LA VERKIN, Washington County — Once there were three, now there is one.
When this City Council next reconvenes, councilman Al Snow will find himself standing alone, 1-4, in support of the city's controversial United Nations-free zone ordinance.
Snow, who missed Wednesday night's council meeting, and outgoing councilman Darren Cottam were expected to help select a replacement for Victor Iverson, who resigned his seat Nov. 7. In the event of a tie vote on the new councilmember, Mayor Dan Howard would have cast the deciding vote.
Snow, Cottam and Iverson voted in July to pass the city's anti-United Nations ordinance, while outgoing councilman Kelly Wilson and re-elected councilman Gary McKell voted against it.
The United Nations-free zone ordinance essentially bans U.N. personnel or forces from La Verkin, prohibits the city from investing in U.N.-sponsored projects and makes it a crime to fly the U.N. flag on the city flagpole. Violators may be charged with a class C misdemeanor.
Howard, who supports the ordinance but did not have a vote in the matter, lost his bid for re-election by 201 votes. Snow won't even have the support of new Mayor Tom Stocks when it comes to the ordinance. Stocks said he believes the issue should be put to the voters, not the mayor.
Snow's absence and the news that Cottam's move over the weekend to nearby Toquerville stripped him of his right to sit on the council prompted Howard to declare the council meeting over just minutes after it began.
"We don't have a quorum, so we can't do the city's business," said Howard.
In true plot-twist fashion, city attorney Greg Hardman told Howard the City Council could still move ahead with the vote on a new councilmember even though only two councilmembers were present.
"There is one limited exception to the quorum rule, and that is on the necessity to fill a vacancy on the council," said Hardman, of the St. George law firm Snow and Jensen. "I think it would be permissible to go ahead."
Cottam said he had no idea his move to Toquerville would also kick him off the council before his term is over. He learned Monday from city manager Doug Wilson that he would not be allowed to vote or finish his term since he moved out of town. His replacement was selected during the general election.
"I feel really bad about this," Cottam said during an impromptu farewell speech. "I wanted to vote on the new councilmember. Well, not really."
All seven of the candidates who submitted applications for Iverson's seat were at the council meeting and introduced themselves to the audience.
"I think this next part will go pretty fast," Howard said. "If one of the council nominates someone and the other councilman seconds him, it's a done deal."
La Verkin planning commission member Lance Gifford, who earned the most votes as a runner-up in the general election and has said the U.N. ordinance should never have been brought before the council, was then selected and sworn into office.
"I have been amused, watching the maneuverings over this City Council appointment," Howard said after Gifford took his seat with the council. "On the one hand, we have councilmembers who are trying to put the genie back into the bottle. On the other hand, there are others trying to preserve the United Nations ordinance.
"Anything done now is moot. We never intended to post tanks at the entrance to La Verkin. Our intent with the ordinance was to preserve our sovereignty, and the world listened. That's what our ordinance was all about."
E-mail: nperkins@redrock.net