WICHITA MAYORAL CANDIDATES HAVE TROUBLED PASTS

WICHITA - Three mayoral candidates have been convicted of felonies and
the fiancee of a fourth filed for a court "protection from abuse" order.

The Wichita Eagle reported Thursday that background checks of 15
mayoral candidates revealed:

. George Poulos, 77, spent 20 years in prison in two stints after
convictions for arson, racketeering and gambling. Poulos referred to
his criminal background in announcing his candidacy, saying: "People
are going to have to get up awful early in the morning to get scams
past me."

He also has detailed his criminal exploits in a book titled George,
You Rascal, You.

. Martin Mork, 39, served two years of probation after a 1992
conviction for attempted possession of marijuana with intent to sell.
Mork said he considered smoking marijuana sinful in the same sense
that drinking alcohol is sinful. But he said he did not think it
should be illegal.

"I feel that a lot of people are fed up with the laws on marijuana,"
he said. "I believe it's none of the government's business what we do
in our own home as long as it's not harming anybody."

. King David "K.D." Davis, 46, had a 1992 conviction for being a
habitual traffic violator.

The Eagle also reported that two days after announcing his candidacy
for Wichita mayor, movie theater mogul Bill Warren got a judge to seal
court records in which he and his fiancee make allegations of abuse,
threats, extortion and slander.

No criminal charges were filed as a result of the complaints. Warren,
54, and his fiancee, Susan Miller, 42, have reconciled, and related
civil suits were dismissed, including one filed against Wichita State
University women's basketball coach Darryl Smith, 44. Miller briefly
dated Smith when she was estranged from Warren last year, Warren said.

Warren said at a news conference Thursday that he did not intend to
withdraw from the mayor's race. He also gave reporters copies of the
restraining order as well as court papers relating to the theater's
civil lawsuit against Miller.

"I still believe my private life, especially her private life ... are
just that," Warren said.

Miller told reporters that things got exaggerated and that innuendoes
were made in the heat of the moment.

According to court documents that had not been sealed, Smith phoned in
a report to Wichita police on March 19, accusing Warren of making
harassing phone calls and threatening him with bodily harm.

The next day Miller filed for a court "protection from abuse" order
against Warren. The order was granted on a temporary basis pending
hearings on whether to make it permanent. It was later dismissed.

Five days after the protection order was filed, Warren's company,
American Cinemas Inc., sued Miller, claiming that she was trying to
damage the company and was demanding a $1 million settlement to go
away.

The lawsuit said Miller was fired as manager of a theater after
telling Warren in a recorded conversation that she was going to "ruin
your white trash, trailer trash theater out here."

Warren followed up the lawsuit with a Wichita police report accusing
Miller of blackmail and extortion.

In October, Warren sued Smith, saying that the coach had filed a false
police report, threatened Warren with bodily harm and made derogatory
claims about Warren. The lawsuit sought more than $300,000 in damages.

Smith denied all the allegations in a separate court
filing.

Warren had become one of the front-runners in the race after winning
the endorsement of seven-term Wichita Mayor Bob Knight.

Knight said he was unaware of Warren's personal legal battles when he
made the endorsement. The endorsement stands, Knight said, but he also
plans to talk to Warren.

"This is a tough arena," Knight said. "If you've got things to hide,
this isn't a place to be."