in new hampshire, bringing people together to get things done. i have always worked in a bipartisan way on a bridge in a unique college savings plan. i have had a long record of working in a bipartisan way. i think one top priority would be the renewable energy and getting republicans to come to the table. i know the republicans here in new hampshire's share this concern that i have about creating good jobs, making us less dependent on foreign oil and saving the planet. it is a real win-win. .

>> i think we ought to work across the aisle in a bipartisan fashion on preserving and protecting social security, it's a huge issue. secondly, i think we should change the debate on health partisan health care bill that was passed last year, no discussions with republicans until after the election in massachusetts, and have a bipartisan agreement on reforming health care. environmental reform is the same way. no discussions with republicans over the last 12 months on environmental reform. as for the pay raise issue, annie and i have the same position on pay raise no cost of

living adjustment until the budget is balanced. i worked for four surplus budgets an i'm sorry that 9/11 occurred in 2001. i thought the congress did a pretty good job of 9/11 and frankly, it's unfortunate you're spending $100,000 or $200,000 or whatever yao spending on television advertisements on such an idiotic issue when there are such bigger issues that americans are facing today that need to be resolved with level, pragmatic leadership. >> all right, congressman. we look forward to more discussions with you and the public looks forward to more bipartisan cooperation. that's all time we have. i want to thank our audience for joining us here at new hampshire public radio and you at home for watching an listening an thank you to our panelists and to our candidates. thanks for coming out. >> thank you. [captioning performed by national captioning institute]

cletclet [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2010] >> the candidate forum on business an the economy has been sponsored by lincoln financial group and produced in cooperation with the new hampshire union leader and new hampshire public television. >> 17%, according to the sheriff of co-cheese county, of those who cross our border have committed crimes previously in this country. >> we need to secure our border, we need federal immigration reform and that needs to be led by our next united states senator. >> now through election day, we're covering more than 100 debates throughout the country. if you miss one, you can find it

online at the c-span video library. search it, watch it, share it, it's c-span, your way. >> our coverage of campaigns continues with the debate in connecticut between the candidates for governor, republican tom foley and democrat ken maloy. in about an hour, the democratic governors association, after that, the candidates for governor in illinois. later, we'll talk with representative debbie wasserman schultz of florida about the democrats' election strategy. a touchle of live events to tell you about tomorrow, british prime minister david cameron speaks to the conservative party conference on crmbing span 2 at 9:30 a.m. eastern. here on c-span the commissioner of the food and drug administration, margaret hamburg, will be at the national press club for a speech with questions afterwards. that's at 1:00 p.m. eastern.

the candidates for governor in connecticut are democrat dan maloy, the former mayor of stanford, and tom foley, a republican running for office for the first time. mr. malloy was mayor for several years and mr. foley was ambassador to island from 2006 to 2009. the hosts for the debate are the "hartford current." >> live, fox connecticut and the "hartford current" presents the debate, here's our moderator, fox chief political correspondent. >> good evening. i'm carl cameron, chief political correspondent at the fox news channel. welcome to the connecticut gubernatorial debate between the democratic nominee, dan malloy

foley. this debate will cover a wide range of topics from the economy to education. joining me are our two panelists, once asked a question, the candidates have 90 seconds to answer the direct question and 30 seconds each in rebuttal. timekeepers from the yale debate association are watching the clock for us. the order has been determined by a coin toss. specific subjects and questions for chosen by fox connecticut and the "hartford cow rant." they have not been shared with either candidate. the audience has agreed to remain quiet. the first question will be for mr. tom foley. we start with breaking news, so to speak. this afternoon, stephen hayes was found guilty of 16 of the 17 charges he faced in connection

with the horrible triple murder home invasion in 2007. six of those counts are capital murder felony which is carry the death penalty. since the first question is to you, mr. foley, and you do support the death penalty, there are many critics who don't think it should be used. what do you say to them and to your opponent by way of making them understand why you believe it would be appropriate, and what would you do to expedite it? >> first of all, if there was ever an instance where the -- where capital punishment, execution, should apply, it's this case. it's a truly heinous case against three women and a nice family in a community here in connecticut. i support the death penalty, first of all, a majority of the citizens of connecticut support the death penalty and i support it for two reasons. first of all, i think it discourages crimes but an even better argument that i've heard

is that corrections officers are safer. somebody is sent to life in prison with no chance of death penalty can kill a corrections officer and there is no further penalty to be put on them. it does jeopardize their safety. i also think there's a fundamental sense of justice related to the death penalty. i support it, i would not change the law. for the next governor, there will be a death penalty abolition bill waiting in their in box, i will veto it. my opponent said on friday he would not vee it. if he's elected, there's a virtual certainty the death penalty will be apolished here in connecticut. he said it wouldn't apply to the criminals who perpetrated this crime, but it would. even if it specifically excluded them, they would have a good

case. i will veto any attempts to abolish it. >> mr. malloy, your opponent said it upholds a fundamental sense of justice. explain your opposition to the death penalty and why you'd veto it. >> let's be cheer. -- be clear. i want to express my condolences and my grief, it's a profound thing that happened to him and the two victims of the homicide. i want to be very, very, very clear that under the legislation that was proposed in the past, any legislation that i would sign, if these two gentlemen are sentenced to death, that sentence will be carried out. period. what i have said is that i would sign a prospective elimination of the death penalty. i also want to be very clear about this. i'm the only person running for governor who has prosecuted people, tom. when you went away to make a lot of money, i took my first job in

brooklyn, new york, and i did investigations work for 18 months, i prevented 250 cases to the grand jury, i tried 23 felony cases and i had convictions in 22 of those cases. the last four of those cases were homicides. i'm the only person running for governor who has put someone away for life. so i want to be very clear, no one is going to protect your family as well as i will. if tom wants to insinuate that, he's simply wrong and trying to play politics with a very serious issue. >> mr. foley, you have 30 seconds. >> dan, you're a lawyer, and as you said a prosecutor. the prospect of these people being executed if you fail to veto a bill, it's certain to be on the next governor's desk, apolishing the death penalty, it's almost certain that stephen hayes and his colleague in this crime will not be put to death. >> tom, why don't you tell the people of connecticut the truth, that the people who are

currently on death row in connecticut, the one who has been there longest is 22 years. you can't assure anything is going to happen. what i said is, any legislation that i would sign would be out into the future. i guarantee it would be drafted in such a way, it's a guarantee that these two individuals, if we ever had a workable death penalty, would be put to death if that's the sentence of the jury. >> gentlemen, thank you. our next question is from the "hartford cow rant." >> we'd like to ask you about some of your ads tonight, some of your attack ads. this has been a nasty race, fought over the airwaves. we're going to take a listen to some of those ads and get your thoughts on them. the first is from the foley campaign. >> dan malloy's new negative ad? three lies in 30 seconds he said he created job bus official records say stamford lost 13,000 jobs since 2000. dan malloy, misrepresenting tom

foley's record and caught in a lie about his own. connecticut needs a governor who tells the truth. >> tom doesn't like to tell the whole truth. for instance he doesn't want to tell you that from 1995 to 2007, stamford was the only city that had grown jobs and retained more jobs than they had in 1995. with stamford severe -- was -- with stamford cervily hurt, the answer is yes, it was. but what we did was take an old industrial city, not unlike the other old industrial cities of this state and change it into a financial center of the world. not the financial center, but a financial center. in fact, our community is so strong that tom actually moved his company there and has his headquarters for his campaign there. doesn't sound like a community that you wouldn't want to spend time in. but i also want to be very clear

that what we did were some other amazing things, lowered crime by 63% between 1995 and 2008. we created thousands of units of housing. we added more open space. we retained a triple-a bond rating and invested in instra -- infrastructure so the next generation has infrastuckture equal or better than our own. we improved our educational system. tom can take a point out of anything and boil it down and make it work for him but there's nobody that thinks stamford is not a great place to live and work. >> ok. >> mr. foley, you have 30 seconds to respond. >> 90? >> yes, 90 seconds. >> i agree, stamford is a great city. dan is misrepresenting his effort. i think it's important in negative ads you provide the voter with accurate information.

stamford lost 8,000 jobs, he was mayor at the time. if you want to go back to the time he started, they lost 7,800 and something job. dan says he's created thousands of jobs. when did you create those jobs? as these jobs have been lost. he said stamford has a top 46 ranked school system. it has the largest achievement gap of any city in connecticut. only 37% of their 10th graders read at their grade level. so a lot of things that dan says and i hope tonight we'll be able to point out others, simply are kind of loose with the truth. i think advertisements legitimately, when you're providing information about an opponent's record, as long as you're truthful, an he was not truthful about my record, i assume i'll have the opportunity to talk about that when his

negative ad on me comes up, as long as he's truthful. i'm running for office for the first time, i said i'm always going to tell the truth and i've done that. >> and now we're going to watch one of those ads and we'll have the chance to hear your response. >> here's foley's history. in 1985, foley borrowed millions to buy a textile company and started firing people. when he couldn't pay back the loans and 2,000 jobs were lost but he made a million dollars, greedy business men ruined our economy. >> mr. foley, accurate? >> no. i never fired anybody. i bought the company in 1985, it was failing. i turned it around and saved the company. i owned it for 11 years. i sold it in 1996 and it has new management and new owners. two years later they closed the plant. and yes, unfortunately, when

