McConkie seeks 4th, final Davis term
Commissioner counts Legacy among successes
He'd do it Tuesday, when the registration period starts, but he'll be in Washington, D.C., at the National Association of Counties legislative conference until Wednesday.
McConkie has been a Davis County commissioner since 1994, following an election defeat in 1992 and missing an appointment to the commission a few months later. He has served three terms and hopes to land a fourth and final term.
"I'm very optimistic about it," McConkie said Thursday between various meetings. "I like it when you have a responsible citizen coming up to you and saying, 'Dan, I like what you've been doing. Here's a couple hundred bucks.' "
So it sounds like running for re-election was an easy decision for McConkie.
"This is a great county," he said during Tuesday's commission meeting, in which he officially declared himself a candidate for office.
McConkie has been involved in the fight to bring the Legacy Parkway to fruition. He's seen the beginning of the expansion to the Davis County Jail. He worked for three years to create the Commissioners' Cup, an annual golf tournament designed to generate $12,000 to $13,000 a year that can be passed on to the community. He's seen the construction of the Davis Conference Center and hopes to see what will become an adjoining exhibit hall.
"It's just a pleasure to be a part of that," McConkie said.
The commission recently voted to combine the county's health and aging services departments.
McConkie said he hopes to put some of the money from the consolidation into aging services to help the county's senior citizens. He wants to find a way to make the county more efficient.
Preserving the corridor for the Legacy Parkway to make its way north toward Weber County will also be a priority, he said.
"You gotta have a fire inside," McConkie said. "If anyone has the illusion that elected office is something easy, it is not. Is it worthwhile? Absolutely."
The county commission has been as gratifying as it is time-consuming.
McConkie is in an endless quest to get to the next meeting, be it a county commission, the state Legislature for the past 45 days or any number of boards and committees he sits on.
"Successful in this election, I will not run again," McConkie said. "I will complete my service."
But retirement may be in name only.
McConkie said he and his wife have contemplated serving a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Whatever he does, he plans to keep busy once he gets out of government.
"That's the proper way to retire. That's the way you stay alive," he said. "You gotta get out of bed and go do things. Rocking-chair retirement kills people."
E-mail: jdougherty@desnews.com
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