Debate commission. Hello and welcome to the first of two debates in the 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. Hello and welcome to the first oh two debates of the Indiana Debate Commission we are coming to you live from indianapolis hearing from the three candidates on the ballot want to be your governor incumbent republican governor holcomb and challenger myers and donald rainwater. Thank you forou joining us to giving voters an opportunity to hear from you im the director here here at Purdue University and a member of the Debate Commission and i will be moderating. We had to make a few modifications to this debate because of the coronavirus we are in the building but we are in separate spaces so we are pulling ae virtual debate people from around the state submitted hundreds of questions on more than 900 topics the questions for tonight reflect the topics covered most frequently noted the questions or topics have been shared in advanced with any candidate. They will be given one minute to make an Opening Statement after that questions will be asked of all three candidates. Each has one minute to respond. Candidates may request an opportunity for a 32nd rebuttal the order for answering questions will rotate. With a candidate exceedsdsll ths mind as a time limit i shall interrupt and remind them. The order in which the answer the question was determined by a drawingne conducted by the Debate Commission now for the Opening Statements we will hear from woody myers first you have one minute. Hello fellow huge are one users im a physician former Indiana State Health commissioner together with representative lawsonh i am here to leader stay in any direction compared to do all that we can do to get us to the Global Pandemic. We are in the midst of a recession as well. In this recession we have not had the leadership required from our current government hasnt taken the action steps that are needed. I know if we move forward together, we can create a new relationship between government and the people. If you elect me as your new governor, i know we can do a much better job for the citizens of this state. I will reappoint the secretary of education, superintendent mccormick. She has been and continues to be an outstanding leader for our state. Host next we hear from governor welcome you have oneer minute. Gov holcomb thank you hoosiers and andrew for the commissionor and making the adjustments necessary to make sure the show goes on and we can have this after dinner conversationer. Also thank you to every closure that is watching tonight and even those that are not watching because they help us to create Forward Momentum over the last four years to create momentum of job creation and the all time high wages of the Economic Development corporation and to make sure infant mortality rates for finally going down and adoptions going up. Historic investments in k12 education space and an infrastructure space. Suzanne and i feel were just Getting Started after four strong years and i am excited and anxious to talk about that vision going forward. Host now we will hear from mr. Rainwater you have one minute. Good evening. It. Rainwater in the present crisis government is not the solution to our problem. Government is the problem. Le forty years ago president reagan spoke thosee words and today in indiana hoosiers realized they are just as relevant today as they were when he spoke them. We have a crises in indiana we have a health crisis, and education crisis we have an economic crisis. But most of all we have a crisis of government and the government that was to tell us what to do and not give us the information we need to make the choices in our lives we live in a Constitutional Republic we should tell government what we want not the other wayay around. Host it shouldnt come as a surprise education is a popular topic and will be dealing with teacher pay that first question. Im a proud resident and a teacher ten years and look forward to the day i can send my twin boys to look schools in my city however i continue to work and teach in kentuckyt, and what can each candidate do and so many others hearing first from doctor myers you have one minute. The teachers have told us that they is substandard where we were. And to raise teacher salaries by prioritizing in the next budget and i will do so as your next governor. It is clear to me that unless we do that we will continue to lose teachers to kentucky, illinois, ohio and from the professional together. With entities like the Virtual Schools where approximately 70 million because nobody was paying attention to the expenditures and now theres a criminal investigation underway. Make it is so much better for our teachers and our state. Host next wee will hear next. Indiana plan choices Public School education and allocate over 50 percent of the total revenue on the budget to education. That doesnt mean we are there yet. The good news once sworn and we already increased one. 6 billion. We paid off local liabilities so that money can get the teacher paychecks working with the School Superintendents and principals they hurt us and would give them and they were true to their word. Also the teacher pay Compensation Commission looking at how we sustainable increase pay to get up to a competitive level meaning up to 60000 for the average teacher and 40000 for the average teacher just beginning. Host mr. Rainwater you have one minute. Rainwater thank you. First of all we need to realize one of the problems we have here in indiana is we have over politicized education. Were spending way too much time how Big Government can provide education and to have the Education System be centralized to the parents and teachers and classroom and the local School Districts to take the money that is allocated for education instead of spent here at the statehouse that will be getting teacher pay up. It should be and education back in the classroom where belongs instead of a Political Tool used by thehe government. Host doctor myers requested a rebuttal. Myers for over 15 years in indiana we have starved