<font color=pink>Stripper-Mayor Recalled by Voters
By COLLEEN SLEVIN
.c The Associated Press
GEORGETOWN, Colo. (April 3) - Mayor Koleen Brooks, a former stripper accused of baring her breasts in a bar and mishandling her job, was ousted by a landslide vote in a recall election Tuesday.
The final tally to recall the mayor 339-176, or a margin of 66 percent to 34 percent.
Brooks said she would run for mayor again next year. She said she wasn't disappointed over losing the position after a contentious year in office.
``It probably just saved me 10 years on my life,'' she said.
Brooks, 37, was elected mayor of this old mining town 45 miles west of Denver last April. Zoning changes are the stated reason for the recall, but people are also angry about Brooks' actions - allegedly baring her breasts in a bar and telling reporters she smoked pot. She also faces criminal charges for faking an attack.
Four members of the town Board of Selectmen survived recall votes Tuesday after being criticized for approving new zoning regulations without a public referendum.
Town Clerk Phyllis Mehrer said the campaign was intense. ``Frankly, it's gotten ugly,'' she said.
Brooks has said her opponents are resisting change. As mayor, she has supported increasing the tax base by encouraging new business and building a skatepark for children and a footpath across a town creek.
``I've got my year in, and if they think they're going to go back to the old ways, they're wrong,'' she said. ``There are more people like me who are going to speak up.''
The zoning regulations have divided residents. Some believe the new regulations would tarnish the town's Victorian architectural feel by allowing contractors to build newer structures. Others hope the new regulations will draw people to the town.
Mehrer said 61 percent of Georgetown's registered voters cast ballots. More than half had been cast by mid-afternoon, including several absentee ballots.
AP-NY-04-03-02 0112EST
Copyright 2002 The Associated Press |
