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PROVO, Utah (AP) -- Eagle Mountain Mayor Kelvin Bailey, who once claimed he had been kidnapped, has announced his resignation, saying he needs more time for his family and business ventures.
Bailey announced his resignation Thursday night, one year after pleading no contest to providing false information to police and five months before his term was to end.
He said the resignation is effective June 30. Bailey made the announcement the county's Council of Governments meeting.
"It has now come time for me to focus on my family, who has been the anchor in the storm and the light of my soul," Bailey said in a statement. "It is time to reinvest in my business, which has suffered greatly during this time."
Bailey has been a consultant to developers, and has had to set aside some business because it constituted a conflict of interest with his role as mayor. He also recently invented a food storage system.
"The time has come that the needs of the one outweigh the needs of the many," he said.
Bailey told the City Council his plans earlier.
The council will appoint someone to fill the rest of his term.
Councilman David Blackburn said, "The general consensus of the council is that the city is in good hands. Kelvin has done a good job of being mayor and CEO of the city up to this point. Obviously everyone is going to have to stretch to fill his shoes."
The resignation was unexpected, with Bailey having been expected to seek a second term.
In March 2003, Bailey disappeared after a pheasant hunting trip. He called his wife, Maritza, and said he'd stopped to help someone on the road and that the person forced him to drive to Barstow, Calif. He said he'd escaped and was on his way home.
She called the police, who intercepted him. He maintained the story for a time before admitting he'd made it up. Prosecutors charged him with a class B misdemeanor, to which he later pleaded no contest. He ended up paying more than $900 in restitution.
He said he had intended the story only for his wife, and he had not expected her to call police.
(Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
