Tuesday, November 25, 1997
Underdog optimistic about unseating Bush
By ANTHONY WILSON Staff Writer
Garry Mauro expects to do to George W. Bush what the Republican
governor did to Ann Richards.
Fifty weeks until election day and 52 points down in the polls,
Mauro, the three-term Texas land commissioner, assured Democratic
boosters in Abilene Monday he will unseat Bush next November.
Three years ago, Bush mounted a less dramatic drive to defeat
the popular and personable Richards.
"Gov. Bush is a popular governor who most people don't
think has done anything," Mauro said during a press conference
at the Windsor Apartments. "He's similar to my friend Ann
Richards. She was popular but never convinced average Texans she
did anything that affected their lives.
"I think they're going to have something else in common
after this election," he added. "They're going to both
be popular ex-governors."
A week into Mauro's race for the governor's mansion, he was
back on the campaign trail Monday, outlining his platform for
an audience of fresh ears.
He has dubbed his four-prong plan "Texas Families First,"
a blueprint he insists is "smart and workable." It includes:
Elimination of the $3.9 billion vehicle sales tax. Mauro proposes
recouping the lost revenue by doubling so-called "sin taxes"
on alcohol and tobacco.
He also backs a constitutional ban on taxing food and medicine.
He dismissed the absence of a property tax reform plank, saying
only 40 percent of people pay ad valorem taxes.
"I don't think it's an issue among real people,"
Mauro said. "I want to give Texas families some real tax
relief. My tax cut touches every single Texan." n Passage
of the Patient Protection Act giving HMO patients their choice
of doctors and access to cancer care centers.
Mauro also promises better enforcement of environmental standards
and toxic waste clean-ups.
n An influx of money into public schools.
Mauro supports borrowing $2 billion from the $16 billion Permanent
School Fund to build more classrooms and new technology in aging
schools.
He further proposes state-funded $5,000 pay raises for all
certified teachers and $5,000 signing bonuses for college graduates
who commit to teaching in the public schools for three years.
n A war on crime with the retroactive end of mandatory early
releases - an issue that has raised constitutional concerns -
and the hiring of more police officers on urban streets.
The "Families First" plan would increase revenue
and spending by $6.2 billion in the 2000-01 biennium, Mauro claimed.
During his speech, he praised Texans' "can-do spirit"
and "nothing-is-impossible beliefs" - an appropriate
reference given the seemingly Herculean task of defeating Bush.
But the challenger claimed the race will be relatively easy
for him.
"It will be a clear choice for Texas families," Mauro
said. "Gov. Bush has reiterated he's opposed to my tax cut,
he doesn't think Texans need the right to choose their own doctor
and he thinks we've solved education's problems. I can win the
election on those three issues. I will win on those three issues."
Bush's campaign is blasting Mauro's plan as "irresponsible"
and "troubling."
"His agenda contains billions of dollars in new spending,
a tax-cut he can't pay for, in a budget that won't balance,"
Bush spokeswoman Karen Hughes said. "It adds up to a costly
future for Texas families."
Mauro's campaign seemingly suffered its first setback last
week when Lt. Gov. Bob Bullock, the state's top Democrat, endorsed
Bush for a second term.
Mauro, land commissioner for the last 12 years, dismissed Bullock's
backing as that of an "Austin insider" that won't sway
voters.
The challenger vowed Bush's re-election hopes won't be a cakewalk.
"There's never been an easy governor's race," he
said. "There is no such animal in Texas. Every governor's
race is a war."
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Abilene Reporter-News / Texnews / E.W. Scripps Publications
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