Independent nonpartisan Debate Commission. Coming to you live in indianapolis. We will be hearing from the candidates on the ballot who want to be your governor. They are incumbent republican eric candidates thank you for joining us into giving an and gn opportunity to hear from you. The director for the indiana politics at Purdue University and a member of the Debate Commission i will be moderating. Like so many things weve had to make a few modifications to the debate because of the coronavirus. The candidates and i are in the building but we are in separate spaces so we are holding a virtual debate. People from around the state submitted hundreds of questions covering more than 90 topics. The questions for tonight reflect some of the topics covered most frequently none of the questions or topics have been shared in advance with any candidate. We will be giving one minute to make an Opening Statement and after that, questions will be asked of all three candidates. Each will have one minute to respond. Candidates may request an opportunity for a rebuttal. The order for answering questions will rotate. If a candidate exceeds the time limit the rules state that i shall interrupt and remind everyone of the agreedupon time limits. The order in which the candidates will answer the questions was determined by a drawing conducted by the commission and now for the Opening Statements. We will be hearing from woody myers first. You have one minute. Good evening. Together with the representative i am prepared to lead the state in a new direction. Im prepared to do all that we can do to get us through this Global Pandemic. We are in the midst of a recession as well. In this recession we havent had the leadership required from our current governor. He hasnt taken the steps needed. If you elect me. She has been and will continue to be an outstanding leader for the state. Thank you doctor myers. Next we will hear from governor eric holcomb. You have one minute. Good evening and thank you andrew and the indiana Debate Commission for making all of the adjustments necessary to make sure the show would go on and we could have this after dinner conversation. I also want to thank every hoosier washing tonight and even those that are not watching because it is they who help us create such positive Forward Momentum over the last four years. We created momentum and job creation and alltime high wages to the Economic Development corporation, capital investment. We made sure infant mortality rates were finally going down and adoptions going up. We made historic investments in the k12 education space and in our infrastructure space. But suzanne and i feel like we are just Getting Started after four years of Forward Momentum, and im excited and anxious to talk about that vision going forward. Thank you governor. Next we will hear from mr. Rainwater. Good evening. In this present crisis, government isnt the solution to the problem. The government is the problem. Forty years ago, president Ronald Reagan spoke those words. Every day in indiana the hoosiers realize that they are just as relevant today as they were when he spoke them. We have crisis in indiana. We have a health crisis, we have an education crisis, we have an economic crisis but most of all, we have a crisis of government. We have a government that wants to tell us what to do and not give the information we need to make the choices in our lives. We live in a Constitutional Republic where we should tell government what we want and not the other way around. Thank you. Education is one of the most popular topics and it wont surprise anyone the questions dealt with teacher pay. Im a teacher of ten years and i look forward to the day i get to send my twin boys to the Public Schools in my city. However i continue to work and teach in kentucky because of the pay benefits in retirement, and i am not alone. What can each candidate do to encourage those like myself and so many others to come to work in our communities and better support those that already teach here. We will hear from doctor myers first. We can listen to those who told us now for many years the pay is substandard. Weve known for over 15 years indiana teacher pay is well below that of other states and we havent done anything close to what is required to get back to where we were. Indiana can raise teachers salaries by prioritizing education in the next budget and i will do so as your next governor. Its clear to me unless we do that we will continue to lose teachers to kentucky, illinois, ohio and the profession altogether. We can stop wasting your money as well on entities like the indiana Virtual Schools where approximately 70 million was wasted because no one was paying attention to the expenditures and now theres a criminal investigation underway. We could do so much better for the teachers in the state. A. Next we will hear from governor holcomb. You have one minute. I appreciate the question. We are hard at work on this. Indiana prioritizes our Public School education. We allocate over 50 of our total revenue, our budget to education. Now that doesnt mean that we are there yet. The good news is we have already increased the funding 1. 6 billion. We paid off the local liabilities to the tune of 150 million so that money can get to the teacher pay checks. We worked with School Superintendents and principals. Finally you have one minute. Thank you. So, first of all, we need to realize that one of the problems that we have here in indiana is that we have over politicized education and we are spending way too much time talking about how big the government can provide education and pay teachers. What we really need to do is get our Education System decentralized and get control back to the parents, teachers and the classrooms, the local School Boards and School Districts in the bureaucracy here at the statehouse that will be the first step to getting teacher pay of where it should be and getting education back into the classroom where it belongs instead of a Political Tool used by Big Government. Thank you. Doctor myers has requested a rebuttal. Remember they are 30 seconds. Weve starved teachers over 15 years in indiana and now in the last session we gave them a 2. 