hundred people lost their jobs. but i was not involved with the company at the time. i had nothing to do with making that decision. it's unfair to blame me for it. as a matter of fact, when the company changed hands in 1996, it had 3,000 more employees than when i acquired the company. and the company and those employees were far better off than when i first got involved. so it's simply untrue, the objective here of my opponent is to scare state workers. i travel all around the state, state workers are hard working people. they're trying to provide for their families. they have many of the same concerns as we do. they see the waste, they want government to change as well. but state workers have nothing to fear from my being governor. i have said in my plan that i think over time we need to reduce, modestly, the size of the state work force. i said we can do it through attrition and not layoffs. so two things in this ad, dan

malloy once again is not always truthful and second if you're a to worry about if i'm governor. >> mr. malloy, you have a minute and a half to respond. >> tom likes to blur reality. he's doing it again. he was the chief executive officer of this corporation on the day they filed bankruptcy. period. they did fire their employees. tom was responsible for that. he did downsize those jobs, he was responsible for that. in fact, the town was actually named bibb and after he was done with the bibb company, the town of bibb disappeared. it was dissolved. in case i have it wrong, why don't you release all your records concerning the bibb corporation? why don't you give us all the tax document, open up all the files that pertain to this? let's go through all of that. maybe these folks would allow us some time because the reality is that the people who live in that

town actually know what you did. you destroyed their live, you destroyed their futures, you destroyed their pensions, you destroyed their town. if that's the kind of business experience you plan to take to connecticut, then the state workers in connecticut should be worried. after all, what we have to do is judge you on what you've done in the past. you can say you haven't run for office in the past but for 30 years, according to your own resume on your website, you've been involved in politics. you were involved in politics when i was still in law school. >> mr. foley 30rk seconds to respond. >> dan, you're making this stuff up as you go along. you're an attorney, you should be doing better homework this company was not located in columbus, georgia, or bibb city, it was in macon, georgia. i never fired anybody. the company went through a financial restructure, it didn't go out of business. no employees were affected from the financial restructuring. it was an exchange of bonds for equity. you're misrepresented what

happened. why don't you be truthful with the voters, why don't you be truthful with your negative ads. just be truthful, that's all we're asking. >> mr. malloy. >> tom, everything i've said is based on f.d.c. filings, on the bankruptcy filing in delaware, on the statements of people who worked for you who lost their jobs. tom, release the papers, that's all you have to do. but you have to understand, it was unfair for you to walk away with $20 million when people lost their pensions. >> gentlemen, we're going to move on. our next question comes from fox connecticut morning anchor logan burns. >> we want to get more specific about jobs right now. that's what everybody is talking about. connecticut's unemployment rate as of august is above 9%. over the past two years, connecticut has lost roughly 100,000 jobs. we are dead last in the nation when it comes to job growth and job creation. junge people are leaving the state faster than we can educate

them. on the subject of jobs, william glickman of glasstonberry sent us an email of -- email question that says, i've been out of work for two years, how are you going to get and keep high tech jobs in connecticut? what do you tell him and others like him? >> we are one of only two states that has had net job losses since 1989, the other is michigan, they have an excuse. it's the wrong policy. i have 25 years in the bids world, i know what business people need to hear before they'll be willing to hire people in connecticut. we have an out of control legislature that changes the rules of the game every year and puts mandates on businesses and we have a d.e.p. and d.o.t. that can take up to 24 months to get a permit to expand a plant this doesn't make any sense.

other states do a much better job. when i'm governor, i'll fix these things. i've identified seven industries in my plan for connecticut. who should, once we fix the problem here's in connecticut, including our budget deficit be interested in coming to connecticut and using the wonderful assets we have here in the state. we have a highly educated, well-trained work force, some of the best academic institutions in the world. we're centrally located in the northeast corridor, near cultural centers and financial centers, we have a high quality of life. a lot of reasons why employers should want to be here if the government would get off their backs and make it easier for them to do business here. i come from the business world, i know what business people and employers need to hear. i can deliver that here in connecticut. >> mr. malloy, what to you tell william who asks the question, how do you get and keep jobs here in connecticut? >> you go after them, but you've got to begin on day one by consolidating three broken agencies that are supposed to be

doing economic development in this state and connle is dating them and changing the leadership and making them perform. you begin by having a governor who has had experience. tom has attacked my record on jobs. u.b.s. brought over 2,000 jobs to stamford, purdue brought over 650 jobs to stamford, nestle waters is in the process of moving over 400 jobs from stamford and one of his competitors is bringing jobs. maybe you want to somebody who has dobe the things tom talks about. a transportation system needs to be invested in, a quality public education system needs to best tablied an ever-improving. we also have to make sure we benchmark every tax that we have and understand how that affects our competitive advantage or disadvantage. we also have to benchmark regulations and understand whether we're putting jobs at risk.

finally, we need a governor who understands that most job creation in the next 20 years will be done by small businesses. a majority of those small businesses will be owned by women and people of color. i want to support those small businesses. after all, i come from the middle class. >> mr. foley? that sounds pretty good to some people, what do you think? >> an important part of getting businesses to come here and getting -- providing the confidence that employers need to start hiring again is solving our serious budget deficit. we need to reduce spending, not raise taxes. we have the highest tax burden between state and local taxes of any state in the country. it's simply too high. the average tax bill on a home in -- on a household here in connecticut is $8,800. that's too much my opponent wants to raise taxes to close the budget deficit, i'll do it by lowering spending.

>> mr. foley makes a decent point about how mandates hurt businesses and businesses are leaving. what do you do to try to bring businesses back? >> tom makes some good points and leads into things that simply aren't true. for instance, tom, an average household of $68,000 pays $2,680 in taxes. you need to know how government works. what we need to do is curb our appetite for expenditures. we need to live within our means and set our priorities. i intend to do it. after all, i did it in stamford. >> our next question. >> since the state budget came up, we know the state faces a deficit of $3.3 billion. mr. malloy you said you'll cut your staff and what taxes will

you raise to close the gaps and when you make the cuts, how do you do that without angering the public sector unions who have been your base of support. >> most of those unions did not support me in the primary. >> they're for you now. >> sure they are, they're afraid tom will do to connecticut what he did to the bibb company down in georgia. i'm not promising to raise anybody's taxes. what i said is we have to bring everyone to the table and start making cuts. that's why i'm prepare to elimb gnat 15% of the job that the governor plays a role or the governor's commissioners play a role in filling, of which there are about 600 of those jobs. cutting by 15% or maybe more. ebay has existed for a long time but in connecticut, we bid commodities basically once or twice a year. what we need is an ebay system to allow us to price the things

that connecticut consumes on a daily bay sitz and i plan to do that. we need to consolidate the services performed even with the structures and institutions that will remain. in of -- many of our colleges and universities operate on different labor and i.t. structures. if we move them all to one, we'll save quite a bit of money. we could save millions by purchasing our electric energy differently. we could save more by moving to a reimbursement basis for car use. but what we'll have to do is get everyone to the table and i believe that those same employees that you just talked about want to play a role in turning this state around for the children -- for their children and themselves. >> mr. foley, speaking about the state budget, you said you have a plan to cut $2 billion from the state budget but many of those proposed cuts are long-term that won't do much good next year. how will you deal with the budget crisis? >> i don't agree they're

long-term problems. i set forth in my plan for connecticut many ways to reduce state costs immediately. we can change our incarceration rates, for example. we can -- i feel an obligation to the taxpayers, if i'm governor, and we can provide something more cheaply by using an outside contractor with the same quality of service, we have an obligation to do so. we have very expensive medicaid elderly patients mostly in nursing homes. states that pay more attention to their elledler -- elderly population prefer community based care. if we get to where oregon is with their elderly population, we could save up to $600 million a year. health care costs are very expensive in connecticut as you know, it's one of the highest health care costs states in the country. $7 billion of our budget is health care cost related.

if we could reduce that by 10%, which is what the estimates were for the front end, we'd save an additional $700 million. there's a lot of waste in our government. you may have heard several weeks ago, it was reported that two cell phones were lost by state employees. and our state government continued to pay the bills, $31,000 over eight months were paid for people who had stolen those phones and were making calls around the world. we can save a lot of money and save it immediately and we can save that $2 billion and i'm confident i'll do it. >> my opponent didn't give you a single specific cut he would make. not a single one. in fact, i've looked at his plan where he says he'll save $2 billion, it doesn't exist. the reality is, there will be hard work to do. i've sat across tarblees and negotiated contracts, i've had to disappoint people. i understand what it is going to

take. we'll reshape connecticut and make it work again for the middle class. >> here's dan malloy being loose with the truth he said he would reduce the governor's staff by 15%. that turns out to be fewer than five people. on friday he said, it was the whole executive branch. that's over 7,500 people he'd be cuts from state government. tonight he has a different story system of it's somewhere in between, i guess. when are you going to make up your mind? >> may i? i was asked a question. >> make it brief. >> tom you really don't understand government at all, do you? the governor appoints directly by himself at least 600 people. there are in fact 7,000 employees who are not union members or civil service. we can reduce this work force and do it humanely. when you accuse me of not telling the truth, you don't think i should respond to you? i'm responding to you because

there's a lot riding out there for connecticut's middle class. >> mr. foley? >> i stick with what i said. i think dan really doesn't -- he's been a mayor in stamford but it appears clear to me from what he said in his ad, what he said on friday and tonight, he doesn't really understand state government. you need to do a little more homework before you put yourself up as governor. >> fox connecticut and the "hartford cow rant" asked for questions from viewers and readers, this is one. what will you do to bring state employee wages and benefits in line with the private sector. mr. foley is this >> first of all, we need to make our state work force more efficient. we need to make our government do more with less. part of the problem we have is that we don't get as much output out of the same size work force as we do in the business world. we have a very expensive state work force, it used to be the

