ARIZONA: Salmon targets female vote

Matt Salmon served up a sermon on tax-cutting politics at a recent breakfast with 250 women - soccer mom types - that he desperately needs to vote his way on Nov. 5.

The Republican candidate's pledge to cut taxes, even as the state faces a severe budget crisis, has become a familiar refrain throughout the 2002 campaign for governor. So has his optimism. Salmon hasn't wavered from the upbeat approach that his political hero, Ronald Reagan, exuded during his years in politics.

Like Reagan, Salmon is most comfortable when talking about big, overarching themes like leadership, tax cuts and a roll-up-your-sleeves work ethic that can revive Arizona's economy.

He has pledged to bring 500,000 high-paying jobs to Arizona and increase classroom spending. And he repeated his promise to not raise taxes while blasting Democrat Janet Napolitano for considering closing some tax loopholes to help offset a state budget deficit.

"In the short term, I'm going to go around the nation trolling for companies to come to Arizona," Salmon said. "That's leadership."

Some of his boldest proposals, such as bringing in the 500,000 high-paying jobs, have been chided as unrealistic.

"It is not going to happen," said Tom Rex, research chief for Arizona State University's Center for Business Research. "The total number of jobs is doable, but the average wage would be about $25,000."

Salmon said it's a long-term goal that can happen. Earlier this week, Salmon toned down his tax-cut rhetoric, saying during a televised debate that Arizona's $1 billion fiscal crisis would delay any type of tax cut for at least a year.

Salmon, though, is a true believer that tax cuts stimulate the economy, especially for small businesses, which he says are the backbone of Arizona's economy.

His run for governor has played out like a yearlong version of Survivor. He is embroiled in a nasty battle that has him locked in a tight race with Napolitano. Salmon once beat former Vice President Al Gore in a marathon, but he's never faced an endurance test like this election.

As the only privately funded candidate, Salmon has been investigated - some say unfairly - by the new state agency in charge of overseeing Arizona's controversial campaign finance system. He received a big boost when he schmoozed with President Bush during a $700-a-plate fund-raiser in Phoenix.

That advantage was offset by repeated questioning about whether he violated a federal law by failing to register as a lobbyist. He insisted he's not a lobbyist, even though his contract with Phoenix called on him to lobby his former congressional colleagues.

Salmon is stumping everywhere he can: Tucson, Yuma, Flagstaff and Prescott. Last week, he stood before an unlikely crowd of abortion rights women at Molina Fine Jewelers in Phoenix to talk about children's issues.

He lost his first political contest when he ran for class secretary in junior high. The next year, as his mom, Gloria Salmon, proudly points out, he ran for student body president and won. Since then, Salmon hasn't lost an election, winning twice for the state Senate and three times for Congress.

'True leader'

"He's developed a leadership style that's never changed. Matt is a true leader," his mom said. "He's always been true to his principles."

Salmon entered Arizona politics after getting upset during a talk radio show. A state senator, whom Salmon would later defeat, was talking about raising taxes and railing against a holiday for Martin Luther King, the slain civil rights leader.

While running for state Senate in 1990, Salmon was one of the few East Valley lawmakers to support a King holiday, angering the right wing of his party. He also sponsored "Success by Six," which increased spending on health care and child-abuse prevention programs to help disadvantaged children get ready for school by age 6.

He blasts Napolitano for distorting his record on women and children's issues and "running against a ghost."

"The biggest gamble Arizonans are being asked to make is guessing where Napolitano's tax ax will fall," Salmon said. "Small businesses can't afford this risk."

Napolitano said voters can't trust Salmon to protect Arizona's education system.

'Biggest gamble'

"The biggest gamble is how much Matt is going to take out of universities and K-12 education," Napolitano said. "When Matt was in the Legislature, they chose to give tax breaks to telemarketers and massage parlors."

As the race has thundered into its final weeks, Salmon has taken plenty of jabs. His faith has been attacked with "Vote Mormon" signs and a TV ad by Independent candidate Richard Mahoney that said Salmon wouldn't do anything to solve Northern Arizona's polygamy problem.

If he wins on Nov. 5, Salmon would take over a state that's a fiscal nightmare. It's a situation that his idol, Reagan, faced during his first year as California governor when that state was broke.

Reagan, like Salmon, campaigned on a pledge to not raise taxes. Reagan cut state agencies 10 percent across the board, sold the state plane and instituted a hiring freeze. It wasn't enough. He eventually raised taxes.

Most politicians tout a bill or landmark legislation as their proudest public accomplishment. Not Salmon.

He beams when he talks about helping free Song Yongyi, an imprisoned librarian in China. Salmon, who speaks fluent Mandarin, led a congressional delegation to the Pacific Rim and told Chinese President Jiang Zemin about the man's plight. Two weeks after the congressional visit, Yongyi was released.

"He threw his arm around me and hugged me," Salmon said. "When you get to look into someone's eyes, and you know you've made a difference in their life. Those are the things that motivated me to get into this. That's more fulfilling to me than passing some bill or some law."

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Cindy McCain and Betsey Bayless flew down here yesterday and with other prominent women, held a press conference about women's support for Matt Salmon. BUT no press showed up ... not in their agenda.

There were a couple quotes on KFYI this morning from Betsey and Cindy, but I suppose TV's excuse was they were too busy covering the sniper story.

And of course, to be fair and balanced, KFYI also had a quote from El Napo saying Salmon must be in trouble since the president is coming back here. And El Napo also said she "respects the president very much" and he's been busy "criss-crossing the country" for Republican candidates.

I got into trouble with the local Salmon campaign guy cuz my Italian thughood reared its ugly head during the pre-debate rally. Some El Napo supporters were there with their signs and I got in their face and called her El Napo .. LOL My Bad!!!

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