Third District Judge Robert Hilder's decision came at an especially bad time for the Republican mayor. Party leaders plan to meet tonight to decide whether to continue backing Workman or toss their support to a write-in candidate.

Workman, who is on paid leave but seeking a second term, has plunged in the polls since the charges, with a Salt Lake Tribune survey last week putting her at 15 percent among registered voters.

Monday's daylong preliminary hearing essentially turned into a minitrial, with Workman's attorneys calling officials to rebut testimony by prosecution witnesses. In the end, Hilder found probable cause that Workman - who did not take the stand - committed a crime.

"It's there on both counts," Hilder said, referring to the two charges.

The mayor is scheduled to enter a plea Oct. 18. She still could get a jury trial before the Nov. 2 election, though that prospect is fading.

Workman attorney Greg Skordas cautioned that Monday's ruling does not mean prosecutors will prevail.

"It doesn't mean that she's any more guilty this afternoon than she was this morning," Skordas said. "The standard for a preliminary hearing is pretty low. The judge was right. All he has to find is some probable cause or sufficient evidence to go to trial. It's certainly not unexpected what happened today."

What happened was a string of 13 witnesses, from county officials to employees of the Murray-based South Valley Boys and Girls Clubs, where Workman's daughter is chief financial officer and where the mayor placed two, and nearly three, employees.

Two top Workman appointees testified Monday that the hiring of the employees - who were paid out of restricted Health Department funds - was illegal and violated policy. However, Chief Administrative Officer David Marshall and Human Services Director Kerry Steadman added that it would have been legal had procedure been followed.

Defense attorneys grilled Marshall during the hearing, arguing that he never brought complaints from health officials about the position to the mayor and that it was he who decided to pay the employees out of the health budget.

"Not only is there no crime here but the mayor didn't commit the crime if there is one," Skordas said in closing arguments. "Based on a 10-minute conversation, we have now charged two felonies."

Skordas, the Democratic nominee for Utah attorney general, said after the hearing that the mayor approached several people - including Marshall - about creating the position.

"And whether she got bad advice or whether she should have just done this herself, I don't know," Skordas said. "But certainly there were others involved in the entire process and either could have or should have given her another direction."

Marshall testified that Workman called him into her office in mid-2003 and said she wanted to hire Alena Iorga to be Workman's "eyes and ears" in the community and that the mayor specifically mentioned the employee would do health work. He said there was no mention of the Boys and Girls Clubs - where Iorga was working - and because of the duties the mayor described to him, he put the hire under the Health Department's budget.

The mayor's daughter, Aisza Wilde, testified that she had complained to her mother about not having enough money to give a pay raise to Iorga. Wilde broached the issue with Workman during a car ride, and the mayor offered to "loan" an employee.

"I didn't ask for county help," Wilde said. "I was seeking advice from my mommy."

Wilde noted that she didn't benefit from the county paying for the position because she ended up doing more work. Wilde did acknowledge that Iorga got a raise with the county's help.

Club Executive Director Bob Dunn said he didn't seek county help either and that when Wilde said the county would help fund a position, he asked Wilde if it was legal. "She said they do this with other agencies," Dunn said, adding that he regretted not putting the arrangement in writing.

Dunn also testified that he thought the club and the county each were paying half the salaries of Iorga and, after Iorga left, Jennifer Schroder. In reality, the county paid $10 an hour for 40 hours a week, and the club paid $3 an hour for 15 hours a week, giving the successive employees a $13-per-hour salary.

A third employee was lined up for the position, but the investi- gation thwarted the hiring.

Terry Fortner, the mayor's operations personnel manager, testified that when she learned about the third employee, she refused to put her on the county payroll.

"I knew this was not something we did," Fortner said. "It was wrong. . . . I've been in this position long enough to know that."

When cross-examined, Dunn said the club had saved up to $20,000 with the county providing an employee but that neither he nor Wilde personally benefited.

"The club benefited, yes," Dunn responded to a question by Workman attorney Jack Morgan Jr.

The mayor's mantra since the investigation surfaced was that she was "helping the kids," a point that her defense attorneys hammered home.

To prove guilt in misuse of public money, prosecutors must show that the mayor skirted the law to benefit herself or another. Skordas conceded at the end of the hearing that the "other" was the Boys and Girls Clubs.

After the hearing, special prosecutor Michael Martinez said the judge's ruling was not "anything to be happy about."

"Secondly," Martinez said, "I want to remind everyone there's still a presumption of innocence. This doesn't have anything to do to overturn that."

However, Martinez said, the ruling should bury concerns that the case was politically motivated - as has been argued by Workman and other Republicans.

"I hope now by doing this that [people know] the state wasn't just spouting political jargon," Martinez said, adding that Hilder's decision validates the independent prosecutors' panel, which found evidence to warrant the charges.

Monday's decision comes amid new questions about Workman. The mayor admits that she hired Wilde's friend in 2003 for a no-bid $7,500 contract to consult on the county's Web site but that the friend did not complete a written report, as required by the contract. Even so, he received full payment.

County Republican Party Chairwoman Tiani Coleman concedes that revelation doesn't help the mayor, but said she was unsure what party leaders would do.

"They might very well decide that, in the best interest of all the other candidates, that we do need to make a statement about Mayor Workman," Coleman said. "They might decide to just focus on the other candidates and ignore Mayor Workman."

Another possibility is party members backing home builder Ellis Ivory or another Republican as a write-in candidate. Ivory could not be reached for comment late Monday but party insiders say he would be the most likely candidate.

tburr@sltrib.com

Quotes:

"It doesn't mean that she's any more guilty this afternoon than she was this morning. The standard for a preliminary hearing is pretty low."

- Greg Skordas, Workman attorney

"I knew this was not something we did. It was wrong. . . . I've been in this position long enough to know that."

- Terry Fortner, mayor's operations personnel manager