contract was that they would in exchange for more job security and better benefits. what's happened is that the current composition of our state work force is higher than the private sector. and the benefits are about 60% of payroll, whereas in the private sector a good benefit package for a large company tends to be 25% to 30% of payroll. we can't afford to keep doing what we're doing. i wish in harm on state workers, they're hard working people, trying to provide for their families like everyone else. we need to figure out a way to get compensation more in line with what's available in the state, in the private sector. we need to use information technology, other ways to get efficiencies out of a state organization and if the private services at an equivalent level for less, i feel i have a responsibility as governor to make sure we have those private

contractors provide those services. when that's happened in the past, the private contractors invariably end up hiring the state workers, probably on a different compensation level. >> mr. malloy what would you do to bring down state employees wages and benefit or is it appropriate that they should be higher than what's made in the private sector? >> i think the position on each salary needs to be based on the salary class and the work being performed. using generalities is sometimes unfair. tom refers to 60% of payroll in benefits. if tom actually talked about current employees, it is 30%. what he fails to tell you is that because our state government failed to fund benefits through 1984 in some classifications and through 1997 in others, that has added expenses for the failure to have done the right thing to begin with. when i become governor, what sure that the state reports under gap finance rules,

generally accepted accounting principles. if we don't start telling the truth to ourselves and the people of connecticut, we'll never dig our way out of this hole. tom talked about privatization. some of those privatization experiments his colleagues in the republican party brought to the state of connecticut led to drainage systems on 84th not actually being contracted, led to bad construction all over the state, led to a system of construction of schools where school construction per foot is on average $100 more and most of that being reimbursed by the state of connecticut. let's be very clear. we need to create efficiencies. what did i do in sfamford? i downsized the work force even as we were growing the population by 12,000 people by 8.4%, creating efficiencies and having people make the decisions at the closest level to the service provision level. we can do this. we can create those efficiencies and we can curtail the increases we're talking about. >> mr. foley 30rk seconds. >> i guess his answer is he

doesn't think there's opportunities to get savings out of the state work force, i didn't hear any suggestions. let me give you another example, riverview hospital where we have 80 young patients who have mental problems, across the state, $922,000 a year to care for each of these young people. private sector people who can provide an equivalent level of care, perhaps even better, offered to do it for less than half that amount. that could save up to $25 million. do the taxpayers of connecticut think that paying that kind of money, $25 million, makes sense when an outside contractor is willing to do it for yes, sir. >> mr. malloy. >> sure, let's be clear. we need to create efficiencies, i've done it before. i've talked about changing work rules, talked about getting around the table and having conversations about how the employees who gave up $1 billion last year to play a role to continue to play a role to get connecticut's economy back on its feet. but tom's republican party entered into discussions with

that group and he wants to pretend his party and the salespeople he supported to be governor, because we have had republican governors for 16 years. >> now gentlemen, the point where you have an opportunity to ask one another questions. mr. foley, you get the first question of mr. malloy. >> dan lovato announced he has a union questionnaire you filled out committing not to reduce any union member whors state workers or reduce their benefits. he has promised to release this questionnaire soon. my question to you is, have you made any commitments to unions such as this one and please just provide a yes or no answer. >> does tom get to make those rules? >> i think he just did. >> no.

no. >> that leaves you with 30 seconds to respond to his answer. >> ok, then do you deny that what you said on a teletown hall meeting to teachers last week it was widely reported in the press, which did provide commitments to preserve tenure, to not have money follow the child, to not support choice to not move to performance pay, do you consider what you said to be accurate? >> you've read my education plan. all the things you mentioned are in that plan. if you want to make teachers the enemy in connecticut, good luck to you. but these are hardworking people doing the best they can and in my school system we closed the educational gap that exists by 3.8% -- or 3.8 points last year as opposed to the statewide average of 2.5. if you want to argue about whether teachers work hard, tom, you are so disconnected from the people of this state, it's just

unbelievable. >> mr. foe ree, you have 30 seconds. >> ladies and gentlemen, i'm going to ask you to not do that i'm sorry to be a bit of a nag but we all agreed. mr. foley, you have 30 seconds to respond. >> listen, i don't think you're being candid with the voters. i think it's widely believed you have made commitments to unions. i think if you had -- if you have, it will be impossible as governor to faithfully represent the voters and to have a conflict such as that. so i would hope in the weeks ahead you'll be candid with the voters and talk to us about any deals you cut to get elected, both in the primary and deals you cut hoping to get elected. >> mr. malloy, i did not mean to cheat you out of the 29 seconds, so you can have another. >> well, thanks, tom, the fact that you repeat things more than three times doesn't make them true.

>> are you still denying that that company went bankrupt under your leadership? are you really denying that to this crowd of people? >> i'm denying it. >> what we're talking about -- >> and i deny i ever took $20 million from the company. >> show us the records, tom. >> stop lying about it, dan. stop lying about it. >> gentlemen and audience. thank you. mr. malloy, you have an opportunity to pose a question directly to mr. foley. >> tom, you have a running mate who has said he's anti-choice, and doesn't support a woman's right to choose, has taken various positions that you are not comfortable with, as you acknowledged yesterday in a debate we had, so tell me, tom, when you have the opportunity to name a running mate, why did you leave it the way you did? why did you end up running with mr. bouten a candidate who might

ultimately be governor, why didn't you express the kind of leadership you talk about in choosing and bringing a ticket forward? >> dan, again, maybe you ought to go back and take your civics class on connecticut government. i didn't choose a running mate. the lieutenant governor is elected separately. the registered republicans in mate to run with me. i didn't choose him. but it's also important for people to understand that the governor sets the policy and he's not running for governor. so my policy, what i promise to voters, is what the voters will get. mark happens to be quite an experienced person in government, he served in the legislature for a number of years, served as a successful mayor of one of our largest cities, he's very qualified for the job and frankly, since i'm coming into government, i serve twice in government but never in elected office, our resumes fit

together perfectly. we have all the skills required to fulfill this job. i talk to him about how we'll divide the responsibility in the executive branch and he's a perfect person to promote our legislative agenda, he'll do a great job because of his experience as mayor, he'll also do a great job working between our state government an town government, which have not had good relationships recently. we need to have state governments and town and city governments working together more cooperatively and mark can do that. we'll have a good lieutenant governor serving once we're elected. >> i want to make sure i have this straight, tom. it's ok with you that your running mate is anti-choice and doesn't support the minimum wage and voted against it three times as a member of the legislature. here's a history lesson. our current governor was previously lieutenant governor and had to take over mid stream and the governor in new york was previously lieutenant governor

an had to take over mid stream, what your lack of leadership did in failing to select a canada that matches your values and ideas is potentially endanger the well welfare of the people of this state. >> mr. foley, you have 30 seconds. >> well, i mean, you picked a running mate who served most of her time in government. you don't have anybody in your government who has ever had any serious private sector experience, nobody has ever met a payroll, nobody can talk to employers about what it's going to take to create jobs here. you're missing a piece of experience on your ticket that connecticut needs to bring jobs to this state and close this nagging fiscal process we have. >> i'm sure you'll have ample opportunity to work in your additional response there. >> we're going to move on to education, gentlemen. connecticut used to be number one in the nation in school test scores. we have slipped recently, in

fact, connecticut's achievement on education recently received an f grade between low-income students and their wealthy counterparts we have the worst achievement gap in the nation. connecticut also lost out on $175 million in the federal race to the top funding. mr. malloy, what can you do differently to work with the legislature to try to effect some change in the education system? >> i'm proud of my record as an education leader. in fact, in stamford, i'm known as the education mayor. why? because we started universal prekindergarten 11 years ago and eight years ago, we brought together one of the first commissions on closing the achievement gap and rogers international school is the third best school with respect to the test scores of children living in levels of poverty. and westover school is ranked sixth. rogers international school a school i helped move along and get a new building for was

actually ranked by concan as one of the 10 best schools in connecticut. aye done some of the things tom talks about. i signed the applications for two charter schools in the city of stamford. the only mayor, only board of education and the only not-for-profit to do that in the state of connecticut was in stamford and as a result, children are doing better. we had a far higher average closure on tests this past year than the state average and a far larger closure than other cities in the state. tom will say something which he referred to and has wrong, 70% of the 10th graders are reading and performing on grade level. not the 36% that he quotes. tom just doesn't know how to read that document. if he did, he would actually admit what every writer for state newspaper has admitted that tom has it wrong. >> mr. foley, dewpoint to respond to that and tell us why you think as governor you would

do a better job in the education environment? >> i've been in involved in education for over 15 years. i think it's a shame connecticut hasn't done better with its achievement gap and failing inner city schools. i have -- i want to be known as the jobs and the education governor. i put together a comprehensive education plan three weeks ago. there's some very important school reforms that we need here in connecticut to fix our failed inner city schools. we need school choice. we need money following the child. we need excellent teachers and i'm all for excellent teachers but we don't have a system right now that gives us excellent teachers in all instances. with need performance pay for teachers, we need teachers promoted on the basis of merit and performance, not time on the job. we need to be able to measure teachers' performance and if they aren't meeting the standard we need professional development for them and if they still aren't performing, we need to find a way to retire them from

the system so our young children aren't being cheated. dan talks about charter schools. he's talking about local charter schools. nobody thinks local charter schools, the two he authorized, they're unionized. the answer and real choice in this state is state charter schools. thank god he doesn't support race to the top. race to the top is what's put pressure on our legislature to open up more charter schools, which have shown the way. they'll never solve the problem but they can show the way for what we need to do if in our inner city public schools. >> mr. malloy, do we need performance pay for teachers? >> i know that tom needs to do his homework. the charter school he is referenced are state charter there is one difference about stamford, under my leadership we closed the gap between state dollars going to that institution and its actual cost. we were the only city that actually did that.