teachers now we give them two. 7 percent raise while the charters and Vouchers Program that 25 percen 25 percent. Its like giving a sandwich to a starving person after 15 years it doesnt do the job and get us back anywhere close to where we need to be. Host in the next question currently funding k12 education is spread across Public Schools and Charter Schools and Online Options and vouchers. I think is an appropriate distribution of funds k12 education inis indiana . Trib you have one minute. Mentioning at the outset, the number one priority is to make sure we are adequately and appropriately funding our Public Schoolia system. We are doing that we need to do more in terms of teacher pay and also at those foundational dollars of the complexity index the diplomas of the cte funding. That is what will occur in january as we goo forward. I am so excited about continuing to make sure parents have the option to best determine whether student goes. Charter schools mostly in the state of indiana the public meaning parents can decide and then to make sure those Revenue Sources are intact so we can really fund our schools. Rainwater first of all let me say that what we need to do in indiana is make sure when money isn allocated for the education of a child, the money follows the child. It doesnt matter what Educational Opportunity whether public, private, charter, onlinr any innovations in education in the futureion. We need to understand and remember that this is not about who is finding what and where bag giving the child in education with the best possible opportunity for them as an individual. Every child is unique. They need a unique Educational Opportunity, we need to make sure it is funded for them as long as the state constitution says we are providing common schools. Host. We had the funding in the state of indiana that worked but we changeded it for urban schools that were in the big cities. We have allowed that deficit spending to increase those differences over the last 15 years to a terrible extent. Now that we have the superintendent throughout our state to create a referendum to get the communities to find the dollars required, were paying nothing into the system. We clearly have not increased teacher funding. Night increased educational funding to the degree required in the state for 2020 education program. Host the governor has requested a rebuttal. Some years back we did cap property taxes which is the allocation of dollars and to provide certainty because people are being priced out of their homes. And with those one. 6 billion since 2017. Even protecting 100 percent of funding in a year like this. We will continue to honor our commitment through our Public School system as we go forwardo. Rainwater first of all i want to make sure i make this point to everybody watching and listening this evening. There is no such thing as state money. There is no such thing as public money. Those are tax dollars that the hoosiers have been paying that are supposed to go to the education of a child. Not the schools system or that School System of this type of school but educating a child. We need to get back to that. Host turning ton the pandemic voters across the spectrums one submitted questions. Which is of greater importance, importance, math or the individual rights and freedom . You have one minute. Rainwater thats an excellent question. Only you can determine what risk you are willing to take and what are the appropriate measures you need to take forke yourself, your family, your business, churc business, church, or any other situation you mayou find yourself. The reality is there is not a one type fits all 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. The reality is the one thing that we do know that the constitution is there to protect the individual liberties and make those choices for so its governors job to lead so Public Safety rules the first if i am your governor. We need a real mask mandate in indiana for the small percentage who choose not to protect n themselves. Is very similar to years ago when we told people you couldnt wipe the cigarette anywhere so we had to go into an area it would not hurt other people. Also one of the decisions to them in the car seat. Its very important to protect the safety and the safety of others at the past mask mandate will be issued. Gov holcomb for all of the loan you could answer independently but we live with one another and that is how we will get through this. And looking at that apocalypse. Is just like wearing shoes in the restaurant or fire codes. They are meant for safety procedures and as a Public Health emergencies so we do have a state mandate and that requirement. And that this works and we are seeing cases and we see the death wise and we know where it spreads wearing a mask, physically distancing out of large crowds and good hygiene will help us load the spread. Rainwater this is the difference between Big Government and limited government. Nowhere in the constitution does it say your individual rights versus one are suspended during a crisis or pandemic. Also, it needs to be pointed ou out, that unfortunately whilele yesterday have not shown is the science that definitively moved the mask mandate is anything. Myers if what we were doing was working then we were not have record numbers come almost every day the last couple of weeks we had more new cases of coronavirus than the few days before the Positivity Rate is going up and hospitals are filling up. We do not have a mask mandate in indiana is a suggestion. Mandates have consequences other states around us have mandates and we need one and as governor i will point in place. Gov holcomb in their infinite wisdom the state representatives and senators years back saw fit to address this very scenario for Public Health emergency and made sure the governor did in fact pass a mask mandate. Appreciative of our federal partnership and with the administration of the cdc and others provided guidance and i will continue to make sure we collectively one correctly bounce lives. Now moving on to the first