After pledging to purge the county of past scandal, Salt Lake County Mayor-elect Peter Corroon has appointed a new public works director with a scandal-plagued history.
On Monday, Corroon announced that former West Valley City Manager John Patterson would replace David Stanley in overseeing planning and zoning, roads and bridges and the fire department. It's one of the largest county departments, with a budget of around $120 million.
"We picked him based on his qualifications for the job," Corroon said. "Much of what happened in the past was based on innuendo and not on fact."
Two years ago, Patterson resigned from West Valley after rumors surfaced that he was having a "close" relationship with a female assistant. He was also accused of misusing city resources to raise money for the assistant's daughter, a beauty-pageant contestant.
Patterson, 52, says "95 percent" of the rumors were not true. "There's just that little seed and from it sprouts many rumors and stories and it just perpetuates itself," he said. "It's old news and had to do with my personal life — not my professional life."
Corroon said he talked with Patterson's former co-workers before making the decision to hire him. "We feel comfortable," he said.
For the past two years, Patterson has worked as the Ogden public services director, under Mayor Matthew Godfrey. .