CARNAHAN TO MOVE AHEAD WITH EDUCATION TAX

JEFFERSON CITY - Governor-Elect Mel Carnahan, who used a $196 million tax increase for education as a key component of his campaign, made it clear Wednesday that he plans to push a tax plan in the 1993 session of the Missouri General Assembly.

"I'm committed to the proposition that we don't have a future worth having in this state without better education," declared Carnahan, in brief comments to about 100 people interested in education who gathered at an issues forum in the Truman Building.

Carnahan's staff is conducting eight forums on issues this week in Jefferson City to gather input on identifying problems and solutions in state government.

The forum on education was the first conducted by his transition staff. Although Carnahan is not scheduled to attend each session, he did make a brief appearance at the education meeting.

Carnahan failed to refer directly to a tax increase, but he did promise to work with citizens to draft a sound plan, get it through the Legislature, and then sell it to the people.

Later, in comments to reporters, Carnahan acknowledged that passage of a tax increase would be difficult and would face opposition.

"The idea is to get better education, not to throw money at the problem," Carnahan stressed. "We can't be near last in education and expect this state to move forward."

Chris Sifford, who is press secretary for the transition office, said later that Carnahan's proposal will stand a good chance of passing because voters will know what they will get in return for a favorable vote.

Roy Temple also is part of the transition team and was political director on the campaign staff. He said Carnahan is committed to a getting a plan passed and funded adequately.

"He's going to work very hard to see that we get this passed," Temple said.

Temple said the plan likely would benefit programs like parents as teachers and high school vocational training and would aim to reduce class sizes.

Temple said the plan would have a "net gain" in revenue for each school district. Each district would know how much their funding would increase for each program in the plan.

Carnahan told the education group that many of his campaign proposals came from similar meetings. "Your input is going to make a difference and we're going to move the state forward, specifically in education."

He stressed that the issue meetings serve to garner comments from people involved with the problems on a daily basis. Carnahan said he received many good ideas at the campaign issues forums.

"We will find through a day like this gems of ideas," he added.

The lieutenant governor told reporters that it is "far too premature" to make final decisions about top aides and cabinet level staff positions. But later in the day he announced the appointment of Marc Farinella to serve as his chief of staff.

The 34-year old Farinella was an adviser to Carnahan on issues and public policy and later became his campaign manager. He had a hand in drafting many of Carnahan's issues proposals, including on education.

Carnahan this week will conduct meetings with department directors to receive issue briefings. He said there are many activities in state government that need to continue, even with the change of administrations.

"Our team wants to pick up on the good things that are there now," Carnahan said.

Other issues forums conducted Wednesday were on the environment and corrections/public safety. Other sessions planned this week will deal with agriculture/economic development, social services, health, mental health, and transportation/highways.

"The main goal of these forums are to enable us to address the concerns of real people rather than theoretical ones," said Temple. "We see problems identified from different perspectives, but often it is the same problem."

Temple said the meetings will improve citizen access to state agencies and help insure tax dollars are wisely spent. "Mel Carnahan is determined to make Missouri state government user-friendly," he said.

Carnahan's new chief of staff has a master's degree in public policy from the University of Chicago and a master's degree from the University of Illinois. He is a native of New York City. Farinella ran a Chicago-based research firm before joining Carnahan's campaign.

Farinella has worked on campaigns in Illinois for former Attorney General Neil Hartigan and present Attorney General Roland Burris.

"I'm very happy to have Marc on board," said Carnahan. "I've worked closely with Marc, I trust his judgment, and his commitment to good public policy. He has excellent leadership qualities that will help us accomplish our goals."