The Empire Strikes Back

"US West is everywhere when it comes to making big contributions to key politicians," says Pete Maysmith of Colorado Common Cause, a group that works for campaign-finance reform. "They've been incredibly active." The bills now moving through the legislature are proof of the power of those contributions, he adds. "Wealthy special interests dictate what legislation moves and what legislation doesn't move. This may well be an example of that."

McLeod is building its own independent system in Colorado Springs, but right now, it's still dependent on US West's Centrex system to provide service to its customers. And according to Courter, McLeod has faced the same frustrations in its dealings with US West as individual telephone customers all over the state.

David Rehor

Taking on the big boys: Chuck Malick believes that deregulating telecommunications will hurt consumers.

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