The Utah Democratic Party this morning will announce its intentions to deal with the GOP effort to replace Nancy Workman with Ellis Ivory as the Republican nominee for Salt Lake County mayor. The Democratic Party will hold a news conference at 9:15 at its headquarters. Peter Corroon, Democratic nominee for Salt Lake County mayor, said Tuesday that he is asking his party not to sue over a move to put a Republican opponent on the ballot.

Corroon's feelings about the lawsuit aside, he spoke out strongly Tuesday against the GOP's efforts to replace withdrawn candidate Nancy Workman with write-in challenger Ellis Ivory.

"It's up to the citizens ultimately to decide who will be their next county mayor," Corroon said. "That being said, I want to make it clear: I believe the attempts to replace Mayor Workman on the ballot are at best unethical and at worst illegal. We have a democratic process in place, rules to campaign by and, in this situation, I don't think they're being followed."

Corroon also challenged his opponents to explain where they stand on the issues.

"We've heard enough about the scandals," Corroon said. "We've heard enough about the campaign going awry over the last seven months, and I think it's time again to talk about the issues. I am the only candidate in this race that has held press conferences about issues."

Corroon has announced his stands on public safety, economic development and preserving the foothills.

Dunn said he respects his candidate's request, but that the party may still sue because replacing Workman would set a bad precedent. He worries that if such a move occurs, future candidates who are low in the polls or get into trouble before Election Day could try a similar move - which he dubbed an "escape hatch."

"We haven't made any decisions yet, but everybody has an interest that this election is fair and [that] Republicans aren't trying to manipulate the process," Dunn said.

The Republican Party withdrew support of Workman and shifted its backing to Ivory on Oct. 5, but it did not deal with the issue of putting Ivory's name on the ballot in place of Workman's.

County Clerk Sherrie Swensen, a Democrat, rejected an initial request by County GOP Chairwoman Tiani Coleman to do just that. But the clerk said that if the Republican Central Committee officially votes to make Ivory the party nominee, he will get a ballot spot. The committee is scheduled to meet Tuesday.Oct. 26.

For his part, Ivory said, "I don't want to talk about the issues, I am talking about the issues."

Ivory - who so far has run on his four "no's:" no salary, no county car, no county credit card, no campaign contributions - unveiled his four "yes's" on Tuesday. They are: yes to lower taxes, yes to better services and improved employee morale, yes to better cooperation with other government entities and yes to a brighter future.

Unaffiliated candidate Merrill Cook, a former GOP congressman, has called the attempts to place Ivory on the ballot a "fraud" on the public. He is considering a lawsuit as well.

tburr@sltrib.com