Call it a lucky circumstance or a lot of hard work.

While last-day donations helped pad his campaign coffers, Salt Lake County Mayor Peter Corroon didn't win office in November with cash alone.

Year-end campaign finance reports, which were due Monday, show Corroon both raised and spent $100,000 less than his main challenger, Republican developer Ellis Ivory. Former Mayor Nancy Workman spent more than $700,000 in her bid for office against Corroon — and didn't make it on the ballot.

"I think people wanted me to win," said Corroon, who spent over $465,000 on his campaign. "I think people saw what had happened with Mayor Workman being replaced on the ballot (with Ivory) and they didn't think that was the right thing to do."

On Wednesday, Workman will face trial on felony charges of misuse of public money. The former mayor — who was replaced by Ivory on the ballot after obtaining a note of release from her doctor — zeroed out her campaign account Monday.

In earlier discussions, Workman said she may spend her remaining campaign dollars on legal fees. The embattled former mayor wrote herself a check for almost $175,000 after paying off advertising expenses and nearly $10,000 in fees to the Utah Republican Party.

Workman didn't return a phone call Monday, but Utah GOP chairman Joe Cannon said the fee was probably a payment for Chris Bleak, the party's former executive director who quit to work as Workman's campaign manager.

Because Workman's campaign didn't offer insurance benefits, the party arranged to keep Bleak on salary so he could retain benefits.

But no question, he said, Workman needed the help.

Considering the extra help, Corroon still refutes any suggestion that his victory was tainted by the scandal.

Most of Corroon's donations this reporting period came in the days before the election. The top contributor: the state Democratic Party with $52,000 in in-kind donations. WordPerfect co-founder and Orem philanthropist Bruce Bastian was the second-highest contributor, giving $10,000 to the campaign.

Other Corroon donations came from activists with the Utah Sierra Club, labor unions and the Utah chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union.

For other Salt Lake County candidates, money appeared to be a factor in the November elections.

Democrat Jenny Wilson, who ran an underdog race for her seat on the County Council, raised $144,000 to incumbent Steve Harmsen's $55,697. In the days before the election, Wilson raised only $9,695 to Harmsen's $11,189.

County Auditor Sean Thomas raised $32,600 over the past year compared to candidate Peter Stevens, a CPA who raised only $16,000. Last summer, when auditor Craig Sorensen resigned after admitting to using county funds for personal use, Thomas was selected as the county's interim auditor.

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E-mail: nwarburton@desnews.com