The explosive was developed by Cook's father, Melvin, a Yale-educated scientist whom many consider a genius. During World War II, Melvin worked for DuPont Co. and served as the company's representative on a government-backed brain trust of 25 American scientists, including Albert Einstein, who worked on explosive technology.

Those smarts seem to be in the genes in Cook's family. Cook received his bachelor's degree from the University of Utah in 1969 and after marrying Camille received an MBA from Harvard.

Cook's two sons continued that bookish tradition. Both were accepted to Yale when they were 16. Of the Cook's three daughters, one reads and teaches the ancient language of Sanskrit, another is studying at Vanderbilt and another has three children.

Cook's unceremonious exit from Congress may have been a good thing for him. It wasn't until then that he got serious about his weight.

French fries, "which is what he ate mostly in Congress," says Camille, had ballooned Cook.

Now he religiously follows the low-carbohydrate diet prescribed by the late Dr. Atkins, whom Cook calls a "genius."

Once tipping the scales at 300 pounds while in Congress, Cook is down to 205 — not a bad weight for the tall, broad-shouldered man.

"It's nice," he said. "After all those years of obesity, I feel better."

Like his slim waistline, Cook is says he is committed to a slim county budget. While Workman never raised taxes, Cook maintains her administration consistently put pressure on the County Assessor's Office to do regular assessments of property.

Most times when property is assessed, the value goes up, creating a defacto tax increase for the property owner, Cook says. Under a Cook administration, Cook says he would make the assessor's office only do property assessments when a home or piece of property is sold. That way, regular assessments of property wouldn't increase taxes for the elderly and others who can't afford it.

The county budget, Cook said, could continue to grow but only through new growth and development.

Cook supporters maintain he is the one candidate, unconnected to the good ol' boys network of county developers, that can effect meaningful ethical reforms and belt tightening in the county.

"He's intensely passionate about the things he believes in and the right thing being done for the right reason," said Deborah Reed, a longtime friend and campaign volunteer. "He has a very strong personality, and he believes in people and the better good, big picture."

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E-mail: bsnyder@desnews.com