1995 law to give cities appointment power to the board, slashing the county's control of the board.

The commissioners fought back, verbally attacking Pingree and meeting with unhappy UTA board members over plans to oust Pingree.

"The county is trying to control the UTA board," Corradini said. "They only allow people on the board who agree with them and pass their litmus test."

Tensions between the city and county intensified last month when the Salt Lake City Council approved University of Utah President Art Smith to replace departing board member Manuel Romero, and the commissioners voted to put Stephen Rees in that position.

The UTA board last month decided to hold off on Romero's replacement for six months, operating with 13 board members instead of the statutorily mandated 14.

If the board has only 13 members, board members unhappy with Pingree say they have the seven votes needed to fire Pingree.

However, the city in its complaint argues that Romero is a voting board member until his replacement has been seated. Corradini has asked Wilkinson to order that Smith be promptly seated as a member of the UTA board.

UTA board member Dan Berman, who is leading the revolt against Pingree, told the Deseret News Thursday that the board could legally fire Pingree with only 13 members.

Romero attended last week's meeting where the vote was originally going to be cast, but he left at Berman's insistence, Berman said. If Romero does sit on the board, Pingree's opponents probably don't have enough votes to fire Pingree.

If the UTA board meets before the Nov. 1 hearing, city attorneys will make certain that Romero is present and voting, Corradini said.

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Berman has seen the city's lawsuit, but hasn't been served yet. "I just don't know that the city has a got a very good lawsuit," he said Friday. "I doubt it. And I doubt they will get anywhere."

In her complaint, Corradini accused Horiuchi and Overson of violating Utah's open meeting law by meeting secretly with UTA board members. Last week, Horiuchi and Overson met with Berman and other board members at a Layton restaurant to discuss Pingree's firing.

Horiuchi insists the two commissioners did not violate the law. "The law isn't designed to be a gag order or keep someone like me or Commissioner Overson from expressing an opinion."

The city filed its suit for three reasons, Corradini said. "We feel there were some illegal meetings. We feel strongly that Manuel Romero is a member of the board. The state law is clear that he is a sitting member of the board until his replacement has been qualified and sworn in. Because the county is trying to control the UTA board, we have to pursue this. The best thing the county could do is leave the UTA board alone to conduct their business."

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