Politics on back burner for now
Workman is now focusing on her road construction business
Workman was defrocked as county mayor in 2004 after being charged with using county money to hire a bookkeeper at the nonprofit organization her daughter headed. Workman was later acquitted and had been contemplating a run for county clerk this year.
"Right now I'm focused on business, but I wouldn't rule it out," Workman said of a possible return to politics. "I do miss the county, but right now it's just not the right time to do it."
Workman served six years as county recorder before being elected county mayor in 2000.
Her life in county politics abruptly ended in September 2004 when she resigned her post as mayor during a criminal investigation of misuse of public funds.
Soon after her resignation, the Salt Lake County Republican Party abandoned Workman before a jury trial and added Republican Ellis Ivory to the ballot. Ivory eventually lost the election to current mayor Peter Corroon, a Democrat.
Workman is staying out of the political fray for now while she focuses on her budding road construction contracting business. The 64-year-old Sandy resident recently got her license as a general engineering contractor.
"I love the county; I miss being there, but I've moved on, and I've got a company started," Workman said.
It was a mix of public and private interests that led to Workman's legal troubles.
Workman signed the timecards for a health department employee who was on loan to the Boys & Girls Club of South Valley. The felony charges against her stemmed from a whistle-blower complaint to the district attorney's office.
The employee was being paid, but no one in the department, including her boss, knew what she was doing.
District Attorney David Yocom's investigators dis- covered that the position, filled by two women in turn over the course of about a year, was for accounting work at the Boys & Girls Club of South Valley under the supervision of Workman's daughter, Aisza Wilde. Workman signed the employees' timecards.
Workman's supporters said the whole debacle was just political persecution against the Republican mayor by the Democratic Yocom. Yocom maintains politics played no part in his decision to file criminal charges against the former mayor.
Workman billed the county $169,000 in attorney fees after her February trial and is still awaiting payment. Her attorney, Greg Skordas, is currently in negotiations with the county to recoup the money.
"We're getting to the end of negotiating on the legal fees, and then hopefully this will all be over," Workman said.
E-mail: ldethman@desnews.com
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