Fyi in indianapolis and you will hear from 3 candidates on the ballot who want to be here governor. I will be your debate moderator for the evening. I am nadia brown, associate professor and faculty scholar of political Scientific American studies. Now introduce the candidates, incumbent republican governor eric holcomb, democratic challenger woody myers and libertarian challenger donald rainwater. Thank you for joining us and giving voters an opportunity to hear from you. While we are here, we are in separate spaces will due to safety concerns, we look forward to having a robust discussion on issues tonight. My colleague asked about important issues facing hoosiers. They discussed education, covid19, taxes, the environment, guns, the fundamental role of government. The Debate Commission and i have questions from hundreds of ideas submitted across the state. Topics have not been shared with the candidates. The rules are simple. The candidates will be given one minute to make an Opening Statement and then the questions will begin. Each candidate has one minute to respond to each question. Candidates may request an opportunity for 30second rebuttal. Candidates will answer questions in a rotating order predetermined earlier this month. Lets begin with Opening Statements. We will hear from eric holcomb first. You have one minute to make an Opening Statement. Moderator thank you for joining us. I hope you express your voice by voting no later than november 3rd. For all eligible voters judging by turnout many of you already have. I spent the last four years focused on three key areas, putting people first, making sure we are building or maintaining infrastructure every which way we connect with each other and markets and also focused on making sure we are cultivating this Program Economy in indiana. I will do the next for the next 6 to 4 years and any issues that come our way thanks to covid19 etc. I look forward to having this discussion tonight. Moderator donald rainwater has one minute. Rainwater Thomas Jefferson said to secure these rights governments are instituted among men deriving their just powers in consent of the governed. Governor eric holcomb believes his power comes from the infinite wisdom of the General Assembly and not the people of the state of indiana. I on the other hand side with Thomas Jefferson. Ib leaves that you, the citizens of the state of indiana mpower government and not the other way around and ask you to join me in doing that, bringing the power of Government Back to citizens of indiana. Moderator finally we hear from woody myers. You have one minute. Myers thanks to the Debate Commission for their extraordinary effort in sitting these debates up. If you were listening a few weeks ago i told you my name is woody myers. Im a physician, former Indiana State Health commissioner. Im a father and grandfather. If you were listening a weaker we discussed covid19 in some detail. We spent one week apart from each other but the covid19 virus has not been silent at all. We had almost 16,000 new cases, the Positivity Rate has gone from 13 to 23 , 152 hoosiers have died in the last week. We have 1700 people in the hospital in the state, virtually a new record. We are not getting the response we need from State Government to get it done. Moderator now to the first question. A voter from muncie asks many hoosiers rely on government assistance but do not want to be relied on the state. An actual living wage for people with or without College Degrees and they support families, and how will you help the local economy from government assistance. The first goes to eric holcomb. Holcomb that is a terrific question and when we get up every day, our state economic is growing, making sure jobs are everywhere. I mentioned there are 109,870 jobs throughout the state of indiana, 26,000 new jobs and average wage of 27 plus. The key is to this key of hoosiers, that is the idea of id tech and having all over indiana to connect with you. Our goal is to move more have nots into the have category by economically empowering them. This is how we get to social upward mobility so the jobs are there. The jobs are coming. The key for the next decade is close. Moderator thank you. Donald rainwater. Rainwater thank you. We first have to realize that many of the folks mentioned in the concept of that question are unemployed because the governor shutdown the economy. As governor of the state of indiana i will never again say some hoosiers are essential, some are not. Some jobs are essential, some are not. What we need to do is reinvigorate the Small Business community, to ensure that hoosier jobs are created by hoosier is in this is and those jobs are allowed to stay open even in a crisis. Moderator doctor myers. Moderator myers we lost 300 manufacturing jobs and active enacted by the president. Since february indiana has lost 34,000 manufacturing jobs, 60 of which coming back, expectation is 40 or 14,000 are not going to come back. Some of those were in muncie, the home of the person who asked me the question this evening. We need to do a lot more. We need to bring a new breed of 21stcentury companies, that are not working anymore and that is was we are going to do in a woody myers lawson administration. Moderator rebuttal from eric holcomb. Holcomb when we hunkered down in april we bounced back. I mentioned 26,000 jobs, 4. 