race to the top, tom says i don't support it? where does he get that? he makes it up. of course i support race to the top. i think connecticut can reform its education so it can compete and bring money to the state and as governor i'll make sure that happens. >> we were in an education forum last week and you said you didn't support race to the top. do you just say what the audience in front of you wans to hear? >> i'm happy to engage with you. did you realize you had it wrong about the two charter schools? do you realize they're state charters? are you willing to admit to people -- >> money following the child. >> are you talking about dollars going out of new haven to some other community? >> gentlemen if either one of you would like to answer your

simultaneously posed questions, we'd be happy to wait. >> mr. maloy, is it your understanding that performance pay for peachers -- teachers is part of the race to the top funding requirement. >> it is a system that receives a lot of points in that application. that's why i support what was done in new haven this year, where the teachers union sat dun with the school administrators and brought about a program that everyone can live with and support. why didn't we do that in the rest of the districts? with a governoror who understands education and bothers to read about it, we could. >> mr. foley, you have 30 seconds to respond. >> one of my goals as governor is to solve the vexing problem of our inner city schools. i was involved in drafting the legislation that unfortunately took until 2005 to get teach for program working across america,

getting excellent young people into classrooms. i helped write that education legislation. i have been working on this problem. as governor, i will continue to work on it and i believe i can continue to fix the problem. >> it's been a spirited debate, we've been talking about our seemingly sometimes intractable problems, so mr. foley, why would you, or why would anybody want this job and if the voters do lift you into it, what policy decision do you most dread? >> well, listen, we have serious problems. i've spent 25 years in my career in business turning around companies, i know the difficult decisions that executives face when there's financial stress and organizations need to be turned around, when they aren't performing. and that's definitely what's going on here in connecticut. i don't like making those decisions in many instances but i am -- one of the things i'm most proud of in my business

career is i've always made those decisions fairly. decisions that take into account the needs of families, that take into account the needs of the people that you're representing. and that you never trade the long-term for the short-term which is what we've been doing in connecticut for far too long. challenge for the next governor. i have a plan, i was surprised when i got into this race that none of the other candidates had a plan. nobody goes in to think about turning around a business or running a business that's doing well without a plan. you need a destination, you need a place you're trying to go. then you need a road map for getting there. i've put that together. i know that based on my preevet sector experience and my two times serving in government that i can fix connecticut's problems. i look forward to the challenge. these are things that i've done before, i have the skills and experience that i think connecticut needs now and the next governor needs, i don't believe my opponent does. >> mr. malloy, same question and

what is that policy choice that you'll face that is the -- that leaves you the -- with the most trepidation? >> let me begin by explaining what motivates me. i was born in a middle class family, the youngest of eight children, the seventh son. i was born with severe physical disabilities and it was learned that i had a processing disorder, including dyslexia. i had to fight every day to overcome those. my mother made an important decision, not to listen to people who talked about the fact that i would never amount to anything that made all the difference. but she also said something to me almost every day of the 30 years we shared this earth. she said, dan, you have an obligation to leave this world a better place for your having lived in it. for all of my 55 years, including the years since my mother died of cancer, i tried to do that. is it a perfect record? probably not. but as a member of a board of finance, a volunteer position, i

fought to improve education and hold down spending in my city. as a member of the board of education, i fought for improvement. as mayor, i fought to bring new industries to replace those leaving sfamford. the toughest decisions are those that will affect people's lives, who will have a job, who will have the medical coverage they need, who will have the mental health treatment to keep them out of a hospital or prison. what i'm saying is, if you elect me your governor, the values i was born with, the values my parents fostered are the values i will govern with. >> we're going to move on. >> our republican governor has enjoyed a lot of success, can you name some things she's done right? >> she took a state that was reeling from ethical violations

and restored a sense of decency and she is a very decent person. but when it comes to transportation, she failed us. when it comes to job creation, she failed us. when it comes to reforming, a reformation of education, she allowed a document for race to the top to be filed with 122 blanks, she failed us. she's a wonderful person but it's time to change direction. so i bring a different set of values, a different set of experiences and tom, i've laid out 72 pages of policy which you can down load, in fact you may have already done it, of how i -- what i would like to do with the state and how i'd like to govern it in the future. can we do all those things in the first year? undoubtedly, we can't. but if i don't tell you the way i want to lead this state, where i want to bring us, then you'd have no reason to vote for me for governor because after all, i'm going to replace jody ralph if the voters decide it and i'll take this state in a very

different direction than the direction it's gone for the last 16 years. we need to create jobs, improve education, invest in infrastructure, and understand that local governors are our partner, not our enemies, that's what i'm going to do. >> same question, with a slightly different twist. >> last week, your plan was 17 pages long, now it's 7 . i'm confused. >> that's just not true. if you can use the internet, go and look at it. i think a lot of people who work for you already have. >> jody -- >> hold on, the question for you is slightly different. >> i'm sorry. >> can you list a couple of thing she is has done wrong? >> i would have vetoed the budget last year. which she didn't, she let it pass into law without a veto. but she's done a very admirable

job i think under very difficult circumstances, because she has veto-proof majorities in both the house and senate. so her only option is to either veto things sent to her or not. and the vetoes more often than not get overruled, i'll give you a good example of why democracy isn't working well in connecticut when we have a single party with overwhelming control of both the house and senate. when dan malloy decided to use taxpayer money to run for office, the grant was $3 million. and the house and senate both, democrats from his own party, waited until after they saw the results of the primary and when they saw i wasn't taking public money, and he was, they uped the grant, $3 million more so dan malloy can run his negative ads of taxpayer money. that's the kind of abution that we're getting in our legislature right now. i hope the voters understand

what's going on and have the interest in making sure that we have a more balanced legislation for the next governor to deal with. i hope the next governor -- governor is me and i hope -- because we need a check and balance. >> mr. malloy in your rebuttal, can you address his concerns about too much power in the hands of one party? >> how about history 101. the majority of the governor's vetoes were upheld. that's the truth. she was never, ever, ever overridden on a spending bill. on a budget bill. >> she was everridden on your campaign -- >> you're not really telling the whole story. the maximum matching grant under that system was $9 million. $9 million. what they actually did was to limit the total expenditure to $6 million. the base went up from $3 million

but came down from $9 million. why don't you tell the whole truth to people. that's what's wrong with our state government. people like you are not willing to tell the whole truth. >> i'm not the career politician here, dan. >> you are appointed to a position from a guy who you rised $100,000 for to become president of the united states. >> gentlemen, we're going to leave it there. we've been talking about issues and policy and mr. foley, you have another 30 seconds to rebut. >> what is the question to me? the opposite -- >> how would you do it any differently, presuming there's no chaming in the legislature, how would you work with the democrats? >> i mean what i said. i think democracy in connecticut is not being well served by having one party have such overwhelming control of the house and senate. i've been working hard to support republican candidates to the house and senate to get a better balance in the house. we need a better balance in the house, no matter who is governor, but particularly if

i'm governor, we need better balance in the house so that the legislature can't run roughshod over the will of the voters and the governor. this is what's going on in washington. this is what got people pretty -- pretty angry. we have a single party that overwhelmingly controls the congress and white house. it's not working very well as far as most voters are concerned. >> we have just a few seconds left, gentlemen, we're going to do what we affectionately refer to as the lightning round. i'll ask a couple of quick question, give us one-word answers. mr. malloy, live in the governor's mention or commute? >> live. >> live. >> mr. malloy, favorite vacation spot in connecticut? >> any day i can spend a day with my wife anywhere in connecticut. >> mr. foley. >> that's a one word answer? >> only a career politician could consider that a one-word

answer. >> mr. foley what's the mood of the state right now? >> angry. people are angry. >> disappointed in their leadership. >> one word to describe your opponent? mr. malloy. >> rich. >> mr. foley. >> loose with the truth. it's hyphenated. >> one word to describe the former governor. >> unfortunate. >> i hope changed. >> this is a tough one. leno or letterman? >> leno. >> at least your both on the same side of that, i guess. gentlemen, thank you very much that ends our debate we very much appreciate it. we now go to closing statements. we'd like to thank the folks

here and newman's own foundation for its generous support as well as fox connecticut and the "hartford cow rant." we leave you with a few records from the c.e.o. and president but first, the closing remarks. i believe mr. foley, you get to go first. >> thank you for joining us tonight. connecticut's future rests on the outcome of the elections in four weeks. i wanted to state -- i love this state, i love its people, i've been traveling all around, it's a beautiful place with a rich history an culture. but all is not well in connecticut. too many families are out of work. too many people have lost confidence in their government and their leaders. i want to be your governor because i want to restore that confidence. i want to fix these problems and i believe i can. i want to take us in a new direction. there's a big difference between me and my opponent. i'm an outsider, i'm a problem

solver. i have real-world experience that i think enables me to fix these problems better than somebody who has been a career politician. -- politician. my opponent is a career politician. he's still wedded to the policies of tax, borrow, and spend that got us into these problems. i also have a clear plan for restoring jobs and bringing back the economy. i know what needs to be done to get employers to start thinking about hiring again. i also have a clear plan about closing our serious budget deficit. i will do it with reducing spending, i will not increase your taxes. my opponent says he'll increase your tax to close the deficit. i have committed to, as i said, solve one of the most vexing problems we have here in connecticut, fixing our failing inner city schools. .

