Giuliani Makes Amends Over Campaign Snub

WASHINGTON — Mayor Giuliani has made amends with an Iowa farming family that his campaign snubbed earlier this month because it wasn't rich enough to qualify for the estate tax, better known to Republicans as the "death tax."

The campaign last night released a statement named Deborah VonSprecken as Jones County chair in Iowa. Mrs. VonSprecken had recently surfaced in stories by the Associated Press and the Des Moines Register complaining that the Giuliani campaign had asked to hold a rally at their farm only to cancel a few days later when aides learned that the VonSpreckens weren't "millionaires." The campaign had wanted to use the backdrop for a speech decrying the tax on inheritance, which applies to estates valued at more than $1 million. Mrs. VonSprecken had told reporters she was undecided about whom to support for president.

Following a two-hour personal visit to the farm by Mr. Giuliani, that has apparently been cleared up. The campaign said the former mayor apologized for the "misunderstanding" surrounding his last visit to the state. In a statement, he said he was honored to have Mrs. VonSprecken's support.