9 billion in which indiana remains number one manufacturing in this country per capita. Since 2009, number 2 in the country for manufacturing jobs coming 75,000. We need to be future proof. If technology displaces you we need to steal you up and we need the resources close to you. Moderator rebuttal from donald rainwater. Rainwater you need to ask your self as a hoosier, am i Getting Better economically . Is what the governor is talking about helping me personally. He talks about skilling up but hes really talking about a very Bernie Sanders style of college for all, paid for by the state and i dont think that is the answer. Moderator final rebuttal from woody myers. Myers indian is behind in a lot of ways including income. Our incomes have not kept up. That is because the policies of republican governors, havent worked. Indiana needs a change at all levels and the statehouse is the number one target. Moderator is voter wrote good reliable affordable internet is a problem in rural areas. Having an reliable internet is a big concern. Other voters bring up and reliable broadband connections making it difficult for students and Senior Citizens trying to stay connected with family, order groceries and receive services. How will you help expand reliable Broadband Internet . Rainwater what we need to do is deregulate the industry which will allow new innovative businesses and technologies to come in and provide the types of broadband and rural areas that they are not able to do, because the manipulated monopolies in indiana. Through Less Government we could create a scenario whereby we get better competition and better technology. More innovation and give people the types of services they need in the private Industry Market instead of pushing that with government funding. Scott keeter companies and demand the indiana tell us they dont have sufficient internet. 80,000 kids in our state, dont have the internet they need to do school work. One in 5 families doesnt have broadband or good access to it. The programs we put in place arent working. Weve got to change our approach was a 100 Million Grant Program, the answer is to treat the internet as a utility. It is no longer a luxury for someone to have internet. It is not just for watching your favorite show. It is for paying your bills, getting your healthcare, paying your taxes, getting your job done if you are a remote worker. Our approach to broadband has failed and it is time for us to do much better than we have. Holcomb we didnt wait on this problem and it didnt take covid19 to wake us up. Investing the biggest cash infusion into a state program to connect people with highspeed affordable internet for telehealth reasons, telecommuting, doing that before covid19. We are partnering with the corporate sector to make sure we get out to, indiana is 84 still farm or forest terrain, rocky terrain, expensive terrain. We can expand by partnering with the corporate sector is already done 79 million and that has brought in another 70 million. We have another 20 million to go in addition to the 61 million we took and listened to schools and said do you need devices or training . To teachers need it . 61 million before covid19 as it was washing upon our shore. Moderator rebuttal from donald rainwater. Herzog what you are hearing our Big Government solutions that involve Big Government programs, more of your tax dollars taken out of your pocket where you decide how they are spend and put into the pocket of corporations so they can get richer while you still continue to struggle. Thats all these programs are. Moderator woody myers. Myers i would not described as partnering with the companies, it is protecting the companies. The 100 Million Grant Program has a lot of restrictions such that if a big company is signed up for your area even though you dont have access to your services the Grant Program doesnt apply. Time for us to put real competition into providing Broadband Services and lets communities have more options, not fewer. Holcomb we heard hoosiers, they wanted us to find a way to make sure we can expand the Playing Field and connect students so they dont have to do their homework in a Fast Food Restaurant or drive back to the School Parking lot at 9 00, 10 00 pm to do their homework, that was unsatisfactory. We went out and creatively found a way to put into the private sector and speed up the development and connectivity. Moderator moving to our third question many voters want to know your position on decriminalization or legalization of marijuana. A voter from shelbyville noted 33 states in the us have legalized your one for medical use at 11 have fully legalized marijuana. Should be legalized in indiana . What is your position on the legalization of medical marijuana in our state . Woody myers. Myers it is signed time to decriminalize simple possession of cannabis. It makes no sense to be on the border between indiana and illinois and become a criminal. It is also time to legalize medical marijuana in indiana. Thats going to be a big step for our state but an important one that it is time to take. I have read the literature carefully and i know for a fact there are conditions that respond to cannabinoids, its time to allow indiana physicians to prescribe those substances for their patients, make sure veterans, substances they need to treat ptsd and other complications for service to the nation. Time for indiana to change. Holcomb i have been clear and consistent since this issue first came up. I a below in my lifetime, in the United States navy and when i was sworn into this office. I dont have the luxury of picking and choosing which laws to legalize at the state level while they are illegal and the federal level. To deal with this, i will directly write to the federal government and one of the best school in this country, perdue and indiana university, we wrote to the cdc, medical research on this, the focus