PROVO -- Former two-term Republican Utah County Commissioner David J. Gardner, twice arrested for drunken driving while he was in office, has been given until Wednesday to file 300 signatures of people backing his bid to return to the commission.

Gardner, who served on the commission from 1994 to 2002, at which time he did not seek re-election, filed as an unaffiliated candidate for the seat held by Steve White, but did not present the required voter signatures, said Sandy Hoffmann, county elections coordinator.

The county elections office failed to notice the error before forwarding the information to the lieutenant governor's office, she said. When they learned of the mistake, county officials were unable to reach Gardner before the 5 p.m. Friday deadline. After seeking counsel from attorneys Monday, Hoffmann and County Clerk/Auditor Kim Jackson agreed to give Gardner two days to collect the required signatures. Cal Harper of Orem made a similar mistake Friday when filing as an Independent American candidate for the state House seat in District 60. Independent American is not recognized by the state as a political party, Hoffmann said, but the elections office processed the application anyway.

Harper also was given 48 hours to collect the 300 signatures and run as an unaffiliated candidate, but he declined the offer and withdrew his application. Hoffmann said Gardner did not say Monday whether he planned to try to obtain the signatures or withdraw.

"I probably won't know until Wednesday at 4 o'clock," she said.

Calls to Gardner by The Daily Herald were not immediately returned. Bill Ellis of Orem and Shirrel Robinson Young of Thistle are challenging White for the Republican nomination for the county commission seat. Democrat Joseph Brierley of Spanish Fork also filed for the office.

Gardner was charged with driving under the influence in 1999 and 2000. In February 2001, he pleaded guilty to the 2000 drunken driving charges.

Gardner's 1999 drunken driving charge was dismissed in 2002 because a judge suppressed Gardner's statements, field sobriety tests and blood-alcohol tests. Gardner was to have gone on trial in Price, but 7th District Judge Bruce K. Halliday ruled that Gardner had been detained too long without probable cause before his arrest.

Gardner originally pleaded no contest in November 1999 and made an agreement that if he abstained from alcohol and did not break any laws for nine months, the charges would be dropped. Gardner, a family therapist, was found in violation of the agreement in 2000 after a confrontation with a 9-year-old neighbor in which he allegedly picked up the boy and poked him in the stomach.

Gardner then appealed the DUI case to the state district court and got a new trial.

This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page D2.