7 raise while the charters and vouchers programs got 25 . Its like giving a sandwich to a starving person after 15 years it tastes good but it certainly doesnt do the job and get us back to where we need to be. Our second question of course deals with funding in general and k12 education has spread across traditional Public Schools, charter schools, Online Options and vouchers. What do you think is the appropriate distribution of funds for the education in indiana. This time we will hear from governor holcomb first. As i mentioned at the outset, the number one priority is to make sure that we are adequately and appropriately funding our Public School system. We are doing that and we need to do more in terms of teacher pay. Also every budget session we deal with the foundational dollars where we start to complexity index. We on our diploma honor diplomae funding et cetera. That is what will occur in january as we go forward. We made historic progress, but i am so excited about continuing to make sure parents have the option to best determine where their student goes. Charter schools mostly in indiana are public charter schools. That is a special note meaning parents get to decide. After all they are paying the taxes and we need to make sure the Revenue Sources are intact. Thank you, governor. Let me say what we need to do in indiana is make sure when money is allocated for the education of the child, that money follows the child. It doesnt matter what Educational Opportunity whether its Public School, private school, charter schools, online schools or any innovations in education in the future we need to understand and remember again this isnt about whos funding what and where. Its about getting a child educated. Every child is unique and they need unique Educational Opportunities and we need to make sure that its funded for them as long as the state constitution says we are providing common schools. Last but not least, one minute. Back in 2005, 2006 we had a funding formula that worked, but we changed it and we changed it to punish the urban schools, the schools that were in the big cities and weve allowed that deficit funding for the differences over the last 15 years the dollars required we are not putting enough money into the system. For the 2020 education program. Governor holcomb has requested a rebuttal. Thirty seconds. I think its important to note we did in fact cap the property taxes that did adjust the allocation of dollars. We did that to provide certainty because people were being priced out of their homes. Weve continued to increase the k12 funding and we have worked recently again 1. 6 billion a sense 2017 and even protected 100 of the funding in the year like this one. We will continue to honor her commitment to the School System as we go forward. Theres no such thing as state money or public money. That is tax dollars that the hoosiers have been paying and they are supposed to come to the education of a child not the School System but educating a child, and we need to get back to that. We are going to turn to the pandemic next. Voters across the spectrum submitted questions about this. The first one comes from a voter in lebanon. Which is of greater importance, masked Public Safety or individual rights and freedoms. Thats an excellent question. The reality is only you can determine what risk you are willing to pay and what are the appropriate measures you need to take for yourself, your family, your business, your church or any other situation you might find yourself in. The reality is there is no onesizefitsall solution to anything and there is no if you do this you will be protected because this is a virus. You can only do what is easiest and best for you to protect yourself. So, the reality is the one thing that we do know is that the constitution is there to protect our individual liberties and make the choices for ourselves. Thank you. Doctor myers. The government job is to lead. If im your governor Public Safety will always be first and yes we do need a mandate in indiana. A mask mandate with consequences for the small percentage who choose not to protect themselves or others. Its very similar to what we did years ago when we told people you couldnt light up a cigarette anywhere you wanted to light it up. You had to go into an area where it wasnt going to hurt other people. It was also similar to the decisions we made to putting your kids in a car seat. Its important to protect the safety and the safety of others. So the mask mandate is exactly the same. And it will be issued on day number one and it will count. Thank you. Last for the question. Governor holcomb. You could answer that question independently but thankfully we dont live alone. We live with one another and that is how we will get through this. Our individual liberty needs to be guarded and when those start to infringe on someone else, thats where we have to take a look at the Public Safety. Its just like a seatbelt and like wearing shoes in a restaurant and fire codes. They are meant for safety procedures and we are in an emergency, Public Health emergency so we do have a statemandated mask requirement throughout the state. Its a strong statement that says this works. And believe me we are seeing the cases rise and deaths rise and we know how its spread. Wearing a mask physically distancing and out of large crowds, good hygiene will help us slow the spread. Thank you, governor. You have requested a rebuttal. Thirty seconds. This is the difference between the Big Government and limited