group you want just like any other controlled substance for drugs, and im not against researching this medically and we need to respond in an intelligent way. Moderator donald rainwater. Herzog i am for the complete deregulation and legalization of all forms of cannabis. Let me make one thing really clear. What you heard from the other two candidates in a nutshell is we want to reward big pharma with medical marijuana and keep it from the citizens of indiana and that is wrong. It is plain wrong. We have an economic crisis in our state and we have the ability to create more agricultural manufacturing and retail opportunities for hoosier Business Owners just by legalizing and decriminalizing cannabis, to research something that has been around for decades is just information, should be insulting to every hoosier. Moderator a rebuttal from woody myers. Myers 34 states have done this. They come to the same conclusion, including our next door neighbors, michigan, illinois and ohio, look at their research. Is would be good for indiana. The facts are that hemp and corn grow very well in the same terrain, the same soil. It would be a boom to the agricultural community. It is a winwin as well as tax dollars. Holcomb i am very suspect about looking to legalize for revenue reasons. This would be medically researched and it is not been, not just because 34 states looked the other way, we dont need federal approval, we will break the lawn this, this is a cash business, can have bank accounts, and any controlled substance needs to go through. It comes to us from donald rainwater. Rainwater the ninth and tenth amendments to the constitution of the United States, anything not specifically allocated as an authority falls to the states and the people. It is the governor of the state of indiana. And and democrats, republicans. And what exceptions are allowed for this for medically commended vaccines. It should be encouraged when safe. For the federal government. Therapeutics and vaccines. We are ready to rock of and role, to our schools and longterm care centers. That is the task force we put together to make sure it gets out as quickly as possible. Next we go to Mister Donald rainwater. Herzog rainwater im opposed to mandating vaccine, masks, business closures, the closures of churches in violation of the First Amendment or any other government mandate that decides whether or not someone is put at risk. A vaccine, even if it has been tested to be safe, will have possible side effects and risks just like most other medicines do. It is the citizens responsibility what level of risk they are willing to take. What level of risk they put their children other and government should not involved in that decision. Myers vaccines are the most costeffective and important investments we have made as a society and they have proven to be lifesavers over 100 years. We know that today there is no safe and vaccine approved for covid19 but i am hopeful when a Biden Harris Administration takes office and we have a new cdc and fda director, one will be forthcoming. They will look at the research and follow the recommendations of the manufacturers and look at any restrictions so there may be some patients for whom the vaccine is inappropriate it would not be recommended. We dont know the side effect profiles yet. They will be coming. With respect to distribution the National Academy of sciences already issued a report which i have read on how vaccines should be probe you to prioritize, healthcare workers, those with preexisting conditions, indiana nursing homes, thats where the supply goes first. That is where most of us will be. Moderator a rebuttal from eric holcomb. Holcomb we are fortunate to live in a state like indiana where we have Companies Like eli lilly who are working on therapeutics, Companies Working on this issue making sure we have the testing capability that has so many longterm care centers the we are focused on and the Hospital Network we have border to border east to west north or south who have come together and including the National Guard to deploy vaccines. Moderator indians infant mortality rate has fallen for the fifth Consecutive Year but our state consistently ranks highest in the nation for infant mortality. Infant mortality rate bill, in 2019. The mortality rate fallen from 1311. And look at the decrease in infant mortality. This goes to donald rainwater. Herzog rainwater we need to realize many of these issues are inextricably tied to poverty and Economic Issues we can fix by opening up indiana. Opening up indiana by reducing the regulations that make it harder for certain areas to get good jobs or to go out and get the type of Economic Opportunity that others get. This is something that we need to work on by deregulating things, making things easier for Small Business owners to create the kind of businesses that will give folks the types of jobs they need to pay for the type of healthcare that will bring that rate down. Moderator woody myers. Myers there have been improvements when it comes to infant mortality but it takes us from the seventh state in the United States, the fifteenth worst state in the United States, we are the third worst when it comes to return to mortality. Out of 92, considered murdered they dont have the services pregnant women need. One of the reasons we arent making the partners we need to make is we Fund Public Health infrastructure per capita at a level of 48 in the nation. All of that has to change. Others in the legislature had legislation for years. The legislature has to pass it and have signed it. We have to do a better job, this is 2020. Time for us to get