Mayor Michael Deamer shared that majority opinion. But no one asked and, as City Council arbitrator, he kept it to himself. Now, Wal-Mart is coming to town.

And Deamer knows that when he leaves office at the end of the year, history isn't likely to reflect his views.

"As mayor, you conduct City Council meetings; you don't get a vote. You just get to share in the blame," he says.

When Deamer speaks about his decision not to seek re-election after only one term, there's no hint of relief. No self-deprecating jokes. Not even any rancor over the threats he received during the public debate surrounding the Wal-Mart Super Center.

Those close to Deamer say his matter-of-fact style is his strongest personality trait and probably worked against him in this instance. Instead of bowing to public pressure, Deamer's stance on Wal-Mart has been to defer to a existing law in the city code, and that allows for 200,000-square-foot stores.

"He is a man of integrity," says his wife, Evelyn. "He doesn't fudge with the law. He's does what he ought to do, not what he wants to do. And that is the way he conducts himself in every aspect of his life, whether its church or work or being the mayor."

His exactness to the law came into play on a national scale in 1977 while working as chief deputy to Utah Attorney General Vernon Romney. In the book The Executioner's Song, author Norman Mailer chronicles the many telephone conversations Deamer had with various officials in the final moments of convicted murderer Gary Gilmore's life. Gilmore became the first person executed under a new law reinstating the death penalty in the United States.

"Word came that legal attempts by the ACLU and others to stop the execution had run out," he recalls. "It was me who gave the word to go ahead with the execution."

A different, but equally strong sense of duty caused him to run for mayor 24 years later. Deamer says a group of people "who could push my buttons" talked him into running. As an active member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Deamer says he was recruited by neighbors who knew him as a local LDS leader.

"They were concerned about [housing] density in their neighborhoods," he says. "If I accomplished anything, it was lowering the number of units-per-acre from 18 to 12. That will be a long-term benefit to all Centerville residents."

Critics feel Deamer washed his hands of the Wal-Mart mess and was notably absent at the biggest meeting in Centerville history: a Planning Commission public hearing regarding the retail giant that had to be rescheduled and relocated to an school gymnasium.

"I didn't see him doing a lot to try to prevent Wal-Mart from coming. He didn't attend any of those planning commission meetings, " said Alec Hagen, who runs an Internet site dedicated to Centerville politics. "That is what disappointed me the most."

The only reason the big-box retailer hasn't started building yet is because it needs to present site and building plans that comply with new city codes - regarding such details as noise, appearance and traffic patterns -implemented during Deamer's administration.

Deamer says time, not the Wal-Mart battle, influenced his decision not to run for mayor again.

"It really is a full-time job." he says of the part-time position.

Not all of his experiences have been negative. Deamer says he is pleased Centerville was recently named No. 51 on Money magazine's list of "Best Places to Live."

He says he will miss the friendships he made while working with several south Davis mayors to form a new fire district and build a new recreation center. Citizen watchdog groups criticized the mayors' group for creating needless and perpetual taxing entities, but associates say Deamer played an important role in keeping things aboveboard.

"Mike brought a lot to the table," says Bountiful Mayor Joe Johnson. "As an attorney, he knew where we could go and where we couldn't, and that was very helpful to us."

Of all the letters Deamer received during his term, he remembers one in particular that bothered him. It came from an resident who thought the mayor purposely ignored the will of the people after the Wal-Mart poll was released.

The writer said he was looking forward to seeing Deamer at the Fourth of July concert and watching the mayor "quiver with fear" when he had to face his constituents.

"First of all, I'm a trial attorney with 30 years experience in front of judges and juries, and I don't quiver," he says. "But my first thought was, 'Why in the world would someone want to come to a July 4th concert and want to listen to the mayor talk about Wal-Mart instead?' "

lorib@sltrib.com

Michael Deamer, 59

A native of Ogden, Deamer moved to Davis County in 1976 and to Centerville in 1986 where he and his wife, Evelyn, raised six children. He graduated from the University of Utah Law School in 1973 and went on to serve as chief deputy to former Utah Attorney General Vernon Romney. He sought the top AG post in 1992, but lost in a Republican primary. He has a private law practice in downtown Salt Lake City.