The District Attorney's Office filed second- and third-degree counts against the Republican mayor for allegedly breaking laws to hire an assistant for her daughter.

Minutes later, the Salt Lake County Council voted unanimously to place Workman on paid leave and named her top deputy, Alan Dayton, as acting mayor.

Dayton, a 36-year-old attorney and rising star in the Republican ranks, was sworn in Tuesday.

Workman, 63, has admitted to a paperwork mistake, but denies any criminal wrongdoing. She also has vowed to continue her re-election campaign.

Leaders of the Utah GOP and Salt Lake County Republican Party issued a joint news release Tuesday pledging their support of Workman as the party's nominee.

"We are not prone to rush to judgment," wrote Joe Cannon, state GOP chair, and Tiani Coleman, county party boss. "Not only should Mayor Workman be able to have her day in court, but she should be given a clear opportunity to make her case before the public, something that is difficult for her in a highly charged political season. Accordingly, we shall not call on her to step down, nor resign from the race, before she has had that chance to make her case."

Workman repeatedly has said that the charges come from a political vendetta by District Attorney David Yocom, a Democrat. Yocom has denied any political agenda and several prominent Republicans have publicly said they believe the Democrat is not partisan in investigating the case.

An independent panel of prosecutors from neighboring county attorney offices said last week there was "sufficient credible evidence" to charge the mayor with two felonies. The bipartisan panel alleged that Workman lied to "cover her own tracks" in hiring two successive accountants to work at the Murray-based South Valley Boys and Girls Club, where her daughter, Aisza Wilde, is the chief financial officer.

Thomas Burr & Heather May