| Council in no rush for new mayor May be weeks before Colorado City takes action | |
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By Nancy Perkins Deseret Morning News | |
COLORADO CITY, Ariz. — It could take weeks before a new mayor is appointed to lead this town of more than 7,000 polygamists on the Utah-Arizona border. A brief, one-sentence letter of resignation from former Colorado City Mayor Dan Barlow was read into the town record Monday night. "Well, we're without our mayor tonight," said Councilman Terrill Johnson to the three other members sitting at the table, who all nodded their heads. "I guess we'll have to elect a new mayor." No one on the council or anyone in the audience commented on the letter or the reason for Barlow's absence. Johnson, Karen Barlow, Bygnal Dutson, and Floyd Black looked to their left at town clerk Kevin Barlow for some direction on what needs to be done. Barlow reminded the four that the item must be placed on the council's agenda for action and will likely be placed on the February meeting calendar. Two additional council members, Richard Holm and vice-mayor Edson Jessop, were not at the meeting. The council dynamics have not changed for 18 years, although the seats held by Holm, Jessop and Dan Barlow are up for re-election in May. "We're not in a rush," Kevin Barlow said on Tuesday, adding he hasn't had time to research whether the council must take applications from those interested in serving on the council, or whether the present council can simply appoint someone to the job. Dan Barlow, who was appointed to the council in 1985 when Colorado City was first incorporated, resigned from his position following an early Saturday morning meeting with leaders of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Barlow and more than a dozen other men were informed at the regular Saturday work meeting of FLDS priesthood holders that they were no longer members in good standing. Warren Jeffs, considered by FLDS members to be the church prophet, made what church members are calling "adjustments" in the men's association with the church. Along with losing their priesthood, the men could face losing the right to live in church-owned homes, and the right to lead their families. Sources who attended the FLDS meeting said Dan Barlow and the other men involved accepted the church action without dissent. One man said Jeffs' decision "was a shock to the community, that's for sure," while another man said "Dan Barlow's OK. Knowing him, he'll be all right." | |
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deseretnews.com Originally published Wednesday, January 14, 2004 | |
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