"The other candidate is Rocky Anderson," he said. "Oh, I'm sorry, it's Peter Corroon."

OK, so Cannon misspoke. Or did he?

"We like to think of [Corroon] as Rocky's clone," Cannon continued.

And that's how Republicans want Salt Lake County voters to view the Democratic nominee. When conservative south valley voters go to the polls Nov. 2, GOP strategists want them to think of the liberal Salt Lake City mayor when they see Corroon's name on the ballot.

"If you like Mayor Anderson in Salt Lake City, you're going to love Peter Corroon as mayor of Salt Lake County. I don't think that's a choice that the residents of Salt Lake County are going to make."

Corroon calls the comparison "hogwash."

"I'm definitely not 'Rocky's clone,' ” he said Monday. "In terms of personalities, in terms of things I want to achieve, I'm totally different from Mayor Anderson."

But Corroon does share some similarities with the Salt Lake City mayor.

Anderson's former campaign coordinator, Sheryl Ivey, is now Corroon's campaign chief. Anderson's former spokesman, Josh Ewing, also is helping Corroon's camp.

The Salt Lake City mayor has endorsed Corroon and offered to stage a fund-raiser for him. Anderson also sent a letter to his supporters asking them to back Corroon.

Anderson and Corroon held a news conference in April when Corroon's partnership unveiled a new affordable housing complex in the city. And the city mayor's staff quoted Corroon, president of the Salt Lake Vest Pocket Business Coalition, in a late March news release about Anderson's new economic development adviser.

Corroon says his campaign staffers were chosen because they were available and highly qualified. But he says he will not be another Anderson.

"Rocky likes to focus more on the social issues," Corroon said. "Frankly, my job will be to govern the county. I want to be more of a county executive than anything else - govern the county, make sure we have roads and sewers that work - not get into a lot of the issues that separate people into party politics."

Anderson - who calls Workman a "terrible mayor" - says he and Corroon are alike in some ways, but "night and day" in other respects.

"Joe Cannon knows better," Anderson said. "He is trying to play on whatever unpopularity I may have among some county voters in a desperate attempt to shore up Mayor Workman's support. Peter Corroon and I share a lot of similarities but there are also very significant differences between us."

For example, Anderson says, Corroon is "better looking" and married with three children; Anderson is single with one son. Corroon opposes same-sex marriage, which Anderson supports.

"Peter is a very soft-spoken, deliberate man," Anderson said. "I usually don't hold back much when I've arrived at a view on things."

Workman's campaign manager, Chris Bleak, disagrees with Anderson's comment about Workman's job performance, saying that county government is more efficient, more citizen-friendly and more business-friendly than Salt Lake City. But he says the campaign will not "dwell on" any Anderson/Corroon comparisons.

"We've got a positive story with all the positive things that are going on at the county," Bleak said. "That's what we're going to focus our time and attention on telling people. If others draw that conclusion [about Anderson and Corroon], or make that point, that's fine."

Other county mayor candidates are former Congressman Merrill Cook, who is running unaffiliated, Green Party nominee Diana Lee Hirschi and Personal Choice Party challenger F. Joseph Irish.

tburr@sltrib.com