condemn what deperms trying to do. i'm trying to build a better state. you know, tom talks about not being a career politician, yet he frequently admits he has some experience, including having been awarded a job for somebody he raised over $100,000 for. so let's be clear. tom, we're both politicians and i hope we both want the same thing for the state. but there's a gigantic

difference between us. i was born in the middle class. i reside in the state in which i was born. i have great vision for the state of connecticut. some of the things you talk downsized city government, improved education, invested in infrastructure, brought new employers into my state of connecticut. i did things that you can only talk about. now, businessmen do some wonderful things, but they've also led our country astray. some of your friends, tom, are responsible for the downturn in our economy, the things that happened on wall street. in many ways they mirror what you did to the bib company but you did it 10 years ago and it came home to roost finally in the biggest collapse in our economy since the great depression. if we hire you, tom, i'm afraid you will do to connecticut what you did some of your companies,

some of your employees. and there is but in your history that tells us -- us you have the ability, maturity and strength to turn this thing around. sometimes i think you are running to be captain of the titanic. i on the other hand want to launch a new ship, one that grows jobs, invests in the infrastructure and protects the middle class. i do want to pro tech the working man. >> thank you gentlemen, thank you bushnell, thank you one and all. please hold your places for a quick word now from rich. >> thank you for watching tonight's debate for connecticut's gubernatorial office. fox connecticut and the "courant" believe in an open, honorable democratic process. we believe that a healthy democracy requires an informed and engaged electorate. turn to fox and the "courant" for the best election coverage

in the state. >> you can learn more about the connecticut race business going on line to c-span.org/politics. you will find debates from the most competitive races for governor as well as key contests for the u.s. senate and house. all of that and more is at c-span.org/politics. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2010] >> how are you today in >> fine. >> i don't want to interrupt you. but what -- >> oh, you're not going? >> no. >> let me thank you and honor

you, hope we see you next time around. thank you very much for your service. >> thanking the firefighters, police officers, our military, all those that are fighting for freedom. we have another fight and that fight is in washington. >> one of the first things we need to do. >> the 24th congressional district is a new district created after the 2000 census. it includes voluntary usuala county and further -- volusia county and goes further south to titusville. it is one of the most government-dependent districts in the united states because of the space program. with the winding down of the space program now, though it was really carved out for tom

feeney to win the race. at the time the district was created he was the superdelegate erb of of -- speaker of the state house so he had a key role in carving out this district that was designed for him to win. yet it's only barely a republican district. susan kosmas was able to win the district because largely of ethical problems tom feeney had, primarily his association with jack abramoff. pushing the ethics charges, she was able to win that race. as a member of congress she has hawked a moderate stance. she did in the end vote for the obama health care plan. she voted against the house version of the plan, though in the end she voted in favor of the senate bill and therefore is responsible i suppose for its victory. she's been cagey in the way she

campaigns on that. she doesn't defend the health care plan as a whole but rather selectively defends aspects of the health care plan in order to i guess not be associated with everything that's happened in the obama administration. her opponent is cindy adams, who is a long-time state representative who won a very contested republican party race where there was only a 2% difference between the three republican candidates running. cindy adams, the one with the most political experience, herself somewhat moderate as well. she comes from law enforcement so she used her background in law enforcement to present herself as the tough person, tough on prime, pro-military and has sort of a strong self-presentation as a candidate. >> all in all, we all have the same concerns.

that is the out of control spending, the debt of our nation, the deficit and they want someone to actually take control of that, someone who will listen. they don't feel like their representative currently is listening to them. >> there is a strong local issue that is held strongly by voters and that is what about all the displaced workers here who are mostly skilled workers? retraining for them, new employment opportunities for them, and what national legislation the candidates will support for -- or grants that they will procure. there susan kosmas has a little advantage because with the democrat white house, democrat majority maybe still in the congressional, she is in the position to deliver the goods, to deliver pork barrel, if you will, to address the job needs in the district. >> to try to improve services for veterans. i am very glad to say we brought $371 million to central

florida. it's been a 20-year battle to get the heal care center built in central florida and that will be about. a great new state of the art facility is goods -- going to be right here in central florida. >> i think because it's a republican leaning district the cook people rate it 4- -- h-4 meaning barely republican, but it does lean that way. it was a fluke to the republicans that feeney lost. he lost because of course ethical issues, not because a change in political thinking on the part of the people in the district or the district becoming more democrat. so they think it's their district and they want it back. >> c-span's local content vehicles are traveling the country as we look at some of the most closely contested

house races leading up to this november's mid term elections. for more information on what the local content vehicles are up to this season visit our web site. >> our coverage of campaign 2010 continues in a few moments with the democratic governors' association news conference on this year's elections. in about a half hour an -- a debate between the candidates for governor in illinois. after that we'll talk about riment debby wasserman schultz of florida about the democrats' election strategy. later the candidates for new hampshire's second house district. on "washington journal" tomorrow morning, the senior editor of "slate" magazine discusses the number of judicial vacancies in the federal courts. we'll focus on cuts in defense spending with rob wittman, a

member of the armed services committee and look at the elections with bob cusack. "washington journal" is live every week day at 7:00 eastern. >> the c-span networks. they provide coverage of politics, public affairs, nonfiction books and american history. it's all available to you on television, radio, on lipe and on social media networking sites. and find our content any time through c-span's video library. bring our resources to your community, it's washington your way. the c-span networks. now available in more than 100 million homes. created by cable, provided as a public service. >> this year's welcomes include 37 races for governor. democrats hold 19 of those seats. republicans hold 18. next a look at those con tepts -- contests in a news conference held by the democratic governors'

association. this is a half hour. >> morning, everybody. we are exactly four weeks from election day today and to talk about where we are and our plan for moving forward i would like to introduce the chair of our organization, jack? >> good morning, everybody. thank you, nathan. i want to thank you, everybody for being here in this room today. a lot of you have been talking and crig -- writing about this election pretty much since the time barack obama was elected president. the election is just four weeks away. three out of four americans live in a state holding a

gubernatorial election this year. after november more than half the country will have a new governor. conventional wisdom suggests that the fate of democrats at the state level is inextricablely linked to the fate of democrats in congress and that this election will be a referendum on our party. that conventional wisdom is wrong. the election will not be a referee endum on democrats, but a choice between democrats and the alternative. and as it pertains to governors, that choice will be between two clearly defined and frequently two clearly divergent approaches to leadership and economic progress. voters are struggling. the economy is recovering. but too slowly for many. unemployment is dropping too slowly to provide relief. and these are uncertain times, to be sure. as much as we all see

frustration, we see just as clearly so much determination. americans are determined in the face of daunting challenges to fight for their families, their futures, and their dreams, and i've seen that in delaware. i became governor in january of 2009. within months we lost our state's two auto factories, we lost an energy company that was one of our largest industrial employers, and we lost thousands of jobs in finance. and i'll never forget going to the general motors plant early one morning and talking with hundreds of people who had just found out the day before that they were going to lose their jobs. i wanted to provide them strength. but in fact they gabe me strength. i saw that they weren't done fighting for themselves or their families and they steeled my very -- resolve to never stop fighting for them. so we brought people together to figure out how we would tap

the strength of our people and bring back jobs. the chrysler plant is going to become a high-tech research center at the university of delaware. the general motors plant has been purchased and the new buyer is going to be manufacturing the electric cars of the future there. we got a lender to move their national headquarters to delaware, bringing jobs and putting many of the financial workers back to work, and hundreds of people reported to work today at the old valero refinery that had been closed down in november. and stories like that do not need to be unique to delaware. they'll be found when leaders listen and they bring people and ideas together. that's how democratic governors and candidates are approaching this election season and this economy. so when people ask me about our electoral prospects it all starts with the voters. voters are determined, anxious to get back on their feet and

they're seeking answers from leaders that they've elected to help them do so. they are, as they should be, angry when they don't find results. but what's the spark that ignites that anger? it isn't incumbents generally and not democrats specifically. it's political posturing, a lock of -- lack of vision or inability to implement that vision. it's leaders who seem to care more about their own jobs and futures than those of the people they're supposed to be representing. no communicator no matter how gifted can communicate away the reality that people face but neither are people so unreasonable that they believe that one person in office alone can change their circumstances. people want leaders. they want governors who understand the reality and who are fighting to improve things. and where they see that vision, that commitment to action, that fight, they respond in kind.

