For five years, state Rep. Greg Vitali has been a lone voice in Harrisburg's political wilderness. The Delaware County Democrat has angered and embarrassed his Democratic and Republican colleagues with his relentless criticism of the use of public money to pay for pet projects of state legislators.

He's taken his protest to the Internet by posting the grant list on his Web home page along with an audit critical of state grant programs.

Shortly after he took office, Vitali began railing against Walking Around Money, or WAMs, a notorious Harrisburg grant program that financed a variety of projects, some undoubtedly worthy, some not.

Gov. Tom Ridge joined Vitali's attack on the WAM system when he campaigned for his first term of office in 1994. Ridge took office in 1995, but his attempts to kill the WAM program were fruitless until the courts interceded and outlawed the program.

In 1996, Ridge replaced WAMs with Community Revitalization Program grants. The administration insists the new grant program is competitive and accountable. Although the money is now identified in the state budget, some lawmakers charge it's just a new for an old game. They derisively refer to the grants as RAMs, for Ridge Appreciation Money.

Now Vitali has targeted the new program. Whether it's WAMS or RAMS, Vitali doesn't believe public funds should be used to subsidize community groups, Little Leagues, parades or private schools.

Ridge makes grants available through the Department of Community and Economic Development. "The grants are still based on politics," Vitali said. "There's no real change in substance. They're mainly cosmetic changes."

He said the RAMS are a sham. While they're supposed to give municipalities a financial shot in the arm, many are used to help subsidize municipalities or organizations whose representatives vote the way Ridge wants them to vote.

Hard-pressed communities that need the cash often go wanting while wealthy communities collect grants. The money is supposed to be awarded on a competitive basis, but Vitali questions why some deserving groups get money while others don't.

When Vitali learned that Radnor Township, a well-to-do community in his district, was awarded a $20,000 grant, he took a closer look at the application.

He discovered the money wasn't being spent by the municipality. He learned $10,000 was distributed to two organizations to subsidize Fourth of July parades. The balance went to senior citizen centers.

The median family income in Radnor is $28,516 compared to $17,476 for all of Delaware County, according to U.S. Census figures. Vitali said the school district spends more on education per pupil than any other school district in the state. "How do you justify that grant?" Vitali asked. "You can't."

Vitali says he never applied for a WAM and never interceded on behalf of any organization for a RAM. It would be hypocritical, he said, to seek money on behalf of an organization in his district while he's trying to reform the system. Delaware County voters aren't complaining.

A Democrat in a Republican-dominated district, Vitali won re-election two years ago with 58 percent of the vote.

While his constituents are understanding, party leaders are not. "It's a given. No bill I introduce will go anywhere," he said. "When you take on an issue like this, that's the price you pay. If you take on this role, you give up getting stuff for your district."

But that doesn't stop Vitali from trying. Last year he introduced two unsuccessful measures that riled his colleagues. The first was an amendment to the state Crimes Code that would make it a crime to claim state grants were awarded on a competitive basis if they weren't. Then he introduced another amendment to make it a crime for lawmakers to pass out state checks.

Handing out money is one reason the CRP program exists, he said. "Lawmakers, in their more candid moments, admit it," Vitali said. "The Ridge administration is in a position where they can't admit the truth."