PROVO -- Utah County Commissioner David Gardner's first public meeting since he pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor drunken driving charge appeared to be business as usual.
Gardner, a two-term Republican, participated in approving a controversial mountain home development that angered many canyon lovers who attended the meeting."You should have seen the faces from up here -- not a pretty sight," said Gardner following the Tuesday vote that gave approval to development plans in Hobble Creek Canyon.
He was slightly subdued, but there was no other sign that Gardner's life has been under intense public scrutiny for the past eight months.
Gardner is known for his jocularity and off-beat humor, often making a joke or teasing a participant at commission meetings.
None of that playfulness was shown at Tuesday's morning meeting. But he did appear ready to conduct the public's business.
Fellow commissioners Jerry Grover and Gary Herbert say during the past stressful months Gardner never stopped doing his job and carrying his share of the workload.
"All I can say is he shows up every day for work," Herbert said. "I expect he's had a heavy heart, and now that this is kind of behind him, that will lighten his heart. I think he's been doing well, and that will only get better."
Gardner entered his plea Friday in a Pleasant Grove Justice Court. His case stems from a March 22 incident in which Gardner was cited for driving under the influence of alcohol.
Until his appearance Friday, he had steadfastly maintained his innocence. Police reports say the commissioner was driving drunk when he swerved into a field and started a grass fire. The commissioner attempted to put out the fire with his feet.
He failed several field sobriety tests, according to police.
Reports say the commissioner first told police he had some vodka at lunch. He later told police a hitchhiker he picked up earlier that day gave him something that tasted "like gasoline," according to reports.
Gardner, however, says he saw the grass fire while driving along the road, drove his Lincoln into the field to work as a firebreak and attempted to put out the blaze.