He is one of the quietest, owns a slim political résumé, and until recently, hedged on running for re-election.

Now, pending approval by the Salt Lake County Council, Cort Ashton is expected to be named its chairman.

The Republican, entering his fourth year in office, will take the slot for the first time. Outgoing chairman Michael Jensen will slide into the No. 2 spot.

"Cort hasn't done it yet," Jensen said Monday. "That really was the biggest factor."

The decision leaves fellow GOP Councilman David Wilde on the outside two months after Wilde lost a lopsided race to Dan Snarr for Murray mayor. Wilde says he did not want to pursue the county post since he has yet to firmly decide if he will run for re-election in November.

"Cort definitely is running," Wilde said. "There was some feeling being chair can assist" his re-election.

Ashton says he is honored to get the nod, noting that after sitting back for several years, he has a better idea how to make the council more effective.

"It was good for the county for us to roll up our sleeves and get into [the budget] deeper," he said. "That is the model I'd like to see throughout the year."

Another idea: Push the council's weekly meetings from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. to accommodate extra public feedback. Ashton hopes to make the move, but acknowledges conflicts for the county clerks.

For his part, Wilde says his too-personal-for-comfort skirmish with Snarr has left him “kind of burned out,” but says he loves serving on the council - just not necessarily as chairman.

"When controversies come up," he added, "chair can actually be a liability."

djensen@sltrib.com

Former Mayor Workman says she won't be running for office soon

Don't call it a comeback.

Nancy Workman, the former Salt Lake County mayor who abandoned her 2004 re-election bid in the midst of scandal, will not be a candidate in 2006.

Not for county clerk, as she hinted last year, or anything else.

"I'm absolutely, definitely, not running," she said Monday.

Still, Workman refused to close the door on a future campaign.

"Never say never," she said. "Maybe that's the politician in me. You never know, but not right now."

In December, Workman said she was entertaining GOP party feelers about a possible run against Democratic County Clerk Sherrie Swensen.

Now, she has renewed her engineering license and says she will devote her energy toward nailing building contracts.

"I just want to find a little niche in all of that," Workman said. "There's a lot of work coming down the pike."

- Derek P. Jensen