EAGLE MOUNTAIN — When the stress of trying to please everybody all of the time got to be too much, former Eagle Mountain Mayor Paul Bond used to get in his car and drive.
Usually a short drive to Fairfield — a tiny rural community about five miles away from his home — was sufficient to calm his nerves and get things back under control.
Bond understands the stress that prompted current mayor Kelvin Bailey to embark on a near 500-mile motor journey that has landed him in hot water with his constituents and facing the prospects of possible legal charges.
Bailey drove blindly for several hundred miles following a Thursday pheasant hunt outing before emerging from his funk in Barstow, Calif. That was bad enough. The story about being abducted at gun point by a hitchhiker that he fabricated to explain the journey has put his public service effort under a cloud and facing the possibility of legal prosecution.
Utah County Attorney Kay Bryson is still considering a misdemeanor charge of filing a false police report, but federal officials say they will not pursue charges.
"The job (being mayor) is horribly stressful. The stress is unbelievable," Bond said, "It pushes you to your limits. I can see where he could be that stressed."
Bond said that is one reason he will not consider taking the helm again if Bailey chooses to resign.
"No, I don't need that. I've done my time," Bond said.
Bond said he was often called on his personal phone while mayor, taking calls while in Australia, Mexico and Venezuela as he fulfilled work assignments for the LDS Church.
The calls were often lengthy and often cost him a good bit of his own money.
"Even though you're gone, you can't get away. There are things that come up that have to be taken care of," he said.
Bond said it takes a while to get used to the fact that there are people who are going to be angry about some things all of the time and that they will make hurtful and untrue remarks.
"Imagine you're already dealing with a personal crisis or issue," Bond said. "You're feeling way down and then add the feeling that all of your friends and associates have abandoned you. That's what it's like."
Bond said he remembers taking a child to a hospital emergency room in the middle of the night and then trying to deal with a number of city issues the next day without adequate sleep or emotional energy.
"It can be tough," he said, "and frankly, during the time I was serving, there was a lot more going on. We had all of the utilities to manage and issues that have kind of settled down now."
He has a bit of advice for wannabe mayors and elected officials.
"Remember you cannot make all of the decisions. There are some things that need to be left to the staff," Bond said. "And try to remember it's the suit (position) people are usually reacting to, not the man."
Bond said he and some other former elected officials plan to send a letter to the residents of Eagle Mountain.
"We want to ask them to quit the bad-mouthing. It doesn't help," Bond said.
E-MAIL: haddoc@desnews.com