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GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS L olitics and government have been a vital part of Carbon County's history. Since 1932 the Democratic party has dominated politics in Carbon County, an unusual fact in the Republican dominated state. In 1932 every office except that of sheriff was won by Democratic candidates. For many years after 1932 there was often no Republican opposition for offices, although Republicans such as J. Bracken Lee stepped onto the local political stage as independents or progressives. In a state often described in recent decades as the most Republican of the fifty states, Carbon County is a political anomaly. Yet while Carbon County has followed a different political road, the workings of its city and county governments, with few exceptions, have been efficient and effective. Law enforcement has seen different challenges over the years, with prohibition, gambling, and prostitution being three of the most colorful and notorious. At the same time, war and depression have left their marks on the county. In the early years of the county's history neither the Republican nor the Democratic party dominated at the national or local level. In 361
