PROVO — When Randall Covington started working in the Utah County Recorder's Office in 1978, he didn't think he'd stay there long.
Covington had just moved back to Utah and intended to go to graduate school at BYU. But things didn't go as planned.
"I got caught up in this and forgot to go back to school," he said.
Now, 31 years later, Covington is calling it quits. He'll officially step down Friday.
The 64-year-old had wanted to finish his fourth term as Utah County recorder, which ends next December. But his wife, Elizabeth, has Parkinson's disease, and when the disease became more severe, he decided a couple of months ago that it was time to retire and for the couple to travel.
On Aug. 27, the Utah County Republican Party Central Committee will submit its top three candidates to the Utah County Commission, which will then appoint the new recorder. Because Covington was elected as a Republican and his term is not complete, his seat must be filled by a Republican.
As of Wednesday afternoon, three people had filed to replace Covington — Rod Campbell, assistant Utah County recorder; Jeff Smith, a staff member in the recorder's office; and Todd W. Osborn, a land surveyor based in Pleasant Grove.
Covington said he hopes Campbell will take his place as recorder. The two have been working together since Covington started as a mapper — a job he held for 16 years before being elected to the head post — and Covington said Campbell would continue the forward-looking mindset.
No matter who takes the position, Campbell said the office won't be the same without Covington.
"He is very well-liked by the people here and well-respected," Campbell said. "He's a man of integrity. It is going to be difficult not having him here."
As county recorder, Covington is in charge of recording, indexing and storing all property-ownership documents in the county, making the documents available to the public and keeping a map of property boundaries.
County Commisioner Steve White said Covington has been an extraordinary recorder because he advocated the use of technology to make the office more efficient.
"He's an old geezer like us who's not afraid of change," White said.
Utah County was one of the first counties in the nation to file everything electronically, which has saved time and taxpayer money because the number of employees needed has dropped, Covington said.
Since 1978, the county has grown threefold, but the office is about eight times more efficient, he said. Now people can access information on any of the 160,000 properties in Utah County on the Internet.
Besides being the Utah County recorder, Covington is on several state committees and represents all 3,600 U.S. recorders on the Federal Geographical Data Committee.
"Somebody's impressed with what we're doing here," Covington said of his various appointments. "We have vision."
Those interested in the position who have lived in the county for at least a year and are registered Republicans can file for candidacy with Utah County Republican Party secretary Lisa Shepherd through Aug. 13 by e-mailing her at lisa.shepherd@utahcountygop.org.
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