Former Salt Lake County Commissioner David Watson, 45, died Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2000, of an apparent heart attack at his Holladay home.
Mr. Watson served one term on the commission from 1986 to 1988.
In recent years, he worked at US WEST in government relations, leaving there after the telecommunications firm was acquired by Qwest. At the time of his death, he was an independent government consultant and lobbyist.
Mr. Watson was a member of a close-knit group of young Democrats who became active in the party in the 1980s and 1990s — close friends of former Salt Lake County Commissioner Randy Horiuchi, League of Cities and Towns Executive Director Ken Bullock and lobbyist Rob Jolley, among others.
Horiuchi said Wednesday Mr. Watson's death was a shock to his family, friends and associates.
"To my knowledge, he had no history of heart problems. He was doing well with his government consulting business, picking up some good clients," Horiuchi said.
Mr. Watson led a short-lived Democratic resurgence in the county and state in 1986. That year, he defeated Republican Merrill Cook for the two-year seat on the three-member commission.
Since he left the commission, Mr. Watson had, over the years, worked on a number of Democratic campaigns and otherwise had been active in Democratic politics. But apparently he was not interested in returning to elective politics himself after his troubles at the end of his second year in office.
In the early morning hours one day in the spring of 1988, Mr. Watson was arrested for DUI near the Salt Lake County Government Center. He already was his party's nominee for re-election to the then-two-year post on the County Commission. But following Utah law, he produced a doctor's certificate saying he could not medically continue his campaign, and another Democratic candidate was found.
He resigned from the commission that September and left public life.
Horiuchi and Jolley said Mr. Watson will be remembered for his fine sense of humor and dedication to public service. In recent years, Mr. Watson could be found in the hallways of the Capitol during general sessions of the Legislature, lobbying for his clients and sharing jokes with friends and colleagues.