This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2004, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Salt Lake County government is about parks, recreation centers, social services, garbage pickup. And gay marriage?
Salt Lake County mayoral candidate Merrill Cook recently raised the so-called wedge issue. He sees it as a way to distinguish himself from front-runner Peter Corroon - even though Cook and Corroon have somewhat similar positions.
The former Utah congressman also is taking a page from county Mayor Nancy Workman's campaign handbook, attempting to derail Corroon's momentum by portraying him as a Rocky Anderson clone.
The more-liberal Salt Lake City mayor is unpopular in wider Salt Lake County, which is generally more conservative.
Cook, who is running as an independent, issued a news release last week voicing support for a proposed Utah constitutional amendment against gay marriage. The Amendment 3 issue surfaced in a candidate forum sponsored by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
Corroon, a Democrat, didn't give his position then because "it's not a local issue," he said in an interview.
Though he supports "traditional marriage," Corroon said he opposes the amendment because it may be unconstitutional and harmful.
Workman, the Republican mayor who is on leave but continuing her pursuit of a second term, supports the amendment, said spokesman Chris Bleak.
Cook maintains gay marriage is a county issue. If the amendment fails, the county mayor could be lobbied to offer health and insurance benefits to partners of same-sex employees, though such an ordinance would have to be approved by the County Council.
"I am not the mayoral candidate that would push for that. I would oppose that," Cook said.
So might Corroon. He said he doesn't have enough information to support same-sex partnership benefits. He noted he does, however, support a domestic-partner registry, where same-sex and heterosexual couples could register at the county. It's mainly a way for couples to prove to employers that offer domestic-partner benefits they are legitimate.
Cook opposes such a registry. And Workman's campaign says it supports legislation that would grant certain partner rights to cohabitants so that a registry would be unnecessary.
Matthew Burbank, University of Utah associate professor of political science, said Cook is bringing up gay marriage to lure Republican voters who have defected from the embattled Workman and now support Corroon.
By supporting Amendment 3, Cook is likely in line with most county voters, Burbank said. But the amendment and the county race aren't "closely linked."
Corroon said gay marriage shouldn't be an issue in the campaign, calling it "divisive." Cook "keeps speaking out about how county government should be nonpartisan. I agree with that. What does he do? Try to make it partisan, bringing up partisan issues."
Cook repeatedly links Corroon to Anderson, even though Corroon and Anderson aren't aligned on gay marriage. Anderson supports such marriages.
"They are really singing off the same sheet of music," Cook said. "I don't think Rocky or Peter would be representative of the overall political philosophies" of county residents.
The Salt Lake City mayor has held a fund-raiser for the county candidate. But, Corroon noted, "I'm not Rocky Anderson."