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1 Waving a dollar bill in front of audiences, Bell demands a return to a sound currency. Not to be outdone, Democratic Candidate Bill Bradley advocates a $25 billion federal income tax cut that will largely benefit people who earn less than $40,000 a year. At the same time, he reminds voters that the Federal Government has the responsibility to provide for basic human needs, such as health, education and employment. He also makes frequent reference to the time he was a star on the New York Knicks basketball team. "You know, I spent a lot of years running around in short pants in drafty arenas. And I think we shared moments of triumph, moments of sadness, moments of intense pressure."
CONNECTICUT. In a tight race for Governor, Democratic Incumbent Ella Grasso has discovered that a chief problem is her own rather earthy personality. An old-school politician who gives as well as she gets, Grasso called her primary opponent an s.o.b., among other things.
Her Republican adversary, Congressman Ronald Sarasin, faults her for substantially increasing the state budget. But Grasso has produced a surplus for three successive years, and she has proposed sales and business tax cuts for the 1979 budget. Sarasin is leading a petition drive for a state-constitution ban on an income tax and a limit on spending. He says of the 50,000 people who have signed to date: "I see them as supporting the concept. I hope they support me."
PENNSYLVANIA. Democrat Pete Flaherty is considered ahead in the Governor's race, partly because he was a penny pincher even before Proposition 13. As mayor of Pittsburgh, he trimmed the city payroll by about 25% and reduced real estate taxes. Even so, neither Flaherty nor his G.O.P. opponent, Richard Thornburgh, is calling for a state tax cut, since Pennsylvania is running a small deficit. Instead, both are proposing constitutional amendments to limit state spending. As U.S. Attorney for Western Pennsylvania, Thornburgh sent some 200 gangsters and corrupt public officials to prison. But one of these, Numbers Racketeer Anthony Grosso, is getting revenge. He is ostentatiously supporting Thornburgh and distributing literature calling Flaherty a "nitwit." Complains Thornburgh: "Sabotage."
NEW YORK. The Empire State has the highest taxes in the nation, and both sides favor cuts. But there are personal differences. When a Democratic state senator asked if he could make an appointment with Governor Hugh Carey, he was informed that the Governor did not like to meet people. That attitude seems to typify the current campaign. Carey is markedly ill at ease making small talk with the folks, though he excels at defending his record in office. If he wins reelection, much of the credit will go to Media Consultant David Garth, who has managed to convey a livelier image of the Governor. The Republican candidate, silver-haired Perry Duryea, is a millionaire Long Island lobsterman who has spent 18 years in the state assembly. He is attacking Carey for vetoing a bill to restore capital punishment, an issue that predominates in crime-plagued New York City. By mounting a phone operation that reaches some 400,000 city voters, mostly in Queens and The Bronx, Duryea hopes to reduce the usual huge Democratic majority and thus win the election.