government. Nowhere in the constitution does it say your individual rights are suspended during a crisis or pandemic. It also needs to be pointed out that unfortunately, while we are told that theyve looked at the science, they havent shown us the science that definitively proves a mask mandate makes him anything any safer. You requested a rebuttal for 30 seconds. We wouldnt have record numbers. Almost every day the last couple of weeks we have had more cases than the day or the few days before. The Positivity Rate is going up and our hospitals are filling up. We do not have a mask mandate in indiana, we have a suggestion. A mandate has consequences. There are mandates and other states around us and we need one here in indiana. As your governor i will put one in place. In their infinite wisdom the state representatives and senators years back saw fit to address this scenario, the Public Health emergencies scenario and made sure that the governor could pass a mask mandate. Also the federal partnership with the administration who through the cdc and others provided guidance on how to get through this and will continue to make sure that correctly we balance the lives and livelihoods. We will move on to the fourth question now. This one will be about taxes. A topic that comes up rather frequently. A voter wrote taxes are a necessary tool to fund the republic regardless of how necessary we think they are. They often get discussed in terms of winners and losers. Can you specifically outline your plan for the tax revenue that would be sales tax, corporate and individual income taxes as well as other sources but be sure to include who you think benefits the most and who does not. For this question we will go to doctor myers first. The corporations in indiana recently benefited the most because the tax rates have been going down. Whereas individual tax rates have remained the same. Weve got to have tax revenues to do the things that are required of the government. As your governor, we will take a look at the various Revenue Sources. We will prioritize the expenditures that give the most opportunity to improve Public Safety. And we will make sure that we are efficient in how we manage the government such that we dont waste tax dollars as it has been done often in the past 15 years. As your next governor, that will be my priority. Thank you. Thats the beauty of the system. Every year we come to the General Assembly and your elected state representatives and state senators and the governor have this discussion about where the dollars will be allocated. Usually during the upcoming session in january. Our Corporate Tax by the way is going down to 4. 9 . The tax is 3. 2 and the Tax Foundation has ranked indiana in the top ten in terms of our tax environment in the nation. So what we seek to do ultimately is make sure that indiana remains a great state for businesses, for individuals to invest in so we grow. These folks are doing incredible work they could be doing other things in life extremely talented with a lot of expertise we have modernize so many systems over the Years Department of Workforce Development things that are touching citizens every day trying to the number you want an efficient state years ago when one of my professors came into office we have cut to the bone. Moving on to the fifth question although they still pay property taxes because of rising prices you cannot pay taxes on a fixed income with other expenditures and would you consider eliminating yearly property taxes for seniors with combined incomes under 150,000 . Years ago i mentioned we cap property taxes for this very reason we capped at 1 percent farms and dad property and the percent for this very reason and with the state income tax for serve as. We cut taxes 19 different times the taxes and corporate individuals the question remains how do you place the revenue if you eliminate taxes new eliminate School Funding libraries and parks . Medicaid recipients . Its easy to talk about doing away with someone one was something or the citizens will suffer. Perhaps the governor has forgotten that cap is on your assessed value in that they can come out to recess your property every year which means your taxes still go up and seniors are suffering because of that. I realize that one of the things i have suggested as a possible alternative to personal property tax is converting that to a 7 percent sales tax at the time of closing on property that is a plan that would actually get people out of Asset Forfeiture and still provide some funding under property tax dollars to those programs that need to be amended. Its very important that we realize they need money before the state needs and there is plenty of things that could be cut as far as corporate welfare having nothing to do with basic services. There are senior hoosiers who are suffering. We should help them. Popping the federal government will come to its senses to provide additional relief as part of the effort to help make state and local governments hold as part of the pandemic response. And the entire we can become more efficient and reduce the number of entities to make a far more efficient and elected governor we will go to the budget with a fine tooth comb with the accounts and fight all those programs that may have been a good idea ten years ago but today to make sense during a pandemic in a Public Health emergency. We will push the stop button so we get the money we need to provide for Public Safety because in my campaign the motto is people are politics. Just a quick note again to note u. S. News world report ranked indiana number one stay in america with efficiency and transparency may have been bringing out and fast and abuse going on over 1516 years and we will never stop thats why we modernize all of our systems to get more customer friendly interface that is required to deliver. Thank you i just