THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, October 27, 1996 TAG: 9610270330
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY PAUL SOUTH, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: WILLIAMSTON LENGTH: 95 lines
The Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate brought his crusade for ``kitchen table issues'' to this Martin County community Saturday.
A crowd of about 50 supporters carried Harvey Gantt signs and shouted ``Yes!'' and ``Amen!'' as the former Charlotte mayor called for tax breaks for working families and promised to ``bring North Carolina together.''
Under Gantt's proposal, working families who send their children to four-year and two-year colleges and trade schools would receive a $10,000 annual tax credit. Gantt also called for an additional $500 tax credit per child for families, and the transfer of retirement plans from one job to the next.
Gantt accused his opponent, four-term incumbent Sen. Jesse Helms, of being out of touch with the daily problems of average working people in North Carolina.
``I want to fix it so that the children of parents who don't make enough money to send them to college will be able to do so,'' Gantt said. ``The student loan program costs us $1 (each) in taxes. That's better than spending $7 for prisons and parole officers, and increases the number of hard-working tax-paying citizens.''
Wearing a tie but coatless, Gantt, 53, mingled with the audience, an equally mixed gathering of blacks and whites.
Gantt also called for full-funding of the Head Start program, and criticized Helms for his record on education, as well as his call for abolition of the Department of Education.
``Right now, only one in three children is able to participate in Head Start,'' Gantt said. ``I want to do something for education. I say let's give these little children the opportunity to do as much with their little brains - that will become big brains - as they can to allow them to reach their full potential.''
``Jesse Helms was one of two senators to vote to reduce student loan and grant programs,'' Gantt said. ``I believe we ought to expand it. The cost of college has increased three times faster than income in the past 15 years. That's why I'm proposing a $10,000 tax credit for parents who have children in college. Also, I want to give a $500 per child credit to help working parents with day-care costs. If a family has two children, that additional $500 would make day care more affordable.
``You wouldn't think anyone would be against making education accessible to those who want to learn, but Jesse Helms is.''
Gantt also would boost funding for job training programs. ``You ought to be able to upgrade your skills,'' Gantt said.
Turning to the minimum wage, Gantt criticized Helms for his opposition to an increase in the wage and hour law.
Gantt said ``265,000 North Carolinians were affected by that change. Jesse Helms voted against giving a boost on the economic ladder. An additional 90 cents an hour would help those people take care of themselves.''
Turning to senior citizens, Gantt hit on familiar themes, criticizing Helms and the Republican-controlled Congress for cuts in Medicare, while giving tax breaks to the wealthiest Americans. He cited a survey by the National Council for Senior Citizens that rated Helms the worst among lawmakers when it comes to issues impacting the elderly. Gantt claimed that Helms voted six times on legislation to cut Medicare.
``Jesse Helms' ads will tell you he's a friend to seniors and that he stands for senior citizens,'' Gantt said. ``If he's your friend, I don't want to know who your enemies are. He says Medicare is a `welfare' program. We need to work to make sure Medicare stays viable and strong.''
Gantt, who suffers from arthritis in one hip, said he often sees the economic burdens that seniors bear.
``When I go to the drug store to get medication for my arthritis, I can afford it,'' he said. ``But there are senior citizens who are caught in the middle, and have to decide whether to buy their medication, or buy food. In the United States of America, that's wrong.''
Gantt accused Helms and the GOP-controlled Senate for being lax in its regard for the environment. Gantt has won the endorsement of the North Carolina Sierra Club.
``The environment in North Carolina is very important to Harvey Gantt,'' he said. ``Our state is too beautiful to sacrifice it in the name of more profits for big corporations.''
Gantt said he will work diligently on water and air quality issues. Gantt, however, reserved judgment on the Oregon Inlet jetties. Environmentalists say the rock structures will damage marine life, while commercial fishing interests say the jetties are necessary to preserve their livelihood.
``I really don't know if I understand the issue,'' Gantt said. ``I'll have to give it more study.''
Gantt also disagrees with the Clinton administration's stand on tobacco, but he does not see the golden leaf as a drag on the Democratic ticket.
``I still believe President Clinton will carry the state,'' Gantt said. ``What we have to focus on is protecting the workers and the children.''
Like the bitter battle between Gantt and Helms in 1990, the 1996 race is expected to be close.
``Running against Jesse Helms is not the toughest thing I've ever done in my life,'' Gantt said. ``But when we win, and beat the master of negative campaigning, the victory will be that much sweeter.''
KEYWORDS: U.S. SENATE RACE CANDIDATE ELECTION NORTH
CAROLINA by CNB