So, despite being three years from his next election, the Democratic Salt Lake County mayor is pitching his first fundraiser for the fairways of South Mountain Golf Club.

Donors to the "Corroon Golf Classic" will be charged $1,000 per foursome and $2,500 for a hole sponsorship for the Sept. 30 event.

Getting checkbooks to the tee boxes helped former Republican Mayor Nancy Workman rake in bags of cash. She did it often - and with well-heeled developers.

"There's some irony here," says County Council Chairman Michael Jensen, a Republican.

After all, if reform-minded Corroon promised anything, it was to be different - to change the culture. While the links novice notes golf outings are can't-miss money-makers, he vows his future fundraisers will be more creative.

Cassie Dippo, vice chairwoman of Common Cause of Utah, says the whole golfing scene seems "iffy." It's a way for special interests to get face time, she says, even if it's in a bunker. "You can buy your way in by paying $1,000 or $2,500," Dippo says. "In general, we think that's inappropriate."

But effective, says Nichole Adams, a former county Democratic chairwoman.

"Nancy Workman's were always quite successful," she says. "We thought we'd give it a try."

And Corroon's early campaign start may be necessary, according to Quin Monson, assistant director of the Center for the Study of Elections and Democracy at Brigham Young University.

"He's got a target on his back," Monson says. "The only way he can behave is to run scared and to raise money and look invincible. The way he does that is by raising a large war chest."

But the mayor nearly hit a legal snag by casting his net too far.

Hundreds of invitations were mailed to Corroon supporters and other Democrats. But some landed on the desks of lobbyists - including the county's own, The Tetris Group.

As a county contractor, Tetris is forbidden from contributing to Corroon's campaign under recently approved ethics reforms.

Corroon acknowledged the oversight but emphasized the county still does not have a working list of contractors, which he advocates but the County Council has yet to define.

"We'll check before we cash anybody's money," the mayor says.

In the 2004 race, Corroon raised roughly $400,000 and finished third on the money list behind Workman, who eventually bowed out, and latecomer Ellis Ivory. Corroon argues that this time around he needs a head start since his job duties probably will pull him from the stump.

Monson says Corroon is taking a page out of Rep. Jim Matheson's playbook, noting Utah's only Democrat in Congress had to begin fund raising the "morning after the election."

Corroon has "a lot of work to do to connect with voters and make a name for himself," Monson says. "If he's inviting a bunch of people who regularly give to Democrats, I don't see the harm."

County Councilman Mark Crockett, a Republican who took office the same time the mayor did, says he wants more time in his council seat before he decides whether to run again.

Voters should be pleased, he says, that Corroon already has made up his mind. "But it does seem pretty early."

djensen@sltrib.com