EAGLE MOUNTAIN — Family pictures of a few former mayors still decorate the bookshelves of one of Utah County's most controversial offices, but Eagle Mountain's new mayor, dressed in a crisp, black suit, is ready to get to work anyway.
Don Richardson, a 46-year-old commercial loan officer for Central Bank, was unanimously chosen Tuesday by Eagle Mountain's City Council to be the new mayor. By Wednesday, after just an hour and a half on the job, Richardson's phone was already ringing off the hook.
"I just feel very honored," Richardson said. "I want to earn their trust and I want to earn the citizens' trust."
Richardson will serve as a part-time mayor until at least November 2007, when a public election will allow residents to vote on a mayor for the remaining two years.
Council members have asked Richardson to propose a fair amount of what his salary should be, but no amount has yet been determined. Former Mayor Brian Olsen, who acted as a full-time mayor, received a salary of $50,000 with an additional $20,000 in benefits.
Olsen resigned Oct. 20, just days before being charged with seven felony counts of misuse of public funds. Olsen's first court appearance was Friday.
Eighteen residents applied to take Olsen's place, but the list was narrowed to 15 when three candidates did not meet the application requirements.
Among the remaining candidates were David Blackburn, an Eagle Mountain city councilman, and Ifo Pili, a city employee and former professional football player.
According to Eagle Mountain City Councilman David Lifferth, an informal poll taken on his Web page, www.davidlifferth.com, showed a majority of residents were in favor of Pili being chosen as the new mayor.
But Pili said he's happy with the council's decision. In fact, Pili said if he had known that Richardson was going to apply to be mayor, he would have withdrawn his name in support of Richardson.
"I think he's a good man," Pili said. "I think the city's going to be in good hands with him. ... I think it'll go business as usual and (Richardson) will bring the continuity and the stability that we've been hoping for as a (city) staff."
Since the city's formation in 1996, Eagle Mountain has had a high turnover for mayors, and divisions have been created in the city government. Recently, council members have publicly clashed with each other, making their unanimous decision in favor of Richardson unusual.
"I think that was a wonderful show of unity by the council towards a single applicant, and that gives (Richardson) the opportunity to move forward on a unifying platform," Lifferth said.
Lifferth said Richardson stood out to him as a strong candidate because of his financial background and moral integrity.
Richardson, a California native, has a bachelor's degree in business management from Brigham Young University with an emphasis on finance. He and his family — wife, Liz, and children, Deborah, 7; Anna, 5; and Sarah, 2 — have lived in Eagle Mountain for two years.
According to a budget change enacted by the City Council Tuesday night, the city will hire a full-time city administrator to help the mayor handle the city's day-to-day functions. Richardson said he could not comment on whether former chief of staff Mike Wren will be chosen as the new city administrator because he had not yet talked to him.
The position has been posted, however, and the city has so far received 18 applicants, according to Eagle Mountain spokeswoman Linda Peterson.
Richardson said he is anxious to meet with the city's department heads and "see where we're at." Then, he hopes, the city will be on the path to overcoming its tumultuous reputation.
"We're a very young town," Richardson said. "We're trying to get our roots, and we've had turnover, obviously. But I think right now there needs to be a vision, and with that vision, we can start growing and concentrating on the most important things of the city."
E-mail: achoate@desnews.com