Schroeder's party posts big gain in Berlin vote, ex-communists stake claim to power

Associated Press

Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's party made strong gains yesterday in Berlin as voters confirmed their support for the capital's first openly gay mayor and lifted the former East German communists within reach of power in the reunited city for the first time.

Berliners handed the conservative Christian Democrats a crushing defeat, according to projections made by pollsters based on partial returns and broadcast on ZDF television. The party was tarnished by a bank scandal that helped trigger the June collapse of the city administration it dominated for a decade. The collapse prompted Sunday's election.

The voting was for the city's legislature, which elects the mayor. Schroeder's Social Democrats, led by interim Mayor Klaus Wowereit, won 30.8 percent, up from 22.4 percent in the last election two years ago, according to the projections. The result makes them the top force in Berlin for the first time since 1971.

Wowereit, who became the capital's first openly gay mayor in June, is almost certain to remain in office. His party's partner in Berlin's current coalition government, the Greens, remained stable at 10.2 percent, according to ZDF. It did not say what percentage of the vote its projections were based on.

"I think east and west should both be represented in this government," declared Carola Freundl, their leader in the city parliament.

Minister Gets SUV After ID Mixup

Associated Press

A Methodist minister will get a new car for his ministry after a dealership employee mistook him for a child pornography suspect.

The Rev. Jack Copas, whose ministry battles child pornography in Thailand, was approached by the FBI at the Paramus Honda dealership this spring after an employee mistook him for Eric Rosser, a child pornography suspect featured on "America's Most Wanted."

FBI agents interrogated Copas for several hours before realizing they had the wrong man.

Leon Lee, the dealership's general manager, said his employee acted responsibly in calling the FBI, but he acknowledged Copas' "obvious embarrassment, upset, concern and shock," the newspaper reported. The dealership said it plans to give Copas a Honda Passport sport-utility vehicle as a goodwill gesture.

Copas, who has been with the Totowa United Methodist Church for 10 years, said he felt violated, but lauded the donation.

"I'm in the business of forgiving and forgetting," Copas, 47, told The Sunday Record of Hackensack. "This is a big vehicle that will come in very handy transporting all the donations we get at our food pantry."

Copas has traveled to Thailand several times with his ministry, which battles child pornography and child slavery there.

The minister said he had considered filing suit against the dealership, the FBI and the Fox network, which broadcasts "America's Most Wanted." He said such shows could cause innocent people to be arrested.

Rosser was arrested in August in Thailand and could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted.

Noted Kansas educator takes Tohono O'odham post

Associated Press

An educator credited with turning a community college into a university in Kansas has been inaugurated as the second president of fledgling Tohono O'odham Community College.

Robert G. Martin, formerly president of Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence, succeeds founding president Richard Duran, who served from September 1999 until June.

"He is a man with long-range vision," said Carol Barnhardt, who was Martin's secretary at Haskell during his tenure from 1989 to 1999. "Under his leadership we became a four-year university. I would expect him to work long and hard to ensure this college succeeds."

Nearly all of Haskell's 1,211 students are American Indian.

The Tohono O'odham Nation established its community college in 1998. The college allows tribal members to attend classes without traveling the 60 miles to the nearest college in Tucson. It graduated its first class in June. Classes also are open to non-O'odham students. Credits earned are transferrable to Pima Community College.