This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2007, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
The more Real Salt Lake's reputation slips, the more Salt Lake County Mayor Peter Corroon's rises - so much so that pundits say this once-obscure Democrat, who killed a stadium-funding package only to see the governor resurrect it, could become a viable contender for statewide office.
Does this mean a Gov. Corroon or a Sen. Corroon could emerge?
Probably not, at least for now. But "I can't think of any Democrat that would have a better chance than he would," said political pollster Dan Jones, president of Dan Jones & Associates.
Such talk represents a remarkable electoral surge for Corroon, the soft-spoken first-term mayor so new to Utah politics that people still misspell his name.
Proof of his popularity - and the difficulty constituents have getting his name right - can be found in many a blog, e-mail, Internet message board and letter to the editor about RSL's continuing controversies.
"The [stadium] deal with Real was never about soccer. It was a way for the Legislature to get back at Caroon for being a good mayor," wrote one Salt Lake Tribune online reader last week. "[House Speaker Greg] Curtis and [Gov. Jon] Huntsman feel threatened by Caroon especially since he is so popular."
While Corroon's approval rating may not rival the enormously popular Huntsman - favored by 77 percent of Utahns in a recent Deseret Morning News/KSL-TV poll by Dan Jones & Associates - Democrats do dub him a party "rock star." He's no Barack Obama, but Utah Dems believe he easily could ascend to higher office.
"I call him the 'Midas Touch,' " said Wayne Holland, chairman of the Utah Democratic Party. "Whatever he touches turns to gold."
Corroon simply smiles, comments on how much he enjoys his mayoral job and says re-election next year is foremost in his political plans right now. As for the future?
"I'll cross that path when I get there," he said.
The stadium controversy has defined this Democratic mayor, who declared RSL's plan too risky and refused to fund it. But the Legislature, led by Huntsman, intervened and endorsed a measure to steer $35 million in county hotel taxes to the $110 million soccer venue.
Corroon's stand has drawn even more plaudits in recent weeks as state and local officials bicker with RSL about the team's pledged $7.5 million toward a youth sports park in northwest Salt Lake City.
Kirk Jowers, director of the University of Utah's Hinckley Institute of Politics, characterized the stadium squabble as a "defining moment" for Corroon. The mayor made a name for himself - and a good one at that - because polls showed most voters opposed public funding for the stadium project.
By deal's end, Jowers said, Corroon was perceived widely as someone who would "protect the public's investment for all the right reasons."
Still, in scarlet-red Utah, the Democratic mayor stands little chance of unseating Republican heavyweights such as Orrin Hatch, Bob Bennett or Huntsman, though he might score political points against the governor over their divergent views on the stadium.
In an open race, however, Corroon could make a "formidable" bid for a statewide seat, Jowers said.
The mayor's approval rating now hovers near 68 percent in the county, with his numbers soaring to a Huntsman-esque 77 percent within Salt Lake City, according to a recent Deseret Morning News/KSL-TV poll.
His negative rating never has topped 8 percent, Jones said, a number that could make Corroon "hard to beat."
So where does Corroon stand in Utah's Democratic Party? How about in the top two statewide, Holland said, matched only by U.S. Rep. Jim Matheson.
"Certainly he is champion of the day because of soccer," said Republican Salt Lake County Councilman Mark Crockett. "The irony is that if it weren't for Corroon, soccer wouldn't have happened."
Perhaps. County leaders did reject the stadium deal last July, ruling RSL's financing scheme too iffy. Corroon, who had turned down an earlier funding package, revived the idea weeks later and, with a nascent deal in hand, rallied enough support to flip the council's vote.
But Corroon also vowed to give RSL's business model a closer look before offering his final OK. After the county's Debt Review Committee sided against the team's plan, so did Corroon.
With the stadium's historical baggage, Crockett predicts, if Corroon tries to make RSL a winning campaign issue, "it would kill him."
Or maybe not. Corroon's name recognition has skyrocketed, according to Dan Jones & Associates. In March 2005 - barely three months in office - four out of 10 poll respondents didn't know the county mayor's name, Jones said. Those numbers have decreased steadily during the RSL controversy.
Recent polls suggest Corroon is unknown to only 25 percent of county residents and 15 percent of city residents. Even then, he has retained a hefty approval rating.
Tim Chambless, a political scientist at the University of Utah, said the stadium has branded Corroon - perhaps more than any other issue of his reform-minded administration - as honest, well-intentioned and concerned about the county's pocketbook.
Those qualities will resonate with voters, regardless of party affiliation, he said.
Although Corroon could become a Democratic standard-bearer in the not-so-distant future, Utah remains a Republican rock. Capturing a statewide seat could be a stretch for any Democrat.
"He would have to have all the cards fall into the right place," said Quin Monson, assistant director of Brigham Young University's Center for the Study of Elections and Democracy. "That's what it takes for a Democrat in a state like this. But it is not impossible."
Corroon said he has no plans to chase statewide office - at least not in the next 5 1/2 years, if he wins a second term. But party leaders say his star is only rising.
"We are building a statewide machine," Holland said. "We need someone to drive it."