want to remind all of the hoosiers who are watching this evening it doesnt matter what us news and world report or anybody else makes on ranks indiana is about how you feel your life as been better or worse over the last four years. It doesnt matter has endorsed a candidate with how you think and how you feel and how your life is better or worse today. For those hoosiers have been on hold for days and hours to get information about Unemployment Benefits the modernization that my opponent the Indiana Department of Workforce Development because anyone and everyone will tell you things are just not working the way they need to for hoosiers Customer Service has been abysmal even adding folks to the world is not what we need to be. Host Economic Development in the environment more specifically about the war sustainable project that is the insignificant environment is your administration help measures . You have one minute. Thank you first of all let me say nowhere in the state constitution does it give the governor the title of economic developer in chief. The reality is, its not governments responsibility more job to create Economic Development or create jobs. Governments job is to protect your individual rights in person and is property which means we have minimal regulations that protect peoples Property Rights from pollution, unnecessary use of Eminent Domain to ensure people understand that we people in front of corporations. The question was with respect to the plant i have looked at the Data Available today through just isnt enough Safety Information to give me the confidence that we need to create such a major factory to toxins in the atmosphere and her people there has been insufficient output so unless it gets a lot better than i have seen so far and thats a plan that will be put on hold. The governor of the state of indiana tuesday Economic Development corporations forward designed to work with the private sector to encourage investment in the state of indiana. We also worked with partners at the end of one with the department of management to make sure there is a process and public input. Its so all viewpoints are considered and we make determinations is working even during the Global Pandemic its about 26000 this year we did just over 20000. The track is for hoosiers to fill those jobs in the other 109,000 paying for right now. That is the Workforce Development programs and where they come in. The question was about the plants i have not heard my opponent to address that specific issue with the department of Environmental Management Staffing Levels have gone down and in my administration we have the Environmental Team we need to make sure our environment. So the governor talks about all these new jobs they will bring in and then talks about the 118,000 high paying government jobs that hoosiers cannot fail because they have not been trained up for that first of all and who is responsible for education in the state of indiana. Second, if these are not fillable by hoosiers than what good does that do to the 1 million hoosiers that file for unemployment due to march 1t due to the shutdown . And so part of the hoosiers to have a return to the workforce. We will make sure that has been displaced gets one. There is opportunity there with three. 2 percent Unemployment Rate in february in january of this year we pocketed up now were down on the top five state going back to work in the private sector proving it can be done. Environment is cleaner than has ever been and the clean air and water act. Sticking with the environment to this question focused that given the number of sites that have drawn the attention of the epa what is your plan for the environmentally hazardous sites and how do they advertise that activity . You have one minute . You have one minute the leader of that department will work carefully and closely with the Natural Resources to make sure we are prioritizing the safety of hoosiers around the state. Our water and air still have huge problems. We have overflow including the traits including the water supply and tremendous difficulty with some parts of the state with air pollution primarily from plants that remain in the Core Learning mode. We know we can do a better job and then with my administration will prioritize renewable and clean energy to make the state a lot safer than it is today. Again, just want to express up but i am of the employees of the Indiana Department of Environmental Management will judge our effectiveness by the number of employees, we measure what we do and every day is working with local communities and businesses to make sure they are following the law. And we continue to clean up our environment weatherfield or abandoned property. This is a huge asset for us in a potential opportunity and we are doing this regionally every single day. Again i stress water is cleaner than its ever been 99 percent for air and water in the indian finance authority has helped with over 1 billion to local communities to report the cleanliness of their Water Systems we are hard at work every day. So first of all we need to realize the best way we can clean up the aggression of polluters is to make them pay to clean it up and hold them accountable and hold them responsible to make sure the restitution that they pay is so large they wont want to pollute. If we can do that then we dont have to have the citizens of the state of indiana paying to clean up somebody elses bad act. Bringing up guns and statistics with increase of gun violence and the rights of gun owners retired space bar this route suffering from the epidemic of gun violence as governor or would you decrease firearms . This is a grave concern as we rise in certain areas the state the Indiana State Police partnered with local communities and we will continue to do that we want to make sure we protect the red flag law those that are