Gee, We Didn't Know What We Were Doing

By DAVID ELLIS

Some of the nation's leading officeholders are alleging that they've been ripped off by the television industry. An Atlanta lawyer is leading the legal charge against local stations in several cities, citing complaints by 49 politicians from 11 states about the $95 million they spent on campaign commercials from 1986 to 1990. Democrats and Republicans alike claim that local outlets regularly overcharged them for "fixed spots," needlessly reserving specific time periods for their commercials when cheaper "pre- emptible" slots were available. Governors Ann Richards of Texas, Lawton Chiles of Florida and Pete Wilson of California have joined the action, with candidates naming business inexperience as one reason they were fleeced. But what does that say about their ability to balance state budgets?

With reporting by DANIEL S. LEVY