Cook looks ahead — and back

When you walk into Merrill Cook's pink house high in the Avenues, the first photograph you're likely to see is one with Cook smiling broadly aside President Bill Clinton.

Move into the living room and there's another photo, this one again pictures Cook grinning next to President Clinton and first lady Hillary.

The pictures seem odd for the former Republican congressman and current independent Salt Lake County mayoral candidate, who once ranked as the fourth most likely to vote against Clinton of 435 U.S. House of Representatives members.

Time was, photos with former Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich and current GOP Speaker Dennis Hastert once hung in Cook's home. But when the Utah Republican Party failed to give the incumbent Cook a nomination for a third term and instead put Derek Smith on the ballot in 2000, Cook replaced those photos with the Clintons.

"The night the Republican Party voted against me I took those pictures down and put this one up," Cook said. "The one thing about me is that I'm honest."

Four years later the snub still hurts Cook, 58, who shed tears when talking about it with a reporter. And ousting Cook is still paining the GOP. Ever since the Republicans got rid of Cook, Democrat Jim Matheson has held Utah's 2nd District seat and, if polls are an indication, he appears poised to capture a third term.

Cook maintains he would still hold the seat if the GOP hadn't back-stabbed him. According to Cook, he is the one Republican who can consistently woo independent voters.

"The problem with Republicans is that they can't get any independent votes," he said. "I proved as a Republican that I could hold the base and garner independent votes."

All this history leads Cook to where he is now, an independent running for Salt Lake County mayor. While Cook is ever so optimistic about his chances, Deseret Morning News polls show him lagging. Cook maintains his own surveys, which he considers more accurate and show a much closer race. He maintains he will win the three-way race with 35 percent of the popular vote, largely because he will win 50 percent of independent voters and 40 percent of Republican voters.

While Cook has spent millions of his own dollars on his often unsuccessful political campaigns, he promised his wife, Camille, when he won his congressional seat in 1996 that he wouldn't use any more of his money to finance his political runs.

Since then his campaigns have operated on relative shoestring budgets. This year, he expects his run for county mayor will cost $40,000 to $50,000. That probably isn't enough for Cook to buy television ad time, like his main competitors, Democrat Peter Corroon and Republican Ellis Ivory, but it will mean Cook can snatch up some radio advertising space.