Demos, Cook angered by Workman 'disability'
They see doctor's note as GOP ploy to
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."
"(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."
You can be the first to comment on this story.