question. This will be about taxes and then to find the seller public how necessary we think they are by getting in touch with winners and losers you can specifically outline for that tax b revenue be sure to include you think benefits the most and who does not. Corporations have been because those are going down individual income tax has been theta same and as your governor will take a careful look at all various Revenue Sources and our ties the expenditures that give us the most opportunity to improve Public Safety and we will make sureew we are efficient to manage the government so we dont waste tax dollars that will be my plan is your next governor. Thats the beauty of our system coming to the General Assembly and elected state representatives andto senators and the governor has this discussion where dollars are allocated only with the upcoming budget session in january. Our Corporate Income tax by the way it is going down four. 9 percent the individual income tax three. 2 percent , the Tax Foundation has ranked indiana and the top ten in terms of tax environment in the nation. So we seek to do is make sure indiana remains a great state for businesses and individuals to invest so we grow. This is where the growth policies payoff the low cost of doing business and on the business side to equal getting ahead. Rainwater first of all before we talk about taxes we need to talk about spending and realize our State Government waste millions if not billions of dollars per year on old process and old systems and fraud waste and abuse Everybody Knows that they just dont want to talk about it so first we have to reduce the size and scope of State Government get Government Back within its means and understand that once we have reduce the cost of government with the individual income tax in the state of indiana and eliminate the personal property tax then they can never take your home because of fixed income. I just wanted to point out the governor could have taken action this past summer to call a special session to keep the tax at five. 5 percent and now it will go down at four. 9 percent while hoosiers incomes are suffering. That doesnt make sense especially during the time of a Global Pandemic with a recession under way and hoosiers who are hurting every single day. And make that ill be doing and with a lot of expertise with the department of revenue workforceit development those that were touching citizens every day for my professors came into office 32000 employees in there as well and cut to the bone. Myers now sticking with taxes in the first question although many are paid off their mortgages they still pay property taxes. And cant make property taxes on a fixed income. So you consider eliminating the yearly property taxes with incomes under 150,000 . You have one15 minute. Gov holcomb years ago as i alluded to earlier and i mentioned permanently cap to property taxes for this very reason. We cap did at 1 percent for farms and 3 percent for this very reason the most recently for veterans to make sure we exempted their pensions from state income tax. Players may have cut taxes 19 different times, property taxes income taxes the question remains how do you replace the revenue if you eliminate Public Safety or School Funding for libraries and parks and medicaid recipients . Its easy to talk about doing away with something but you need a plan to replace it or citizens will suffer. Rainwater perhaps governor holcomb has forgotten the 1 percent cap is on your assessed value and they can come out to reassess your property every year which means your taxes still go up. Seniors are suffering because of that. I realize that in one of the things i suggested as a possible alternativeti to personal property tax in your primary residence is converting that to a 7 percent sales tax due at the time of call one time of closing on the property that is a plan to get people out of Asset Forfeiture and still provide some funding under property tax dollars for the programs that need to be funded. Moreover, i think its very important that we realize that hoosiers need their money and theres plenty of things that could be cut from the corporate welfare that have nothing to do with basic services. Myers there are hoosiers affected and who are suffering and cannot make the tax bill and we should help them. I should think the federal government will cut expenses to provide additional relief to help make state and local governments hold as part of the Pandemic Response and in the interim we can reduce the entities the state manages and electedho i will go through with a fine tooth comb to find all the programs that may have been a good idea ten years ago but today just dont make sense during a Public Health emergency and pandemic. We will push the pause button and the stop button to get the money we need to provide for Public Safety and the needs of people because our motto is people over politics. Gov holcomb just a quick note again pulling out the u. S. News world report winks indiana the number one state in the country with transparencies we had been out ribbon at this ringing out fraud waste and abuse going on 15 years. We will never stop thats why we do modernize all the systems to make it more customer friendly for the interface that government is required to deliver. Rainwater i just want to remind all the hoosiers watching this evening it doesnt matter what u. S. News world report or anybody elsenk ranks indiana in any category. What matters is how you feel about how your life has been better or worse the last four years. Doesnt matter who has endorsed a candidate it matters how you think and feel and how your life is better or worse. I just want to point out to get information about the Unemployment Benefits the modernization that my opponent talked about hasnt reached the Indiana Department of Workforce Development they are not working the way they need to for hoosiers. Customer service isth abysmal were still not where 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 ManagementStaffing 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