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Thursday, August 15, 1996 Page: 1A
Congress candidate Urban puts view online
**SEE FOR THE RECORD 8/16/96
Republican Stephen
Urban’s responses to
Project Vote Smart survey reveals some similarities,
key differences between him and 11th District
Democratic incumbent.
By P. DOUGLAS FILAROSKI
Times Leader Staff Writer
WILKES-BARRE — Until now, most local politicos viewed Stephen Urban as
that obscure Republican with the nerve to challenge a well-financed incumbent
for a seat in Congress.
Faced with challenges typical of a David candidacy — limited money and
little organization — there’s been few campaign speeches, press releases or
other ways for voters to assess the relative newcomer’s appeal.
But thanks to a non-profit voter information group, Urban is getting his
message out these days to cyberspace surfers on the Worldwide Web.
Project Vote Smart, which calls itself a “scrupulously non-partisan” group
located in Corvallis, Ore., released the results last week of its National
Political Awareness Test.
The test asks candidates for Congress and other political offices their
positions on “real issues,” from abortion to welfare. Results are being posted
on the group’s web page.
Urban responded to the survey. His Democratic opponent, U.S. Rep. Paul
Kanjorski, Nanticoke, did not.
The first glimpse of Urban, a retired military officer, shows a
small-government conservative bent on cutting foreign aid and “corporate
welfare” and increasing defense spending.
The 43-year-old Wilkes-Barre native opposes abortion except when a woman’s
life is at stake, wants to repeal weapons restrictions and supports school
prayer.
He supports a balanced budget amendment, further limits on immigration, a
flat tax tied to lower taxes for everyone and affirmative action, as long as
it does not include quotas.
He thinks foreign aid to Russia should be decreased or eliminated, and
opposes the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade and the North American Free
Trade
Agreement.
The lengthy questionnaire contained mostly multiple choice and true-false
questions under 18 issue headings. It also asked candidates to explain their
two top legislative priorities.
Urban said he would work to simplify the nation’s tax structure, provide
tax relief to families and attract clean, high-tech jobs.
“We must move the U.S. economy to a higher level of growth by implementing
tax structure changes, regulatory reforms and by expanding exports to create
more employment,” Urban said.
Kanjorski, who generally doesn’t respond to surveys, said he would respond
—
albeit late — to the Project Vote Smart questionnaire because the group
was posting responses on the Worldwide Web as a service to voters.
The six-term lawmaker did not respond to Project Vote Smart’s test in 1994.
Urban’s survey answers reveal few immediate differences between the two
candidates.
The two do differ on a balanced budget amendment and immigration laws.
Kanjorski voted against a resolution calling for a balanced budget in seven
years and opposed a provision that would have reduced the number of illegal
immigrants.
But both candidates oppose abortion rights. Also, Kanjorski voted against
GATT
and NAFTA and a partial ban on assault weapons, and he voted to decrease
foreign aid to Russia.
While boasting a traditional conservative outlook, Urban does occasionally
break ranks.
Although he supports eliminating bureaucracy — such as wiping out the U.S.
Education Department and moving agriculture and law enforcement spending to
the states — Urban favors universal health care.
“He favors universal health care in the sense that everyone is covered. But
he does not favor federalizing the entire health care system as the Clinton
plan seemed to advocate,” said Roger Heydt, Urban’s spokesman.
Urban did not return several phone calls.
Urban and Kanjorski not only differ on some issues, but also on their
campaign styles.
Unlike Kanjorski’s highly publicized appearances, Urban’s campaign has been
a quiet, little-known effort thus far. Heydt said the first-time candidate
takes an old-fashioned approach to campaigning, putting door-to-door
canvassing ahead of press interviews.
Urban drives about 100 miles a day, stopping in neighborhoods from Shamokin
to
Mount Pocono and talking with voters, Heydt said.
“He’s one of those guys who gets up at 5 o’clock in the morning, and he
doesn’t get home until 9 or 10 o’clock at night. It’s hard for me to get in
touch with him,” Heydt said.
Anyone interested in learning more about Kanjorski and Urban, can access
Project Vote Smart on the Internet at http://www.vote-smart.org