now, republicans are counting on the electorate to be blindingly hostile. they're hoping that a frustrated electorate provides only downside for democrats and they are banking on that. , but voters are not looking to punish a party. they're looking for results and i'm confident that voters will gravitate toward the governors who have produced results and the candidates who offer plans to do the same. now, as voters become more engaged in the choice that they face, we're already seeing evidence of that kind of movement. i don't want to rely too heavily on polls but in this case they do illumineate bogue the volatility and the trends -- both the volatility and the trends of that electorate. so in just the past few days governor ted strickland of ohio and libby mitchell of maine have seen their polling improve

dramatically, closing double-digit polling gaps. in maryland, democrats with records of accomplishment have surged. also in minnesota and similar things are true in california, pennsylvania, wisconsin and more states appear to be joining that list and it appears as though early polls were a gauge of people's anger but more recent polls are a gainl of people's options. so voters know or they're learning that ted strickland has been engaged and effective in confronting economic structural challenges in his state, seeking to attract the jobs and industries of the future. they see bill white as a leader who has a long record creating jobs. in florida they appreciate that alex cink is offering a concrete vision for business

growth. they are actually looking for libby mitchell's plands for energy and an environmental future. mark dayton in minnesota has a plan to improve fiscal health. and maryland voters know they have in martn o'malley a great champion for the middle class. just last week president obama signed a bill helping small businesses to get loans and that was modeled after what governor oh mali was already doing in maryland. for many of us this battle has been raging for a year and a half or more but for most americans the choice they have to make in november is just now coming into focus. while the postmortems of this election were already written this summer before the voters even engaged, the voters are playing attention now and the movement toward democrats that we're seeing is a result both of that engagement and the

electorate's desire to reward results. voters have a choice and they're starting to see it for what it is, a clear choice between two very different futures. one is where we build a new foundation for sustainable, long-term economic growth. the other where we revert to many of the policies that created this crisis in the first place. and when voters make their decision about who to vote for, they're going to find a republican party that's offering two kinds of candidates, those who are out of step with the people and those who are genuinely unfit for office. in florida voters have a choice between a democrat who is a smart businesswoman, an effective guardian of the taxpayers' money and a republican who led a company that committed massive, that committed medicare fraud on a massive scale. in colorado it's a choice between a democrat with a proven track record of management and leadership as

the mayor of denver and the republican who believes denver's bike-sharing program is part of a secret u.n. plot to take over the country. in new york it's a choice between a democratic attorney general who has aggressively gone after wall street and a republican with a list of scantals that's so long. for republicans, extreme is the new mainstreasm the policies they're putting forward are all but certain to hurt the middle class. in minnesota voters have a choice between a democrat who has a plan to bring middle class jobs back to his state and a republican who believes that waiters and wait regses make too much money and the minimum wage should be reduced. in pennsylvania the republican nominee for governor thinks the unemployed are out of a job because they're lazy. over the summer he told reporters oh, there are jobs out there. it's just that people out of work in pennsylvania, and i quote, would rather sit there

on unemployment than work. this is the republican party's new mainstream. it would almost be funny if it weren't so serious because when candidates come from the furthest fringes are did, -- orb are prone to ethical lapses, the past is almost always proceedinging. it beg the ethical question, the most important one that voters skve their leaders, who are you working for? when budgets become tight, they're a very clear manifestation of priorities. at the democratic governors association we put together our middle class skebs agenda, which outlines the steps democratic governors are taking to help working families get back on their feet. our governors are fighting for worker training programs to

help get the unemployed back to the worgs -- work force as soon as possible. they're fighting for unemployment insurance to provide a safety net for those who are out of a job. they're looking out for small businesses with tax credits and tax cuts helping them to stabilize so that they can start hiring again. democratic governors and democratic candidates for governor know that what gizz -- businesses really need are smart and willing partners. not reflexive apologists, not reflective antagonists, but partners, governors who will work with them to create an environment in which they can succeed. democrats are also working to reform our schools so that students can graduate prepared for college and the workforce with the skills they need to earn a decent living. they're making it easier for workers to plan for retirement. easier to buy a home and easier to start a small business.

they're fighting for energy policies that will reduce power bills and to put sabrings directly into the pockets of the middle class and in these tough times they're fighting to make things easier and over the long term they are working to build the foundation of future growth and prosperity. now, republican governors on the other hand are calling for policies that will without question hurt the middle class. in illinois for example the republican nominee has called for a 10% across the board budget come. no evaluation, no consideration, just slash away blindly. and it's a -- as a former republican governor, jim edgar said, this plan is, quote, naive. he said what we all know. again i'm quoting. he said there are some more essential programs than others. there are some programs in state government that can mean the difference between life and death. and all of us who are governing

states right now know that the hardest decisions we make are deciding which programs must go. but the republicans, like the nominee in illinois, don't even want to bother themselves with the choice. in california the republican nominee claims that she cares about creating jobs but her first order of business if elected will be to fire 40,000 state workers. in georgia the republican nominee is running on a platform of cutting taxes, not for the middle class but for corporations and proudly so. these aren't just a set of policies, they are in fact a set of priorities. the kind of priorities represented by the republican governor of texas, who refused federal dollars that would have paid for the extension of unemployment benefits, refused them though there are millions of unemployed living in his state, refused them so he could say he did. refused them for education and the unemployed even when he's using them to rebuild the

mansion. they're the kind of priorities represented by the republican candidate in ohio who used his influence in congress to help wall street, then got rich working for lehman brothers on wall street and then tried to influence ohio's pension funds to use lehman brothers. and ohio's pension funds eventually lost hundreds be millions in funds. these are the kinds of choices that real -- real people face this november, and the outcome of these elections should enshrine these views for far longer than the terms of the governors who espouse them. governors in 31 of the states having elections this november will have a role in how their states' congressional maps are redrawn and republicans are hoping to return -- turn games that they -- gains that they make this year into a gerrymandering extravaganza. ed gillespie has said if republicans play their cards

right they could pick up 25 seats and hold them for a decade just on redistricting alone. governors' races are important every cycle, but this cycle they're arguably more important to the fuss -- future of congress than the congressional races themselves. now, you're not going to hear that said very often but it's true. there's a potential that a lot of the seats being fought over today won't even exist in anything resembling their current form after 2012. now, because the stakes are so high, the democratic governors association is going to put forth an unprecedented effort in these next four weeks to make sure voters understand the choice before them. already we have unveiled our largest investments in our history. tens of millions of dollars in dozen of states. we'll put more into these races in october than they -- we spent in all of 2006. i've just begun a multistate

tour making the case for our great governors across the country. i just returned from a trip to wisconsin where we met with the solar panel factory that's about to open because of tom's initiatives to create jobs. they're hiring for the production floor right now. tom believes high tech jobs are the future of the state's economy and he wants to invest in stem cell research that will bring hundreds of hie-paying jobs to the state. i'll be meeting with our governors and candidates in states like ohio, florida, connecticut, georgia, ride -- rhode island and other states that are critical to our prospects. we know that small businesses have been responsible for the scraft majority of jobss created in this country over the past decade and we'll be touring the small businesses that need governors as partners and we'll talk about ones that

are best for small businesses. we will be taking the case directly to the voters, who are asking for new ideas and results. we will engage voters, offer them a clear choice, and we will mobilize them to get them to the polls. make no mistake about it, the d.g.a. is on offense and we plan to win and as we do this we will happily and readily accept when the republicans offer to help us. some of you may have seen in -- this summer that fox news finally dropped all pretense of boeing an independent media outlet and not an advocacy organization when news corp., its parent corpg, gave $1 million to the republican governors association. but their windfall quickly became a galvanizing moment for us and our supporters. when we told our supporters approximate that fox donation, they exceeded that amount in small contributions to us in a

matter of days. i began this morning by talking about the difference between a referendum and a choice, between an election where voters reflexively reject the party in power and one where they make a decision between the candidates before them and i'm going to close there as well. now, it should tell you something that republicans prefer the referendum to the choice. they'd rather that voters regenetic the party in power because the economy is struggling, regardless of who is actually to blame. to them that's far preferable. that is far preferable to them than having voters decide based on the candidates and the issues and the agendas being put forward. republicans fear a choice election. but democrats are determined to give them one. yes, there's a lot be anger in this country. i know. because i'm angry too. but we have not and we will not

channel that anger into apathy and despair. we've channeled it into action and as i tour the country these next few weeks i'm going to call on democrats to channel their anger into action as well. we can't afford to return to policies that have tried and failed. we know what that leads to because we're living through what that leads to. the future of this great nation is at stake in this election and i believe that in the next four weeks ule see greater engagement and awareness. you will see people look less for outlets for their anger and for -- more for leadership that will lead to results. i believe when the votes are counted and the raced -- races called, the american people will make the right choices for their futures and their children and i believe they

will surprise a few of you in the process. be happy to take your questions. >> usually governors lose about five seats in midterm elections when the other -- against the party in power. >> yes. >> what's your ballpark now in terms of what you expect to see? >> i'm not really in the predictions business. i know the republicans have been. we've seen a lot be races tighten up just as we see more and more of the voters focused on the choice before them. you know, we like how we're positioned and we like where it's going. we think we could end up in a place where after the election the democratic governors represent more electoral votes than we do today and more than the republicans and we could have more people with a democratic gore. >> could it go the other way

too? >> they've gone both ways. it's a tough cycle. but the races i mentioned a moment ago including in some of the mid western states that have been hit hard, ohio, illinois, wisconsin, things that tightened up dramatically. we'll see how it plays out, but we like how we're positions -- positioned. >> [inaudible question] >> much as i would like governor barbour to telegraph that, let's just say would be prepared to invest in our candidates. we've had record quarter after record -- record quarter and we'll continue to invest in these races. >> governors' races and state legislative races tend to go with the pendulum. how will you succeed that decoupling? and when you say some of your candidates are going to make a comeback do you think the party as a whole is going to make a

comeback as well? >> give me the first part of. question again. >> in previous races, governor races have gone with the trend. as much as republicans want to nationalize these races, that's just not the way voters think about it and that's one of the sort of main points i wanted to make today. as we get closer and closer to voters understanding that this is not simply a referendum on the party in our or on incumbents but actually a choice between two candidates and just as importantly two pretty divergents approaches, we like the way that shakes out. in terms of the party of the -- as a whole making a comeback, i'm very focused, in delaware we feel very good about where our candidates for the democratic races are. >> there's a lot of talk about the turnout this november and how sha -- that could largely

determine how big a wave it is for republicans. that discussion on centers on the national parties but the state parties have a significant role in driving turnout. can you tell me what the governors, particularly incumbent governors, ever doing to drive that turnout? and also what the governors are doing in terms of helping that surge opportunity out? >> i might leave some of that to nathan because he's probably more engaged with that. but in a couple states i've been to, democrats are ready. we've got to drive the base out. that's obviously ornt -- parent mp but we also have to focus on issues that are meaningful to moderate republicans and democrats. if we continue to focus on the issues of jobs, school, and efficiency in state government, that's what people are focused on, and the good news is we've got answers for them.

