Corroon touts openness

Don't mess with Peter Corroon.

The Salt Lake County mayor stood at the podium during his State of the County speech Tuesday and fired back at his critics, who have labeled him as "uncooperative" during the debate over public funding for a soccer stadium for Real Salt Lake.

"Salt Lake County is not the place for back-room deals and special interests," Corroon said. "Maybe that's part of why at times Salt Lake County is criticized for being 'uncooperative.'

"But let me be very clear: When it comes to bending the rules, Salt Lake County will be uncooperative. We will be uncooperative if asked to overlook the public good."

Then Corroon turned soft.

The mayor broke into tears as he spoke about the county's volunteers, who donated more than 465,000 hours of service in 2006.

The tears kept flowing as he applauded the Children's Justice Center for protecting children from abuse. He welled up again as he set a goal of finding a warm bed for all Utahns to sleep in through affordable housing programs,

"I thought Larry Miller was the guy who cried a lot," Corroon said.

The emotional speech earned him a standing ovation from the audience in the packed County Council chamber Tuesday morning.

During his two years as mayor of the state's largest county, Corroon has earned both praise and criticism. He's the up-and-coming golden boy of the Democratic Party, highlighted in the 2006 election when Democratic candidates noted that Corroon was on their side.

But Corroon has also also been a lightning rod for critics who believe the county is dragging its feet in stadium negotiations.

Last summer, Real Salt Lake owner Dave Checketts called Corroon "the king of England" after the mayor rejected the team's first stadium proposal.

Then House Speaker Greg Curtis said this month he was fed up by the delay in securing public funding for the sta- dium and declared the project "dead."

Corroon insists negotiations are plowing forward. He said he hasn't made up his mind on the stadium deal, as he is still waiting for a due-diligence review.