"I won, so now I can say it was fun," she says. Then she laughs. "I wonder why I would say that? Those headlines criticizing me, saying I was a liar."

She ponders. "It was a challenge. I like challenges."

Workman's no fool, of course — ask her if she would have run for mayor had she known all this would happen and she looks at you like you're crazy.

Nevertheless, "you always learn from strife. Like with horses; you don't learn anything from a tame horse. It takes a man-killer to make you a horseman."

Asked how she thinks people will remember her — whether she'll be forever and inextricably linked to the 2004 Salt Lake County scandals, or whether people will remember that she, the first county mayor, created programs and an administration and blazed the trail for all those who follow — Workman demurs.

"This legacy thing — I don't get what this legacy thing is. Any politician who is worried about his legacy didn't go into it for the right reasons."

If you have been following the whole county hiring scandal from the beginning, you will have noticed one thing: Nancy Workman certainly had a good-looking mug shot.

Smartly dressed in blouse and red jacket, perfectly coiffed and made up, early last September the county mayor was escorted into the county's Adult Detention Center, fingerprinted, interrogated and then placed in front of a camera for which she smiled broadly, resulting in what is surely the most cheerful, put-together mug shot on record.

Media outlets dutifully plastered the picture all over the front page and television screen the next day, resulting in a plethora of sardonic comments. The Deseret Morning News editorial board, for one, noted "the odd disconnect of the mayor's smiling, 'school picture' mug shot for the police blotter."

It's a minor dilemma that, thankfully, most of us will never face: How does one act when one's mug shot is taken? Smile? Frown? Be tough? Stick your tongue out?

"I was going to smile," Workman said. Again, the Bosse mantra: Never let them see you sweat. If Workman was going to jail, by golly, she was going with her head up.

At an age when many people are adding up their 401(k)s and looking at retirement properties in St. George, 64-year-old Nancy Workman is re-entering the job market. She mortgaged her house to pay her legal fees, which will probably exceed $200,000. In light of the acquittal, Skordas has said he plans to petition the county for reimbursement, but there's no guarantee that will happen.

"I'm trying to find that out myself," Workman said when asked about her financial situation.

Workman was heavily involved in her own defense, feeding ideas to Skordas and Morgan, telling them to investigate various areas of the county for evidence, lying awake nights thinking about the case. She hasn't had much time to think about little things like paying the bills.

But then, "money isn't everything."

As for a political future, "you never say never," but a job in the private sector is much more likely.

"I miss the mountains. Maybe I could get a job driving a pickup truck there."

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E-mail: aedwards@desnews.com