this middle class agenda we released is very much focused on helping people in the middle, working people and that in the end will drive a lot of that base vote. again, i mean from the governors that i've talked to, they've been very pleased. i know governor o'malley has been very pleased particularly. that's one i've spoken to specifically about that. i think maybe nathan can address some of that afterwards. >> of the democratic gubernatorial candidates, there's definitely a marked distinction between those who have embraced president obama and those who haven't. do you think more candidates should have embraced president obama? >> every race is different and these races are not nationalizeable. the president can be incredibly effective in engaging the base. he was recently in maryland, in wisconsin, in illinois, but

every state's different but we believe he can be really effective at driving out the base. >> governor, how is this year different from say 1994 to 2006? in 1994 democrats about a month out from the election started saying well, it's not going to be as bad. republicans were saying the same thing four years ago. how will this year be different? >> first of all, one of the differences is that in 1994 whether you agreed with their ideas or not, the republicans had ideas that they were putting forth and people could respond to those. this year the voters are sick and tired of the republicans and they're particularly sick and tired of the republicans saying no. they see what's happened. there is obviously ongs -- anxiety out there and we've got a tough fight ahead of us but they see across the country and certainly with much of what's happened here, it's been no,

no, no, no, and i think that's a very significant difference. >> how do you avoid, though, getting the election, national election -- i mean almost every midterm election the past quarter century has been nationalized in some capacity. how is this year give? >> first of all we think there say huge difference between governor's races and the congressional races and i can tell you as a governor that this is true. when people are voting for a governor, they're looking for solid results. they're looking for people who are going to put them to work. they're looking for people who are going to improve schools. it's very tangible. and so as much as the republicans want to nationalize it and i think it's interesting the republicans want to nationalize it because really what they're saying is they don't want the focus to be on the competing ideas about the states, they'd rather try to tap into these trends. as an example with with -- when

i was with tom barrett the other day we were at a solar plant being kruked right now. they're bring i think 150 jobs to that -- constructed right now. they're bringing i think 150 jobs to that state. so they're a whole lot more interested in what's going on there. ok? well, thank you all very much.

>> 37 states are electing governors this year. democrats currently hold 19 of those seats. republicans hold 18. you can learn more about those races by going on line to c-span.org/politics. you will find debates from the most competitive races for governor as well as key contests for the u.s. senate and house. all of that and more is at c-span.org/politics. our coverage of campaign 2010 continues in a few moments with a debate between the candidates for governor in illinois. the democratic incumbent, pat quirnings and republican state senator bill brady. in a little more than an hour, florida democratic representative debby wasserman

schultz on her party's strategy. after that a debate between new hampshire's second house district candidates. former republican congressman charlie bass and democrat anne mclean custer. later, a debate between the connecticut candidates for governor. a couple of live events to tell you about tomorrow. british prime minister david cameron speaks to the conservative party conference. that's on c-span 2 at 9:30 a.m. eastern. here on c-span, the commissioner of the food and drug administration, margaret hamburg, will be at the national press club for a speech with questions afterwards. that's at 1:00 p.m. eastern. >> most generals, there are -- their greatness is what they do on the battlefield. tried to show in the book that

washington's greatness was as much what he did between battles, simply holding the cli together. >> sunday, ron chernow on his biography of washington. >> the cook political report says the race for governor governor -- for governor in illinois is a tossup between incumbent governor the pat quinn and his republican challenger, state senator bill brady. mr. quinn was lieutenant governor and became godfather -- governor when rod blagojevich was removed last year. their first televised debate is a little more than an hour.

>> the union league club of chicago takes great pride in welcoming all of you here this morning for the 2010 gubernatorial campaign debate. ladies and gentlemen, a warm union league club of chicago welcome for governor pat quinn and state senator bill brady. [applause] gentlemen, as we agreed, we are going to be starting here with opening remarks in just a second. questions from the floor are then going to follow. i ask all of you in the audience who are participating

this morning, please do your best with block letters and short questions so that your moderator can get them out to our candidates. i'll try to group them in thematic groups so please try and get them in early if you want to talk about education,tration, the budget or any of the issues. we are going to have rosemary reid and david cohen. there's david and rosemary is right here. they'll be picking up the questions to -- fra you. as before lucy daley right here in the front is going to be keeping time for us, gentlemen, and you don't want to mess with lucy daley. a few minutes ago we flipped a coin and we decided governor quinn is going to give the first opening remarks of about four minutes, and then senator brady will give the first closing statement after our question period. so with that we begin.

governor quinn, your opening statement, please? >> well, thank you very much. i want to thank the union league club for hosting this debate. i also want to thank the union league club for its devotion to helping our veterans, our service members and their families. i work with the club on countless efforts to make sure we take good care of those who bear the battle. and indeed we have a debate today thanks to the men and women who wear the uniform and defend our democracy and right to speak. i think everyone knows when i was sworn in on january 29 of last year our state faced three major crises, probably the toughest time in illinois history. we had the great depression as a result of the disastrous economic policies of president george bush that lost eight million jobs here. we had the budget crisis

because of two decades of failures by the governor and the legislature to address the structural problems of the state of illinois. and we all know we had an integrity problem. we had a governor arrested and ultimately removed from office and the previous governor was sitting in jail. i've worked hard ever since. we've tackled the integrity issues to make sure we have an honest government and an honest gore. we've strengthened the freedom of information -- information act in illinois. we've heacted campaign limits to make sure we have clean go. we have recall on the ballot this year in november for the people who put in our con constitution. we've dealt with our budget problems. i've put -- cut the budget by

more than $3 billion in illinois. more than any other governor in history. i've cut my pay. i've cut the budget of the office of the governor by more than 37 -- 35%, more than any other governor. we've enacted public pension reform. as a matter of fact the public pension reform is going to save taxpayers $220 billion, the most far-reaching public pension reform in the history of any state in the united states. we've also dealt with issues that involved making sure that we take on fraud and waste in state government. we've strengthened the whistle blower act to make sure taxpayers -- taxpayers always come first. we understand that to have good jobs we just have a government that's honest and a budget that's investing in the people of illinois. i've maintained our investment in education, health care, public safety and definitely in

helping our veterans. our state has grown this year more than any other state in the midwest. we've had eight straight months of consistently decline willing unemployment. we've enacted the largest capital bill in the history of illinois, been able to invest money in improving our roads, bridges, infrastructure, and we've put together put i will toil work, the most successful program of its kind in the united states. since early may we've gotten 25,990 people jobs, mostly in the private sector, jobs that they can support their family on. i'm the jobs governor. that's what people said yesterday when i extended the program that put illinois to work. i know how to work with businesses large and small. we have in our state coming this fall ford, one of the largest companies in the world, expanding their manufacturing, 1,200 new manufacturing jobs to build the you ford explorer. they didn't pick indiana or a

state in the south, they picked illinois because we have well-skilled, hard-working workers and we want to continue to do that across illinois in order to create the jobs we need this year and for the years to come. thank you very much. [applause] >> state senator bill brady, your opening remarks, please? >> chris, thank you. good morning to all of you. governor, well said regarding our troops and our veterans. there is nothing, no one we should honor more than them. and thank you all for boeing here this morning. if i might by way p -- of introduction, not being from chicago, i am from bloomington, graduate of wesleyan university, where i studied mainly economics. met my wife fancy, and we've

been blessed with three wonderful children. two adult children, two of which were both here with us in chicago this morning. our daughter katie is a nurse at children's memorial hospital on the heart team and our son is an aspiring student at depaul university. our third child is duncan, a senior at bloomington catholic high school and on the football team. my family is important to me, as is yours. nancy and i decided illinois ways place to raise our family and build a business 24 years ago. opportunities were more abounding than they are today. we need a governor who will address the challenges facing illinois to improve our state's condition. our state when you look at it like a business is in a difficult spot. you look at the liability section of the balance sheet, the numbers are horrifying. over 7 $7 a -- $75 million in

unfunded peppings obligations. over $5 billion in unpaid bills within the quinn administration. if you think about it in the context of our state being 200 years old, over half those obble gail goestenkors have been enkurd in just the last eight years. but i believe in illinois. we are a state richly rooted in our agricultural base, through our soil. our energy resources abound. our corporate partners, our health and human service providers, our colleges and universities i believe give us the greatest opportunity of any state in the nation to grow. you have often heard me say we have an unemployment problem. we have a problem in illinois. in the last decade we've lost the opportunity to create nearly 100,000 jobs. in the last 15 months over the

quinn administration we've net lost over 200,000 jobs and in the last reporting period we've net lost over 25,000 jobs. that's not a national problem. over 35 states in the nation created more jobs with fewer assets and opportunities than illinois. i've often said if higher taxes, more fees and litigation, deficit and debt created jobs, we'd be. number one job-producing state in the nation, but we're not. so what do we do? we need a real jobs gorvings a real jobs plan. i've called for stabilizing the tax environment without raising crippling tax increases. i've fought for reform in worker's compensation and medical malpractice, developing a long-term plan. i am initiate a council of economic advisors. some of the brightest and best

academicians in this state but we fail to leverage their opportunities to define what illinois will look like in the next 20 years. lastly we need a governor who balances the budget, who understands we cannot spend our way out of this. i'll apply fiscal discipline to our state, restructuring our medicate system and other systems so we can prove to the country that we have the fiscal integrity, that we are a state that wants to see jobs reinvest into the private sector for our families. thank you. [applause] >> thanks very much, bill. getting a lot of terrific questions here and i think i'm going to start with one that relates to the budget. in the first six moves your respective terms can you state your five top priorities to

