Ridge urges GOP to unite behind Swann

Former Gov. Tom Ridge urged Republicans to put aside their misgivings about Lynn Swann and unite behind him in his bid to unseat Democratic Gov. Ed Rendell.

Ridge, who served as Pennsylvania governor from 1995 until President Bush appointed him to lead the Department of Homeland Security in 2001, joined Swann's campaign as honorary chairman. The pair, along with Swann's running mate, Jim Matthews, chairman of the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners, traveled to five cities Tuesday, beginning in Philadelphia and ending up in Ridge's hometown of Erie.

Ridge yesterday sought to rebut criticism that Swann lacks experience and hasn't been specific about what he'd do if elected.

"I would say to anybody within the Republican Party, there is one conservative in this race, and it is the Republican," Ridge said during a campaign stop in Coraopolis. "So whatever disagreements, if they have any, and whatever uncertainty they have about his campaign, they ought to join hands with us."

Swann tried to placate critics last week by unveiling a property tax plan that calls for cuts next year of $150 to $200, followed by a constitutional amendment to cap property tax assessments at a home's purchase price.

"He laid out a fairly comprehensive but not explicitly detailed property tax reform," Ridge said. "But it's the boldest and the broadest and the most comprehensive reform that anybody's seen in a long time."

Ridge won't be part of the day-to-day campaign, but will offer Swann advice and help him raise money. Rendell's campaign had almost six times as much money as Swann's as of May 1, according to campaign finance records released earlier this month.

Swann portrayed Ridge's support as more than a partisan endorsement.

"Tom brings the credibility and respect of his office with him," Swann said. "I think he puts that credibility on the line. Tom doesn't do this because he is a Republican supporting another Republican. He does it because he believes in the campaign. ... This is not a gratuitous five-city stop for Tom Ridge. This is meaningful."

Swann, of Sewickley Heights, leads Rendell in most of Western Pennsylvania, but trails the incumbent in Allegheny County and the eastern part of the state, according to a Pittsburgh Tribune-Review/WTAE-Channel 4 Keystone poll released May 4. Statewide, Rendell leads Swann by 14 percentage points, according to the poll.

The former Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver and member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame will get a bigger boost in the eastern part of the state from Matthews' campaigning than from Ridge's endorsement, Ridge said.

"Lynn Swann said to me today, he said, 'I've got a good man as my running mate and I know if something happened to me, he could be governor,' " Ridge said. He later denied that he was taking a veiled swipe at incumbent Lt. Gov. Catherine Baker Knoll, whose public gaffes -- such as referring to Rendell as former movie actor Edward G. Robinson -- have caused some to question whether she could lead.

"It has nothing to do with Catherine Baker Knoll. It has everything to do with Jim Matthews," Ridge said.