dangerous to themselves and others are identified in the weapons are removed from Law Enforcement and the courts involvement for those seeking to hurt others we will continue with those policing efforts restate perspective to work on the ground with the partners and local communities throughout the state of indiana. First of all i dont believe that red flag laws are. Because they violate the process clause of the 14th amendment i believe the problem is guns people are violent because there is evil in the world you cant legislate that. But what you can do is create an environment where people understand if they do something as an act of aggression against someone else, they will pay a severe penalty for that aggression. We need to understand the violence we see especially in urban areas is the result of hopelessness and poverty and we need to address that they are to realize we need to give people an opportunity to have Economic Opportunity instead of giving them pay government bureaucratic talk. Thank you. , physician or spent a great deal of time in the emergency room taking care of the victims of gunshot wounds i know how tragic it can be. Ive seen what happens when a parent leaves someone on lisa gun around and someone uses it on the floor child or parent. I know what its like to tell a parent one of their loved ones has committed suicide using a firearm. I know we can do a much better job in india and nationwide of that as your governor named as the gun sense candidate for moms demand action now nationwide fighting to make sure we have better grandmas and i will be in washington dc to testify to make sure we have the federal changes that we need as well as working in indiana to help gun laws to make our state a lot safer than it is today. Sticking with guns, do support the right to carry a firearm without a firearm or constitutional carry . If not if republicans control the General Assembly in the Governors Office the last couple years mr. Rainwater you have one minute. First of all absolutely support constitutional carry in the state of indiana and will work with the General Assembly to ensure that we get constitutional carry passed in 2021. Our Second Amendment rights are very very crucial to ensure that we as citizens protect other rights without that we dont have a chance against Big Government or anybody else i believe that what we need to do is understand to keep voters on the hook and then to quit using it as a political ploy. Moving from constitutional carry, the Second Amendment with more individuals carrying more weapons around and i just dont support it. But those background checks to make sure everyone who is able to purchase a weapon does so with a clean record and support closing the loop holes for again shows that allow private sales to occur without those background checks taking place. Guns kill people we have to change we are doing if we keep doing what we are doing now we keep the same results. Is so we have to make sure of to prevent a tragic circumstance we have made it easy to obtain a five years permit and in those who want to own a gun for protection are hunting i dont want to do anything to Law Enforcement in a more dangerous situation. I spoke to several Law Enforcement officers and they are all trained to expect that everyone, everyone they encounter carries a firearm. I just want to say conceal carry or open carry, neither is brandishing and that is against the law. There is no reason to create fear for people. And im talking before the factor not after. Think that was very brief. And to the issue of Public Health and more specifically about the governors power. Reflecting the way they had the Public Health crisis to believe they had sweeping powers and the political system may be out of balance. That the indiana governor ranks a moderate position in the amount of power compared to all the other governors. It has been seven months since the Health Emergency was declared under what circumstances should a special session be called should one have been called by now . You of one minute. We should had a special session in the beginning of the pandemic and i called one back when it began. The governor has powers that he or she can use in order to protect the public in indiana law today. Yes, you can challenge those powers but the first thing you can do is Public Safety lets do what we can do right now to protect citizens from this virus until we have a safe and effective vaccine. That would be a little bit longer. I will wait till the Biden Harris Administration appoints a new director in order to hear from them in the vaccines that are being evaluated. And approved i will make sure they are attributed effectively and safely throughout the state of indiana. Then we can consider relaxing some of the requirements i will put in place immediately. Governor you have one minute. The constitutional question is not a question at all it has been threatened but it passes constitutional muster the governor has the authority, it was granted to the authority by the General Assembly on the infinite wisdom i look forward to sitting down with members of the General Assembly, carmen january, if i return and address any concerns they may have. Was in constant communication and despite what has been alluded to with legislative leaders throughout the last eight months as a matter of fact and soon how they will meet eight months into this come january i look forward to accommodating their wishes and entertaining their thoughts this is an extraordinary time and we had to take extraordinary measures again , all constitutional. And when im elected and inaugurated and to go to the General Assembly and ask them to take away all of these extra powers to allow the governor to spend seven or eight months without the special session of the General Assembly and then unilaterally legislate to the people of indiana and i