Gore here to
support Democrats

About 8,000 are expected to hear
the vice president speak
at tomorrow's rally

By Mike Yuen
Star-Bulletin

Vice President Al Gore will be in Honolulu tomorrow to give a boost to two fellow Democrats who face tough re-election fights -- Gov. Ben Cayetano and U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie.

Gore, who has been vacationing on Kauai, will highlight the state Democratic Party's coordinated campaign rally and fund-raiser tomorrow night at McKinley High School.

Gore's speech is scheduled for 5:30 p.m., his aides said yesterday.

State party officials expect 8,000 people at the $25-per-person "Celebration of the Democratic Ohana," which starts at 4:30 p.m., and they're advising after-work motorists to avoid Kapiolani Boulevard, Ward Avenue and King and Pensacola streets near McKinley.

The vice president's wife, Tipper Gore, will also appear at the campaign rally.

Gore, scheduled to arrive at Hickam Air Force Base at 9:55 a.m., will make two appearances tomorrow prior to the campaign rally:

At 11:15 a.m., he will address the 5,000 delegates and guests attending 33rd international convention of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, AFL-CIO at the Hawaii Convention Center.

The convention, which runs today through Friday, will also feature top Hawaii Democratic officials. Speakers today were to include Cayetano and U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye; tomorrow, U.S. Rep Patsy Mink; on Wednesday, Abercrombie and national AFL-CIO President John Sweeney; on Thursday, the Rev. Jesse Jackson, president of the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition; and on Friday, U.S. Labor Secretary Alexis Herman.

At 1:15 p.m., Gore will address a town hall meeting on education at Aliamanu Elementary School. Abercrombie will also speak, discussing responses from his constituents to a mail-in survey on education. Cayetano will introduce Gore.

On Wednesday, Gore will depart at 8:30 a.m. from Hickam for San Francisco, where he is to attend a fund-raiser for Gray Davis, the California lieutenant governor who is the Democrats' nominee for governor.

Gore's aides said the education town hall meeting will stress the need to modernize schools and reduce class size. Gore will talk about President Clinton's $22 billion initiative for schools, which includes $40.9 million for Hawaii, and another measure that would channel $33.9 million to Hawaii over seven years to hire new teachers and reduce class size, they said.

Teachers, students and parents of students will take part in the education forum, an Abercrombie staffer said.