Dean stumps for cousin in Salt Lake

Former Democratic presidential hopeful Howard Dean was in Salt Lake City Sunday to campaign for his cousin, Peter Corroon, Democrat and real-estate developer running for Salt Lake County mayor.

Dean, a top contender for the nomination before he lost to likely nominee Sen. John Kerry, did not rule out another try for the nation's highest office.

Asked by the Deseret Morning News whether he was thinking about another run, Dean replied, "No. I mean, I'm not saying I will or I won't.

"I have no idea if I will or not, but I'm certainly not going to think about it until after November. And hopefully I won't even have to think about till 2012, because I want John Kerry to win."

Both Corroon and Dean jabbed at incumbent Republican county Mayor Nancy Workman, attacking her administration for alleged extravagance in county vehicles, staffers' gasoline controversy and high-paying county jobs.

Corroon said his first act as mayor would be to buy a scraper and remove stickers from facilities that have the county mayor's name on them, replacing them with stickers saying "the citizens of Salt Lake County welcome you."

Dean's fiery speech drew repeated applause and cheers from the crowd at the rally, held at Millcreek Coffee Roasters, 657 S. Main. An organizer estimated attendance at 150 or 160, but a scan seemed to show more.

"The number one concern I'm hearing from our citizens relates to fiscal responsibility of the current administration," Corroon said. "The current mayor has over 10 people making $100,000 or more."

He criticized county executives who drive expensive cars at taxpayer expense, and said some have used their cars for personal business or have sought reimbursement for gasoline expenses "for charges that the county was already paying for." He attacked Workman for not taking strong action against county workers who may have abused the system.

"So as county mayor, I will set a tone of fiscal responsibility, because we cannot ask our county employees and our taxpayers to sacrifice if the county mayor is not willing to do so," he said.

Corroon acknowledged he drives a large vehicle, adding, "but I paid for my car."

Dean, former governor of Vermont, said he and his first cousin come about their fiscal conservatism naturally. Both, he said, are descendants of Scots.