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O'Donnell journey provided by CBS, despite state job

Chris Barge, Rocky Mountain News

Published October 13, 2006 at midnight

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WHEAT RIDGE - Republican candidate Rick O'Donnell, who lists congressional ethics reform first among his priorities if elected, flew this year to Panama with his girlfriend on a weekend trip financed by a television network doing business with the state agency he headed.

He also flew to Ireland and Israel on business while filling two of Gov. Bill Owens' Cabinet posts, O'Don-nell said Thursday.

O'Donnell stood behind his travel decisions, saying he broke no laws and didn't violate any policies or ethical expectations.

In fact, he said, the trips ultimately benefited the state of Colorado.

The 7th Congressional District candidate came under fire Thursday for the Panama trip from his Democratic rival, Ed Perlmutter, who held a news conference in front of the Colorado Commission on Higher Education in Denver alleging that O'Donnell violated the ethical principles he espouses.

CBS flew O'Donnell and his girlfriend to Panama in February, the month before he resigned as chief of the commission to run his campaign full time. While there, O'Donnell said, he met and dined with about 20 business people from Colorado who, like his agency, advertised with CBS.

CBS arranged the trip as a reward for about 150 of the network's largest advertisers across the country. O'Donnell was invited because his agency had partnered with CBS in what he described as a very successful "College in Colorado" initiative aimed at getting more in-state kids into college.

For every ad the state bought targeting Hispanic males during Broncos games, the station ran two for free, O'Donnell said.

He also said he viewed the trip to Panama as a harmless weekend adventure that, if anything, might allow him to interest local business people in donating to the initiative.

Perlmutter points out that the month before the trip, O'Donnell wrote a 12-point plan for cleaning up the ethics problems in Congress. In his issues pamphlet and on his Web site, O'Donnell says Congress should: "Ban corporations, trade associations, unions, foundations, and individuals from paying for the travel expenses of a congressman or staff to attend a charity event. Too often these trips become all-expense-paid vacations for congressmen and another way to peddle influence."

"It is ironic that Rick O'Donnell has stated over and over again that public office should never be used for private gain when the truth is he didn't hesitate to accept all-expense-paid trips for him and others that were the result of (his state job)," Perlmutter said at his news conference.

O'Donnell said taking the trip paid for by CBS didn't in any way make him or the agency he headed indebted to the network.

O'Donnell also said he tried to auction the trip off for charity or trade it for additional ads but was told by CBS it was non-transferrable.

"So I went," he said, shrugging.