Ellen R. Sauerbrey Ellen Sauerbrey (right) shakes hands on the campaign trail. (AP file photo) Post Stories • Fund-raising gains momentum. • Sauerbrey proposes tax cut. • Hiring 1,001 teachers proposed. • Targeting economy, schools. • Campaign attracts heavyweights. • Good economy blurs message. • Sauerbrey launches new bid.

By Robert E. Pierre
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, September 3, 1998; Page C08

Republican gubernatorial candidate Ellen R. Sauerbrey swept through Montgomery County's Jewish community yesterday, visiting social agencies and group homes and expanding her effort to shave votes from traditionally Democratic constituencies.

Although Sauerbrey generally made her mark in the General Assembly as a critic of government social programs, she expressed support yesterday for her hosts' view that Maryland must continue to fund low-cost housing and other initiatives for elderly and disabled residents. Sauerbrey, who has visited Israel twice, also said she admires the Jewish community's work ethic, entrepreneurial spirit and emphasis on family.

"I'm not conceding any votes to anybody," Sauerbrey said during her campaign swing. "I really have developed a lot of friendships in the Jewish community. There seems to be this perception that Republicans don't care about the social safety net."

Jewish voters in Montgomery County go to the polls in high numbers and contribute regularly to campaigns, according to county politicians. And the county is shaping up as a crucial battleground in this fall's expected contest between Sauerbrey and Gov. Parris N. Glendening (D).

Several Democrats voiced doubt yesterday that Sauerbrey's message would resonate with many Jews, who they said tend to be more liberal on many issues. Maryland Democratic Party Chairman Peter B. Krauser said Sauerbrey's record of opposition to gun control measures and abortion, for instance, is inconsistent with the views of many Jewish voters.

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"I think that Colonel Sanders has a better chance of winning the chicken vote," said Krauser, a leading fund-raiser for local Jewish causes. "Her record is very right-wing. Putting Ellen Sauerbrey in a position in which she would have control over funds for our seniors, our social welfare programs, would be like putting an arsonist in charge of a fire prevention program."

Sauerbrey's effort to court Jewish voters represents part of an outreach campaign targeted at traditionally Democratic constituencies she largely ignored four years ago, when she narrowly lost the governor's race to Glendening.

Sauerbrey also has been visiting black churches in Baltimore and Prince George's County, hoping to slice into the large margins Glendening racked up in African American precincts in 1994. And she has tried to reassure moderate voters by pledging not to change Maryland laws restricting gun control and allowing abortions -- even though she says she opposes them.

Yesterday, Sauerbrey shook hands with developmentally disabled adults at the Lorita and Murry Mendelson Home in Wheaton and chatted with elderly residents at the Jewish Council for the Aging and the Hebrew Home of Greater Washington. One elderly resident she encountered asked, "What ticket you are you on?"

"I'm a Republican," Sauerbrey answered. The woman tipped her glasses and gave Sauerbrey an ominous look. The candidate asked: "We women have to stick together, right?"

"I'm not going to say anything," the woman said. And Sauerbrey moved on.

Most of the people Sauerbrey met with were cordial but direct in what they expect: a governor who places a priority on helping those who can't help themselves.

Rabbi Matthew Simon of the United Jewish Appeal Foundation said that benefactors contribute large sums to support Jewish social service programs. But, he said: "We also rely on the government as a source of help. We always look for friendly faces in Annapolis."

Simon reminded Sauerbrey that a large proportion of Jewish people vote.

"Our numbers belie what happens at election time," he said. "It's a privilege we did not always have in history and we take it very seriously."

Montgomery County Executive Douglas M. Duncan (D), a Glendening ally, said that Sauerbrey may have some appeal to the county's sizable population of Orthodox Jews. But overall, he said, he does not expect the likely GOP nominee to do much better in Montgomery than she did in 1994, when she lost badly to Glendening.

"She's reaching out," Duncan said. "She lost here by big margins, and she's got to do better. I think overall it is not going to be much better [for her] than last time. Her record of opposition to schools and to gun violence cause quite a bit of concern. I think people who aren't happy with Glendening say she is much worse."

Rich Manski, a dentist from Baltimore, is coordinating Sauerbrey's outreach among Jewish voters. Even if large numbers of Jewish voters don't cast ballots for Sauerbrey, Manski said, the move will be successful if he is able to open a dialogue that will give Jewish voters "a place at the table" if Sauerbrey is elected governor.

"The Jewish community votes in high numbers," he said. "I'm happy to see that groups are willing to invite her in and listen to what she has to say."