Nancy Workman didn't win the fund-raising battle in her campaign for Salt Lake County mayor. But the Republican's message of experience — plus the flow of formerly undecided voters into her camp — won the war for Workman early Wednesday morning.
In the two months leading to Election Day, Workman never stretched more than one point past her opponent, Democrat Karen Crompton.
But when all 688 precincts had been counted by 5 a.m. Wednesday, Workman had claimed 52 percent of the vote to Crompton's 48 percent. The Republican began to pull away in the wee hours, eventually gaining 14,658 votes over her opponent, according to final but unofficial results.
Workman had long since gone to bed and turned off her phones by the time the final numbers were announced.
At the Republican Party's election night gathering at the Salt Lake Hilton hotel, the candidate seemed relaxed and relieved that the end had come. "We're going to go have a good time," she said when it became clear how long it would take to complete the count.
When asked if she might use the county mayoral position as a springboard to higher office, Workman emphasized that this is as far as she goes.
"I'm kind of old," she joked. Workman will celebrate her 60th birthday on Dec. 9. "I'm not using this as a stepping-stone."
Workman earned a degree in commercial art from the University of Utah more than 30 years ago, and started an advertising agency and then a design college, the Salt Lake Academy of Design. In the 1970s, she met Reed Workman. They married, and she became CEO of Workman Construction. She expanded it to a $5 million company, took its payroll from three to 60 employees and built bridges and roads across Salt Lake County.
Ten years ago, Workman was encouraged to run for county recorder, but she lost her first try. She won in 1994 and 1998, however, hence her mayoral campaign mantra: "I know the county inside and out. I've got a six-year head start."
The Republican will have six fellow members of her party on the new Salt Lake County Council — as well as three Democrats with county government experience: at-large councilors Randy Horiuchi and Jim Bradley and District 1 (Salt Lake City) councilman Joe Hatch.
As county recorder, Workman says, she has learned to get along and get work done with a variety of colleagues. She had to climb a steep learning curve when she first arrived at the Salt Lake County Government Center.
"I've sat through 12 budgets, because they're worked on in November and June of each year," she said. "I know who does what in what department, and I know whom I can rely on. I know the people now, but that first year was quite an education, finding out where to go."
Workman acknowledged that she's in for another crash course, only this time in the county's new form of government. The mayoral position is "undefined," she said. While the nine-member council is charged with writing legislation, the county executive only administers the policies made by the council. Workman will also have to work closely with officials from Salt Lake County's 15 cities and towns. "I'm friends with their mayors," the new county chief said.
Crompton based her campaign on the idea that she wouldn't perpetuate "business as usual" at the County Government Center. "It's time we started working together," she said in her countless commercials on TV. She also emphasized a positive, issue-oriented race, refusing to use negative messages about her opponent.
"People are tired of negative campaigns," Crompton said. "They're what's led to the cynicism in politics."
Crompton campaign manager Russell Kennedy said he's proud of the way the race was run. "We did everything within our power to run a clean, positive campaign," he said. With the votes counted early Wednesday, he added, "Nancy Workman's a class act, and we wish her all the best."
The Crompton campaign chest accumulated $210,000, including a $10,000 contribution from the Salt Lake County Sheriff's Association, while Workman's was about $171,000. Both candidates spent more than $60,000 each on television advertising in the final three weeks before Election Day. In her last campaign finance disclosure statement, Workman reported that she owed $48,673, including $22,698 to Reagan Billboards and $25,975 in loans she made to herself. Crompton reported that she had no debts.
"I'm surprised we've done as well as we have," Crompton said just before the election. "For a Democrat to out-raise a Republican is a big deal."
Crompton, who has long served on the Emigration Canyon Township Council, plans to resign from that post now and spend time with her two sons, Chance, 9, and Hart, 6. She and husband David Crompton, newly elected to the Emigration Township, also plan to remodel their home in the canyon.
E-mail: durbani@desnews.com