After nearly two hours of deliberation Friday night, the Lindon City Council unanimously chose Jim Dain to act as interim mayor for the city until November.

"I am so excited to serve as mayor," Dain said. "I am feeling good about the things we can do."

Two candidates filed to run in the race for Mayor Jeff Acerson's seat -- current city councilman Bruce Carpenter and Dain. Acerson left in late June to serve as a mission president for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

"I was glad to have a difficult decision between the two outstanding candidates," said Lindon City Councilman Eric Anthony. "We are really blessed to have such good people wanting to serve our community."

Dain comes from a background of public service in Lindon that began in 1992 with his first election to the Lindon City Council.

He then spent 12 consecutive years on the Lindon City Council, serving three full terms.

"It is just a great opportunity to serve the city and give back to the place that has given so much to me and my family," Dain said.

He left the city council five years ago for personal reasons, and said that in that time he missed the service opportunities.

"I missed the associations I had while I was there," Dain said. "I love this city and love being part of the city. I would be blessed to be able to serve my community in whatever way suits the needs of the city."

Dain also made a significant contribution to Lindon City with his design of the Lindon City Center, creating the designs and donating his time and efforts to the city for the building.

With his service now, Dain said that one of the biggest things the city can do to improve is to work on communicating with its residents to help them understand the actions the city takes.

"People usually come to our meetings when they are passionate about an issue," Dain said. "It is an important question to ask -- how do you interest the members of the community and increase interaction with themfi"

Although Dain said that he sees many significant issues, he said that one of the main issues for him is to remain fair to everyone in the city.

"I have no preconceived notion on any specific issue," Dain said. "I want to be able to listen to everyone's ideas and be able to make the most fair decision for the city."

Dain has spent nearly 30 years living in Lindon, where he and his wife have raised five children. He works for Brigham Young University as a licensed architect holding the position of director of building services. He has been there for 25 years.

Dain will be sworn in at the beginning of the city council meeting Tuesday night.

This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page D1.