Nancy Workman is out.
Is Ellis Ivory in?
The Salt Lake County Republican Party is calling a meeting of its central committee for Oct. 26 or 27 to try to replace incumbent county mayor Workman with write-in candidate Ivory as the party's official candidate on the ballot.
But independent Merrill Cook is crying foul, and the Democrats are threatening legal action.
"For a licensed physician to certify that someone is physically disabled or mentally disabled when they're not is fraudulent," Cook said Tuesday.
Workman filed papers with Salt Lake County Clerk Sherrie Swensen Tuesday officially withdrawing from the race, including a note from her physician, Philip Roberts, saying she is "disabled" and unable to continue.
"She is suffering extraordinary stress as a result of the circumstances surrounding her pending criminal prosecution," Roberts wrote. "In my opinion, the strain upon her physical and emotional condition disable her from continuing as a political candidate without unreasonably (compromising) her health."
According to state law, a political party may replace a candidate who "resigns because of becoming physically or mentally disabled as certified by a physician."
State and county Democratic Party leaders held a press conference Tuesday saying they may sue if the Republicans use the note to convert Ivory from write-in candidate to official GOP candidate, on grounds that Workman really isn't "disabled."
"(The mayor's situation) is no different from the daily stress of being president or county mayor," county party chairwoman Nichole Adams said.
Workman's attorney, David Jordan, disagrees.
"As the former federal prosecutor, I would say that unless you have been a defendant in a criminal case, faced with felony charges that carry the potential of prison time, you can't imagine how stressful an experience it is," he said.
Up to almost the moment she withdrew, Workman maintained there was nothing wrong with her and that she would not ask for a doctor's note. When asked how that changed, campaign consultant Dave Owen would only say, "She said she would never ask a doctor to lie, and she didn't."
The Salt Lake County Republican Central Committee last week withdrew its support from Workman and endorsed Ivory, even though Workman was still the official candidate. Now that she's gone, the choice boils down to Ivory or no official Republican candidate at all.
Salt Lake County Councilman Joe Hatch, a Democrat, applauded Workman's decision to leave the race. At the same time, he doubted that it would have much impact on Peter Corroon because he will have a chance to talk about his plans for the county, not about his opponent's problems.
"I think she should have pulled out long ago," he said. "Her continued involvement meant that the real issues were not getting aired. She was sucking up all of the political oxygen."
Swensen has previously said she would accept any physician's note at face value. Nevertheless, Swensen, chief deputy Jason Yocom and elections chief Julio Garcia huddled during much of the day Tuesday, figuring out how to handle logistically the unusual situation.
The confusion around the mayoral election will have impacts on elections across the state, especially if Ivory remains a write-in candidate and delays the ballot counts in Salt Lake County — a delay that would also push back reporting for legislative, statewide and congressional races. Regardless, Lt. Gov. Gayle McKeachnie said that he expects Utah elections to run smoothly, especially if Salt Lake County runs smoothly.
Nationally, "it looks like it could be a year where there's some turmoil in elections, although we're hoping not in Utah," he said. "If Sherrie can just keep Salt Lake County contained, we should be fine."
The issue of replacing Workman won't be ultimately resolved for a while.
According to GOP bylaws, a central committee meeting to vote on whether to put Ivory on the ballot can't be held until 10 business days after an executive committee member calls for it, putting off any decision until two weeks from now.
What's more, it's still possible the party might not even attempt the action.
"We're still working through the details," GOP county chairwoman Tiani Coleman said. "We won't be making any changes unless we're satisfied that this (the doctor's note) complies with the law and is totally above board."
Ivory characterized the decision as totally up to the party.
"I'm running regardless," he said. "I'm going to continue with my campaign, and whatever the Republicans do, they'll do." Meanwhile, the person at the eye of the Salt Lake County storm, Workman herself, is lying low. She did not talk to any news media Tuesday and is not likely to do so for a while.
"I told her, in all seriousness, that she should fly off to Mexico for a week," Owen said.
Political consultant and Deseret Morning News columnist LaVarr Webb said that he is not surprised about Workman's announcement and that a change on the ballot would only help Ivory. He also said that because Ivory was critical of Workman and ran against her, his previous association with her campaign should not be an issue for voters.
Although Ivory's started a good write-in campaign, "it's better for him if his name is on the ballot," Webb said. "All in all, it has to be considered a benefit for Ivory that she is no longer in the race."
Contributing: Josh Loftin
E-mail: aedwards@desnews.com