BOOSTING BOB : DOLE'S WIFE STUMPS IN SOUTHLAND AGAIN.

Byline: John Corrigan Daily News Staff Writer

More than 800 people turned out Friday to hear Elizabeth Dole stump for her husband's presidential campaign, saying Bob Dole would reform taxes, hike defense spending and return power to state and local government.

``This election is a defining moment in our nation,'' she told the luncheon audience at the Universal City Hilton's ballroom.

``We've got to utilize this time to get this country back on track, to return power to states and local government,'' she said.

She shunned the stage, choosing instead to move through the crowd - often putting her hand on someone's shoulder and addressing acquaintances by name.

``Bob Dole believes we should get rid of the IRS as we know it and overhaul the tax system,'' said his wife, drawing big applause.

``But it's got to be done carefully and thoughtfully,'' Dole added, saying her husband will rely heavily on the findings of a tax reform commission headed by Jack Kemp, a cabinet secretary under former President George Bush.

In one of her few comments aimed directly at President Clinton, Dole noted pointedly that Clinton broke a 1992 campaign pledge and ``did not deliver on a middle-class tax cut.''

Bob Dole is expected to win the Republican nomination for president next month at the GOP convention in San Diego. Prominent San Fernando Valley Republicans Jane and Bert Boeckmann and Valley Republican groups put together the reception Friday for Elizabeth Dole at short notice.

At $35 a head, the event was not so much a fund-raiser as a chance for local Republicans to get acquainted with the Dole campaign, said Gary Thomas, chairman of the Young Republican Federation of the San Fernando Valley.

``It's to build some enthusiasm for the Dole campaign, because they haven't been a great presence,'' Thomas said.

But Thomas and others said Elizabeth Dole's speech was among clear signs, including other recent appearances in California by her husband and her, that the Dole campaign won't ignore the state, as the Bush campaign was accused of doing in 1992.

``We've gotten a commitment from the Dole campaign that they won't repeat the problem,'' Thomas said.

The enthusiastic crowd gave Elizabeth Dole, who was secretary of transportation under President Reagan, a standing ovation.

``I think she was absolutely superb. She was absolutely believable,'' said Jeraldine Saunders of Glendale.

``To turn out such a large crowd on such short notice shows the support the Doles have in the San Fernando Valley,'' said Mark Boos Benhard, the GOP nominee in the Valley's 42nd District Assembly race.

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Photo: Shunning the stage, Elizabeth Dole mingles Friday wi th a Republican crowd in Los Angeles.

Michael Owen Baker/Daily News