Provo » There's one point George Stewart's friends and critics agree on:
The former mayor and soon-to-be former municipal councilman likes to be the boss.
"He was a hard-driving executive," said Councilman Steve Turley. "The council, as a group of seven, tries to hammer out a compromise on legislation. That was tough for a guy who was used to getting things done."
Shari Holweg, who ran against Stewart for mayor in 1993, was a bit more blunt.
"He preached to the council that its role was to check the mayor's power when, as mayor, he was as executive-hoggish as Dick Cheney," Holweg said.
Stewart, who was dubbed "King George" when he was mayor in the 1990s, confesses he enjoys being a strong leader.
"As you know, I like to be in charge, " Stewart freely admits. So it was easy for many to assume that Stewart was getting ready to take back his old job when he went head-to-head with Mayor Lewis Billings over the troubled iProvo fiber-optic network.
But when Stewart steps down from the council Tuesday, it's not to take a run at Billings, whose term expires this year. Instead, Stewart and his wife, Joanna, are headed for Mexico City to serve as LDS missionaries for two years.
Going from mayor to councilman was unusual, especially for a take-charge guy like Stewart. But he said it gave him a perspective council members rarely have: a clear view of how each body works.
Stewart served as mayor from 1994 to 1998, stepping down at the end of the term.
After a stint as an executive with XO Communications and two LDS missions, Stewart ran for the citywide council seat in 2005.
Stewart's main goal as a councilman: Turn iProvo over to someone who could run it right. It was a move that went against the stand of Billings, who was Stewart's former chief administrator. Stewart based his objections on his own experience in telecommunications, which he said showed him iProvo's business model was doomed.
State law bars cities from offering telephone, Internet and television service; Provo could only lease bandwidth to other providers. As a result, the network required $2 million annually in subsidies to remain afloat and struggled with a 13-percent customer turnover rate.
Turley, the only member of the council who voted against the iProvo bond, said Stewart was instrumental in the sale of iProvo to Broadweave by standing up to Billings' administration.
"I don't think it would have happened without him," Turley said. "He was able to pull off something I was yearning to get done."
But the sale was not without controversy. The city was accused of not properly advertising the network's sale. The deal also leaves the city in possession of the $39.6 million bond while Broadweave makes monthly payments to retire the debt. In the past two months, Broadweave has skipped two payments to ease its own cash-flow problems.
But Stewart's opposition to iProvo came at a personal cost: A strained relationship between Billings and Stewart, two old friends.
"Lewis was not happy that I didn't support him, but I have to look at myself in the mirror," Stewart said. "I have great respect for Lewis and his family."
Helen Anderson, Billings' spokeswoman, said he wishes Stewart and his wife well during their mission.
Holweg, however, has a hard time accepting Stewart as the knight in shining armor who saved the city during the iProvo crisis. From her perspective, Stewart created the mess when he was mayor.
"George conceived iProvo when he harassed Provo Cable out of business," Holweg said. She said the city imposed draconian regulations and fees that forced the company to eventually sell to the city in 2000. That, she said, was the genesis of iProvo.
Stewart said his administration didn't buy Provo Cable; that was done on Billings' watch. The only issues he recalled involved Provo Cable's missed franchise payments.
Holweg believes that Stewart's departure for a church mission signals the end of his political career. She said the damage to the city from his and Billings' management style is starting to be revealed.
But Stewart isn't ready to say no just yet. He'll return from his mission in time for the 2011 election.
"I'm keeping my campaign signs," Stewart said.
