The council is required by law to place on leave any county official charged with a felony. Dayton, who will serve until the charges against Workman are adjudicated or until another mayor takes office, said he will not substantially change the direction of the county while he is at the helm.

"I consider this still Mayor Workman's administration," he said.

Democrat Yocom is enjoying a measure of vindication with the panel's conclusions and the filing of the charges — a far cry from two months ago, when a group of Republican leaders held a press conference in which they likened him to, among other things, former Sen. Joe McCarthy, whose infamous hearings to expose Communist sympathizers ruined people's careers.

State GOP chairman Joe Cannon, former Congresswoman Enid Greene, County Council Chairman Steve Harmsen and others said Yocom was a "hypocrite," a "political bully," that he was "lying in wait" to damage Workman, and that his investigation was "outrageous."

Having read the panel's conclusions, Harmsen Tuesday said his attitude toward Yocom had changed, and in fact said he "applauded" Yocom for the way he has handled the matter.

"I want to apologize for that press conference and the metaphors that were used," he said.

Yocom himself reiterated his contention that he was not politically motivated.

"It was done completely within the law and with no regard to political parties," he said.

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E-mail: aedwards@desnews.com