did call on the other candidates to tell us right now and right here whether or not they are willing to do the same thing. I believe the governor is a legislature the governor is supposed to execute the laws passed by the General Assembly. I want to suggest the governor has the power to day to lead to say we will have a mask mandate and there will be consequences and we checked hoosiers to the General Assembly and then to protect themselves and their staff we will not be out of the woods with respect to the pandemic so its hard to know was requested rebuttals i apologize for that revenue are you asking for rebuttal as well . Please. I am surrounded by doctors all day long. Even call myself a doctor once in a while. Also dont the members of the General Assembly of a return in january and will address this. With those 150 legislators in the building and every single one opinion and then to address this in a whole lot of other issues as they come come in january and then to take some liberties some businesses saw that struggling how do Small Businesses in general grow . And the state of indiana with those that due to covid19 30 million of those devoted to Small Businesses make sure we have a pp marketplace nine plan dollars came partners from the pp program with 83000 forgivable loans for Small Businesses that they took part of. We dont want to do is give up the high ground. And was Small Business friendliness and entrepreneurship in the midwest and the topic stay in the country. We have to make sure we continue to help build the bridge to the other side of covid19. And every Small Business, every business of every sides provides a necessity of life to the people who depend on it for their living so that they can pay their bills and feed their kids and make sure that they pay their mortgage. Unfortunately, that didnt matter for the last ten months. But what we have to do is reinvigorate Small Business by giving them their money back and letting them invest their money instead of expecting the government to take money and then do what they want to with it. Thank you, mr. Rainwater. You have one last minute on the question. Covid19 devastated a number of Small Businesses. There is no doubt about that whatsoever. As governor i will do everything to reenergize Small Business leadership in indiana, in the state of indiana by helping both with the entrepreneurial spirit cut through the government red tape and get the businesses started. With the help of the Small Business navigators especially the veteran owned businesses and womenowned minority businesses that had such a hard time moving forward. Im going to change that with Lieutenant Governor lawson and we will get a good price and make it available to everyone in the state. Unlike the response we had early on we could have gotten it a lot cheaper but we didnt. So that is going to change as well. We are going to do the things that are going to help the state to be efficient and effective in its leadership role with respect to all businesses. Governor if you would please, 30 seconds. I will be brief. If you rewind the tape and go back to late march, we basically had to shut down so we didnt overwhelm the Healthcare System because of the fact every hoosier is essential. We did that and we were very methodical about it. That was the month of april. We never shut down the state of indiana. Some businesses have suffered because of covid19 to this day. We are going to move to the final question and have 35 seconds to answer this question. This comes from a libertarian in brownsburg. What do you believe is the fundamental role and if elected how do you plan to fulfill that. First we will hear from governor holcomb. We are charged with overseeing all of the agencies that interact with citizens on an hourly minute by minute basis. Fortunately over the last 16 years the state has enjoyed a lot of certainty and predictability and continuity in terms of not just our hope for the future, but our growth. We see that when it comes to our economy and our families, and when it comes to our communities. We will continue to focus on that. You have 30 seconds. So, in the declaration of independence, Thomas Jefferson said to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men. He didnt say to do Economic Development or to protect you from yourself or from a virus. He said to secure these rights. And i believe that its the governments responsibility to secure your individual rights and not infringe on them and use the crisis as an excuse so to me that is the function of the government. Thank you very much. The declaration of independence also said we should be able to pursue life, liberty and happiness and not every hoosier is able to do that. The question was what should the governor do, how should government move forward. Im going to point terrific leaders to the state agencies to get the job done. If i wasnt clear at the beginning, i plan to reappoint. We can do better in education in indiana and she will be one of the first people i sit down with to make the state better. Thank you. Gentlemen, thank you for being here to share your views on these issues and to everyone watching or listening to this debate. You can hear more from the candidates on tuesday october 207th when they debate again. Thank you for producing and hosting the debate and especially the major sponsors this year. Early voting is underway and election da day is tuesday nove. Be sure to let your voice be heard. On behalf of the commission, good night. The next administrats priorities. Such an honor to be here and of course very impressive panel and im honored to lead this conversation today. Gentlemen, do not need an introduction but for good measure i will run through the very, very top lines of their bios. General james jones as executive chairman emeritus at the
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