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CNN Live Saturday

Scandal Rocks Georgetown, Colorado

Aired March 23, 2002 - 22:32   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CATHERINE CALLAWAY, CNN ANCHOR: One Colorado mayor walked off the runway and into city hall, elected on the promise of government reform. But as CNN's John Vause reports a series of scandals may soon shake her from the seat of power.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hopefully, she'd have a little bit of dignity left if she resigned.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The mayor of Georgetown faces felony charges tonight.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, she's horrible.

JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): What are those discordant voices that have woken the good town of Georgetown from their winter solstice?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I like her personally. I think she needs to walk away.

VAUSE: She is Koleen Brooks, the stripper-turned-mayor of this small Colorado town who's been at the epicenter of scandal since being elected in April last year. It started with accusations that she exposed her breasts in public.

KOLEEN BROOKS, MAYOR OF GEORGETOWN, COLORADO: It never happened. You know, I have a compass on my tummy. And if that was anything, I was showing the bartender. She showed me hers. If I have flashed in the past, I have not done it since I have been mayor.

VAUSE: Then a local policeman claimed the mayor tried to take out a contract on him after a long-running feud. She denied it. And an investigation by state authorities found no evidence. But critics say she got undue help in the investigation by the local prosecutor, who she was dating at the time.

(on camera): True or false?

BROOKS: False, very false.

VAUSE (voice-over): Nonetheless, it has led to a recall petition. Dexter Fountain was among those pushing for a new vote for mayor.

(on camera): It's sex, scandal, intrigue, impeachment. It sounds like the White House under Clinton.

DEX FOUNTAIN, DEXTER'S TAVERN: Oh, I'm telling you, we've gone from a bad Monday night - a bad Monday night movie to a miniseries now. So I mean Clinton - I mean he's got a running mate if he wants it. He can dump Hillary and go with her or something. I don't know.

(LAUGHTER)

VAUSE: (voice-over): For newspapers and magazines, both here and overseas, it's been like a soap opera.

(on camera): How many fan letters do you get a week?

BROOKS: Maybe between 30 and 50. My biggest week was 62.

VAUSE: And they come from where?

BROOKS: They come from correctional facilities. They come from London.

VAUSE (voice-over): Her Web site receives, on average, a 1,000 hits a day. Lately, there's been more messages of support after Brooks claimed that she suffered cuts and bruises when she was mugged. But police have charged her with filing a false report to try and win sympathy before the new election.

BROOKS: ... around here and went up around...

VAUSE: But Brooks has hired a bloodhound, private detective, and a psychic to find her attacker.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why didn't you protect your face?

BROOKS: Because I didn't want my breast implants to rupture.

VAUSE: And the mayor asks what was this town expecting? After all, she campaigned on the back of a motorcycle promising to get Georgetown jumping.

FOUNTAIN: I didn't vote. I didn't vote at all. I was busy. But the more I think -- from everybody I've talked to, everybody wanted a change.

VAUSE: Which proves once again: Careful what you wish for, sometimes you get it.

John Vause, CNN, Georgetown.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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