VETERAN LAWMAKER SAYS 1998 WILL BE HIS FINAL IN OFFICE

State Rep. Gene Copeland has been in office 37 years -- longer than any other member in the history of the Missouri House.

But his 38th year likely will be his last. The New Madrid Democrat said Monday he expects to retire rather than run again in 1998.

"I am about burned out," said the 65-year-old Copeland, who was elected in 1960 on the Democratic ticket headed by John F. Kennedy.

Copeland said he knows it is time to get out because serving in the legislature has become a chore to him. "I do not enjoy it like I used to," he said.

Talk of retirement comes amid a federal investigation into allegations of Democratic vote buying in Mississippi and New Madrid counties in the November 1996 election.

Republicans charge that as many as 200 voters were rewarded with coupons and that many of those coupons were exchanged for beer at a Charleston convenience store.

It is alleged that mostly black and poor voters received beer for their votes as part of an effort by Democrats to haul voters to the polls.

Copeland admits that his campaign workers hauled hundreds of voters to the polls as they have done for years. There isn't anything illegal about providing such transportation.

But Copeland has steadfastly proclaimed his innocence when it comes to the vote-buying allegations.

He said the federal investigation has soured him on politics.

He said the accusations are unfounded and the reckless work of Republican Party leaders, including David Barklage.

Barklage directs the House Republican Campaign Committee and operates a political consulting firm in Cape Girardeau that works for Republican candidates.

Copeland said he isn't worried about the federal investigation.

"I don't care what they investigated, none of it was true," he said.

He said he didn't buy votes and didn't burn down the Mississippi County Courthouse. The courthouse was destroyed by arson last February.

Some people speculated the fire was set to cover up evidence of vote buying.

Copeland won the 1996 election by more than 1,000 votes over Charleston Republican Lanie Black.

"They threw everything at me in the world," Copeland said of his opponent and the Republican Party.

U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson, R-Cape Girardeau, even called on Attorney General Janet Reno to investigate the allegations.

A number of Copeland campaign workers and supporters were called to testify before a federal grand jury in Cape Girardeau.

But the U.S. attorney's office has said little about the investigation. Copeland believes the investigation has gone nowhere.

He said he hasn't been questioned by the FBI, the Missouri Highway Patrol, the U.S. attorney's office or anyone else in the year since the allegations surfaced.

The vote-buying allegations have been covered extensively by the local press and even have been reported on by the national news media.

He said he hopes federal authorities will exonerate him and say so publicly.

Copeland said he hopes to contact U.S. Attorney Edward Dowd Jr. after the first of the year to discuss the matter. Dowd heads up federal prosecutions in eastern Missouri.

Barklage suggested the investigation isn't over.

Barklage said he has turned over information to Assistant U.S. Attorney Larry Ferrell concerning the case.

Barklage said he continues to provide the U.S. attorney's office with leads in the case, some of them as recently as 35 to 40 days ago.

"We continue to get leads, anonymous phone calls and tips from individuals in the area who were involved in past voter fraud," he said.

Allegations of voter fraud are nothing new in Mississippi and New Madrid counties, he said. "It is the dirty little secret that no one has wanted to run after."

Barklage said there is clear evidence of voter fraud in the 1996 election. "The only question is, can they find enough evidence to implicate those who did it and led it?"

Barklage said an indictment of Copeland would make great headlines. But he said he and the Republican Party are more concerned about ensuring that there will be honest elections.

"We want the investigation to go far enough and the people responsible to be punished and convicted, so it sends a signal that it won't happen again,' Barklage said.

Copeland is tired of all the allegations. He is dismayed that Democratic colleagues in the Missouri House publicly didn't come to his defense.

Despite all that, Copeland said he would miss the legislative debate. "I am going to miss those battles on the floor," he said.

Copeland has served as chairman of the Missouri House Banking Committee for 32 years.

After he retires, he expects to do some part-time lobbying, probably for the banking industry.

Copeland was in the mortgage and real estate business before getting into politics.

His family owned a lot of farm land. "I always had the income," he said.

Copeland said election campaigns are more costly now than when he first ran for office.

In those days, a campaign could be run for $4,000 or $5,000. He said he paid for his campaigns out of his own pocket until the 1970s.

"I just wouldn't take a nickel from anybody,' he said.

Like many candidates, Copeland said he doesn't like the fund-raising part of campaigning.

"You feel like a beggar," he said.