Nancy Workman's acquittal Thursday must have been a bittersweet moment for the former Salt Lake County mayor. Sweet because a jury of her peers found she had done nothing criminal. Bitter because she had to give up her chance for re-election to prove it.

Now that the trial, intrigue and suspense are over, one of Workman's earliest claims seems to echo through the stillness with greater force. Why could this trial not have taken place before the election, thus allowing county voters the chance to determine whether a county mayor who is not a criminal deserves to remain in office?

Prosecutors will have to answer that one. The acquittal, however, makes it harder than ever to view this entire episode as being completely free of political motivations. No matter what the true reason for bringing charges may be, history will now record that a Democratic district attorney brought the case (albeit with the urging of a nonpolitical panel), that a special prosecutor the district attorney appointed dragged things out during the election and that a Democrat was elected county mayor.

But Workman didn't emerge from this looking squeaky clean, either. She is not a criminal, but even her attorneys argued she did things wrong procedurally when she allowed the use of public funds to hire an accountant for the Boys and Girls Clubs. The trial came down to a question of intent, and of whether Workman was a mayor more concerned with the big picture than with the details of running a large government.

No one campaigns on a promise to think grand thoughts and allow procedural errors.

County residents ought to be asking their leaders what will come of all this. Are there any lessons that could lead to changes?

Certainly, some thought should be given to instituting greater checks over procedures, especially when conflicts are involved (such as Workman's daughter's employment at the Boys and Girls Clubs).

Another important lesson has unfortunately been minimized by the acquittal. Because it now seems evident that Workman should have been given a chance to remain on the ballot, it would be easy to dismiss the need to revamp the state law governing how candidates may withdraw their names. The Republican Party was put in a nearly impossible situation because the law clearly did not allow Workman to withdraw without having herself medically certified as disabled. She finally did so, allowing the party to choose Ellis Ivory as its replacement.

The need still exists for a law that would allow political parties to replace any candidate who is charged with a crime during the campaign. That may be too easy to forget in the wake of this acquittal.