And that word is . . . process.

The process among Salt Lake County, Real Salt Lake principals, Sandy City and some legislative leaders was "very ugly," said Salt Lake County Councilman David Wilde, who wrung his hands publicly Tuesday night before voting no on the deal.

Councilman Jim Bradley sounded the same note: "I cannot say this has been a good, healthy process." He opposed the original plan and the amended version, arguing public money should not be gambled in underwriting a private enterprise like major league sports.

And finally, Salt Lake County Mayor Peter Corroon, who told me in an interview Wednesday, "In one and a half years as mayor, this was the worst process I've faced. It was filled with politics, miscommunication and non-communication. There were veiled threats.

"I said no twice," Corroon continued, "because they were two bad deals. The third deal made a lot of sense because it's a good return for the citizens."

But really, if the process in this deal was so horrendous, so grueling, so discordant, how did we get to yes?

Citizens are asking. Corroon's e-mail box swelled with more than 200 messages late Tuesday, with three-quarters of those blasting him for his stadium endorsement. On Wednesday morning the e-insults were still rolling in. "My wife tells me I may be looking for a new job," he quipped.

The new deal has the county paying $40 million in old and new hotel taxes. The safeguards include no county payments until 2011 and again in 2015. That way, if RSL folds in the near future, the county won't lose. That helped quell fears of the mayor and some council members.

That, and the fact Salt Lake City will get soccer fields and athletic programs for youth on the northwest side of town - an area that could use that sort of bonus.

Still, what remains is a queasy feeling that RSL's Checketts got the longer end of the rope in this tug of war - a reward for some of the nastiest public behavior to come along in years.

Just 35 days ago, Checketts was stinging from the council's earlier opposition. He called Corroon "the King of England," and the council "a completely dysfunctional group."

And though he later apologized, his antics were apparently enough to beat a fatigued council. After a long and storied history in Salt Lake County of slippery ethics and downright corruption, this council has set credibility, honesty and open process (there's that word again) with the public as worthy goals. It may be true this vote is a win for everyone. It's going to take patience on the public's part. If e-mail and polls showing distaste for this issue are any indication (65 percent of residents have consistently opposed public financing), the public may be on its last nerve.

Because when it comes to politics, it's not necessarily the quality of the decision that matters, but the way it gets made.

It got made about the ugliest way possible.

hmullen@sltrib.com