Battered by felony charges of misusing public funds that have sent her into a free-fall in opinion polls, Salt Lake County's mayor said Saturday she is launching a two-pronged counteroffensive.

Her strategy: "Give a jury a chance to vote first, then give the people a chance to vote second."

Workman contends that once voters understand she is not guilty of funneling taxpayer money for her own benefit, they will re-elect her. In order to demonstrate that, she said she must get to court before Election Day.

"I have only tried to help the Boys and Girls Club," she told the Salt Lake County Republican Central Committee. "I have not personally benefitted. This does not rise to the level of a felony."

In August, an independent panel of four prosectors outside Salt Lake County found evidence to sustain criminal charges against Workman. Last week, she was charged in 3rd District Court with one second- and one third-degree felony count of misusing taxpayer money related to hiring two people on the county's Health Department budget who in reality worked for the South Valley Boys and Girls Club under Workman's daughter.

Not deaf to grumblings from other Republican candidates, Workman acknowledged to party faithful the cloud her criminal case has cast over the November ballot.

"I apologize for the difficulty this has brought to the Republican Party," she said. "This has been out there and in your face. It's been devastating and hard on everybody."

But Workman told Republican insiders she can overcome the mounting political challenge with their help.

"Hold on to your hats. This is going to be a historical campaign," she said. "Get out there and tell your neighbors and tell your friends. I'm going to run hard and as fast as I can go."

On Thursday, Workman launched a TV ad blitz that reflects her strategy, calling the criminal allegations "politics as usual" while boasting of her fiscal craftsmanship that has set county government on a sound footing without raising taxes.

Workman plans more campaigning using radio spots, telephone banks, candidate appearances and door-to-door stumping.

Still, voters should have the opportunity to know the outcome of the criminal case before casting ballots, she said.

"I have a new attorney," Workman said, referring to Greg Skordas, who she hired last week to replace Ron Yengich. "I am confident he can get the job done."

Skordas also is the Democratic candidate for Utah attorney general and former chief deputy to District Attorney David Yocom.

In an interview Saturday, the mayor said Skordas "is the best choice to get us in court before the election."

Skordas could not be reached for comment Saturday. But his former boss, Yocom, said the likelihood of Workman's case going before a jury by Nov. 2 is remote.

"She doesn't get preferential treatment by rule of law," Yocom said, referring to cases that have been waiting for trial for one year or more.

The district attorney said his office is unwilling to cut an agreement that would allow Workman to plead guilty to misdemeanor counts.

"She can come in and plead guilty tomorrow," Yocom said. "But the independent panel made it clear that this was a very calculated deceit. I have to follow the findings of fact of the panel."

With the election just seven weeks away, County Councilman Steve Harmsen said it won't be easy for Workman to "turn the tide" of public perception surrounding the allegations. Prevailing in the criminal case may be the key, he said.

"There are going to be two trials, one in public and one in court," Harmsen said. "She has to win one of them."

There is a growing perception among Republicans that missteps by the mayor do not rise to felony levels, said John Swallow, who is seeking to unseat Democratic Congressman Jim Matheson.

"We saw with the Olympic trial of Tom Welch that overaggressive prosecutors are not always right," Swallow said. "She has a right to her day in court. After that, I'll leave it to the voters."

However, would-be voters currently favor Democrat Peter Corroon over Workman by 43 percent to 12 percent, according to a Deseret Morning News/KSL-TV poll published Saturday. Independent Merrill Cook was the choice of 20 percent of the 361 likely voters in the Dan Jones poll that had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.3 percentage points.