The race for Salt Lake County mayor has degenerated into a four-way mess for one reason: The state law governing how to replace a candidate is too narrow.

Nancy Workman, the incumbent, won the Republican Party nomination for re-election this year before she was charged with two felony counts of misusing public funds. But once the candidate filing deadline has passed and there is only one party candidate, state law says the party can't replace the candidate unless she dies, runs for president or vice president of the United States, or is certified by a physician to be physically or mentally disabled.

As it's difficult, not to mention unseemly, to fake death or physical disability, and since a sudden run for the White House would seem a little bizarre, a candidate who has become an embarrassment faces an unpleasant choice: Either stay in a doomed race that may hurt the party, or find a doctor who will declare you mentally disabled.

Sixteen years ago, Salt Lake County Commissioner Dave Watson did just that after he was arrested for driving drunk and for carrying a vial of cocaine in his pocket. Under pressure from his party, he obtained a doctor's statement saying he was suffering from stress that had led to a mental disorder. The Democratic Party replaced him on the ballot and lost anyway.

But what an insult — to the candidate, to the medical establishment and to people with legitimate mental illnesses who are undergoing effective treatments. Surely we have come so far in our collective thinking about such matters in 2004 that mental disability should not be the only viable excuse for replacing a candidate. All that does is reinforce the antiquated notion that mental illness is not a serious matter.

We don't know whether Workman would have dropped out of the race if she had other options. We do know that she has said she would have considered it and that she also has said she won't stoop to having herself certified as something she's not.

But if the Republican Party had other options, it could have replaced her on the ballot whether she liked it or not. Then the party wouldn't be put in the position of supporting a write-in candidate while the woman with legal problems retains the "official" imprint of the party's approval.

This would be easy to fix. State lawmakers should amend the law and add the option to replace anyone who has been charged with a crime.

Some may worry that this would lead a zealous and politically motivated district attorney to charge someone falsely just to upset a race. Some in Workman's camp say that is what happened this year. But the district attorney is himself an elected official, and voters will hold him accountable. The proof is in the evidence presented.

Meanwhile, it's hard to argue that anyone is served by the mess that has become this year's race for county mayor.