A daily dose of online news from beyond the Beltway.

By Ryan Thornburg
Washingtonpost.com Staff
Wednesday, Feb. 18, 1998

State Rep. Tony Grampsas said he looks forward to being the first Colorado legislator subject to a state ethics investigation. A formal complaint is expected to accuse Grampsas of interfering in the firing of a Colorado University doctor who treated him for cancer. Grampsas delayed a vote on a $15 million funding bill for the CU Health Sciences Center after school officials did not return his calls asking for a review of Dr. David Crawford's dismissal.

"The final consummation of the marriage between the video-poker industry, organized crime and the Democratic Party." – S.C. Republican Party Executive Director Trey Walker, on the election of Dick Harpootlian as the new Democratic Party state chairman. (The State, Columbia, S.C., Feb. 18)

Grampsas Predicts Ethics Vindication (Rocky Mountain News, Denver, Feb. 18)
Grampsas Faces Ethics Review (Rocky Mountain News, Denver, Feb. 17)

N.Y. Papers Computerize Campaign Records
A group of 19 New York newspapers have compiled a computer database of state campaign finance records, consolidating information about state candidates' fund raising during the 1998 election cycle. New York's campaign finance reporting laws are among the least stringent in the country, making it difficult to compare candidates' sources of revenue. A state-financed program to computerize candidate filings at the Board of Elections will not be complete until 1999.
As State Drags Feet, Newspapers Step In (The Times Union, Albany, Feb. 17)

At Campaign Kickoff, Lungren Already Successful
California Attorney General Dan Lungren officially kicks off his campaign today, and he has already scored a major victory by fighting off his competition and becoming a rising star of the state Republican Party.
Planning and Luck Helped Clear GOP Field for Lungren (The Los Angeles Times, Feb. 18)

Democrats Target Southern Senators
In an effort to regain control of the U.S. Senate in 1998, Democrats have zeroed in on races in Georgia, North Carolina, Arkansas, and Kentucky, according to Sen. Bob Kerrey (D-Neb.), chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.
Democrats Looking South to Regain Control of Senate (Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Feb. 18)
Georgia Senate Race Profile (washingtonpost.com)
Arkansas Senate Race Profile (washingtonpost.com)
Kentucky Senate Race Profile (washingtonpost.com)

Collins Switches Races in Georgia
U.S. Rep. Mac Collins (R-Ga.) said he has decided to seek reelection to Congress rather than run for governor. He said the weak field of GOP candidates prompted him to consider a gubernatorial bid, but he is dropping out to follow the wishes of his 3rd District constituents.
Rep. Mac Collins Decides Not to Run for Governor (Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Feb. 18)

New S.C. Democratic Chairman Quickly Attacks GOP
Elected South Carolina's new Democratic Party chairman Tuesday night, Dick Harpootlian immediately shifted into attack mode. Among other insults he flung at state Republicans, Harpootlian called Gov. David Beasley's spokesman an "attack Chihuahua."
'If They Bite, I'm Biting Back' (The State, Columbia, S.C., Feb. 18)

Arrest Warrant Issued for Denver's Romer-Watcher
Denver police issued an arrest warrant Tuesday for the private detective who videotaped Colorado Gov. Roy Romer (D) engaged in a long kiss with a female colleague that was not his wife. Police said the investigator, Pete Peterson, took $1,000 from an 84-year-old woman without doing any work for her. Peterson called the warrant politically motivated.
Warrant Issued for Private Eye (Rocky Mountain News, Denver, Feb. 18)