reduce the multibillion dollar debt of the state while still paying bills? >> i think that starts with governor quinn. >> number one we want to continue our economic recovery. i didn't inherit the kind of things that senator brady just talked about, i did something about them. number one i think we need to keem jobs growing in illinois. we need to keep cutting costs. it's important we cut costs in state go. enacting our pension reform. a lot of governors talk about that. i actually impleamented thoo. we also want to have managed care for medicaid. we're going to restructure the medicaid program, do it in a sound way that improves our health care. i also think it's important to make sure we save money on our

vehicles. we're doing that in illinois. i want to continue to do that. i think it's important given the fact that the state has a vast fleet that we do so economically. i imposed furloughs, unpaid days off on myself, 28 caze off -- days off. unlike senator brady who refused to cut his pay. i believe we're going to have to continue financial austerity. furlogse, unpaid days off, that will continue. we will also negotiate with our union to reduce employee costs. >> thank you. bill? >> with all due respect, you've had 20 months to implement those plans and unfortunately our state has been bushed -- into the position where we have the worst bond rating of any state in the nation. the first thing up -- i will do is implement at least a 10%

reduction. most families and businesses throughout the state have implemented reductions in this difficult economic time. most know you can cut 10%, real, meaningful cuts. there is so much we don't know about the wasteful spend sg of state government under the secrecy of a quinn station station and we need to know the truth. we need to make government transparent to the people. we need to reform the medicaid system to make services available in -- at the primary care did, not the emergency room. in truth, eff area of state government has got to be dealt with. we must demand efficiencies in state government by putting real professionals in place to run bureaucracies. >> first to you and then to governor quinn, what is your plan to keep businesses in illinois? >> simply put, we've got to make illinois a competitive place to live, work, and do

business. there are some taxes i've called for reducing. the estate tax penalty which governor quinn and governor rod blagojevich put in place has put retiring baby boomers at a liability. we have -- the state tax on gas. our workers compensation system in illinois costs double that of indiana. medical malpractice drives providers to other states, increasing the cost of medicine in the state and reducing access. but we also need a long-term plan as i've outlined. we need to define what we're going to look like not just in the next year, but in the next 20 years. when businesses make an investment in a private sector investment they look long term. businesses walk out of illinois because of the fiscal crisis we see in this state.

we have got to have the fiscal discipline to live within our means and tem the truth to the people of i will. >> governor quinn? >> well, i think you ought to tell that to ford, one of the largest companies on planet earth. they decided to stay in illinois. they're creating 1,200 new manufacturing jobs and that will magnify into 12,000 jobs. naive starr kept 3,000 jobs in this state and they're growing thanks to the efforts of this governor. they're p going to the south. they believe in the people not -- of i am i will. just like u.p.s. and just like boeing, which is bring manufacturing to our state of illinois and lots and lots of small businesses as well. the way you grow jobs is you have a governor that can work with c.e.o.'s and actually talk to them about targeted tax cuts. not the tax on millionaires.

we've enacted thanks to my leadership the small business job creation tax credit. we've enacted thanks to my leadership, put illinois to work. >> pat -- thank you for that. now we want to talk a about the cuts, possible cuts. i have a lot of questions here about can you be specific regarding any cuts in the budget? governor quinn, why don't you go first, then senator brady. >> i think the record should show that we've cut the budget in our state by $3 billion since i took office. the budget was about in the general revenue fund $28 billion. it's now $25 billion. that is the biggest cut in the state budget, general revenue fund in the history of our state, far more than any gore. i will continue to do that pi -- by applying the kind of reductions we need to reduce expenses on but without harming our education. in the course of our budget cutting we've maintained our

investment in education from child care, from early childhood all the way to four-year universities, we've protected our scholarship programs. there is a slogan you will here, a diamond a dollar. we've already cut the budget by more than 10%. it's very important to have say governor who has a plan. that's what i presented last year before the legislature, this year before the legislature. we will continue to cut the budget where it has to be cut with maintaining investment in health care, education, public safety and we're not going to cut our programs for veterans. i believe in that. my opponent wants to cut programs for veterans and i think that's wrong. . . with record deficits and debt. your own numbers. yet to become the announced a plan to create jobs.

are pink and state resources in the private sector when it cannot meet obligations. we need real discipline. we cannot put a dime on every dollar. we can root out waste and inefficiency. we have to work with our providers to provide access. the costs are reduced. these are all of big-ticket items in need to be done. it needs to be reduced to a level we can afford. we are in the position of having the worst bond rating. it'll cost us another five printer million dollars.

>> it relates to human services. how will you prioritize position human services in the state budget, especially in relation to state pensions? how you plan to cut further? >> i have committed to funding pinza's. we have to deconstructs and reconstruct. we have to get best practices.

as governor, i will bring experts say you cannot get the best practices. we can learn from our competitors or our peers in other states. >> ford picked illinois. >> he cut the education budget by more than $1 billion. we have to have a government that understands the nonsense and it comes to the budget. he wants to increase the budget

deficit and giving tax breaks for the wealthy. i do not one to lose a generation of children or take away scholarships from schools. under center brady, thousands of students will lose their scholarship because of his cut. >> thank you. we are going to go to you first. we have a couple of questions on education. we are joined by a special person here. is the death -- beth still with us? she is in a greater hero this question. let's say hello to beth. [applause] >> what is your plan to

supplement the deficit in education funding? pretty good question for an eighth grader or a major reporter. >> i agree. thank you. we look forward to serving with you. i think it is important. jobs followed brainpower. i believe in that. we have a good education and grammar school. warner thousand students in illinois give scholarships from our state -- 400,000 students in a malay get scholarships from our state.

my opponent wants to cut that by over $1 billion. that will not get our state to a better place. it is important we get revenue for education preven. we are getting for under $50 million new. own problems. we have to reset the clock. every party had departed the reconstruction of the state. we cannot continue down the path of governor clinton. think about it. -- governor quinn. think about it. these are resources that can go

to our schools. it is the resources to better fund education. we need to stabilize it. record deficits and debt. if we delivered and do not leave them with an i/o you come and they can manage the resources a local level to provide a quality education. >> illinois face education reform funds in the first two rounds. what would you do to continue to push for education reform from illinois?

>> i've added a partnership with the education committee to try to work resolutions. if there is a federal program, i think we should tap into it. we have to make sure the rate to the top of degrees to the top is sustainable. i think working with the business community and educators will better enhance it. we have to realize that the fundamental challenges we face are here for illinois. we cannot continue to look to washington, d.c. to bail us out. >> less than might take, people in illinois -- we are entitled to a governor that will go to washington and roll up his sleeves to get money back.

we've got $450 million new in illinois. you just heard senator brady would not go to washington. he'll keep the money there. this is wrong. it is also wrong to say he will cut the budget for education. he did not live up to our constitution in illinois. if our state does not live up to this, there are 17 years of politicians. it sits the burden onto the property taxes. according to center brady, and there will be a natural rise in property taxes. >> how do you intend to deal

with pension fund underfunding going on? >> we have paid our pension payment each year i was governor. what also enacted the most far reaching public pension reforms of any state in the union ever. economist remarked of the people of illinois and their governor reform the public pension system. it'll save taxpayers $220 billion. but the people have talked about it. we got it done. this is how you role of your

sleeves and get it done. what legislative accomplishment has he ever done? what did see them when it comes to the record? >> kmbc next governor cannot manage resources? it is wrong. you know it. when it comes to pensions, let's be realistic. in the blagojevich administration, they doubled the unfunded liability in our pension systems over $75 billion. i want to protect the men and women who paid into the pension system. they deserved it. we cannot do it if governor clinton is governor. yes defunded them last year.

-- governor quin is governor. yes, he wanted them last year. public safety will be our first priority. we cannot continue to bar on the backs of our children and grandchildren. >> speaking with depictionhint'e when you combine the state employees in state teachers' pensions? -- speaking of pensions, will you combined the state employees and state teachers' pensions? >> i do not see any reason to do that. i will run the systems according to the law. we will meet our obligations. we will not dig a deeper hole. we need fiscal thisdiscipline.

it to be affordable for the people of illinois. it cannot continue to kick the can down the road people deserve to know that the governor is willing to have the fortitude to fund those obligations burd. >> there are three major ones for the state. i do not think we should consolidate them. we should enact pension reform. we have to be careful. we have over $1 billion in tax breaks for wealthy people.

this cannot be. this is a world does not exist. you have testimony record of accomplishment. when we have budget reports, we are sponsored by senator kit housekeeping -- senator quick house the. >> many service providers are being held up by the state brit. will they continue to operate without the funds? >> of the money for sosocial service will be paid by the end

of they year. it did not happen after january 29. it sounds like everything began then if you listen to senator brady. the structural deficit grew under governors and legislators. they did nothing about it. it is my job to come in and repair it. this goes to the social providers. we created more jobs.

>> i worked in the legislature for 17 years to balance our budget. it is not just the wealthy that pay the fees. it is small mom-and-pop businesses. my tax breaks will reinvigorate and create new jobs in illinois. that is what we need. you extend a program that will

cost the taxpayers $75 million so you can buy a public-sector jobs for people in the private sector. that is wrong. it is selling out to the people of illinois. >> putting illinois to work began to do it has employed 26,000 people. these are real jobs. they paid $10 an hour. hard-working people needed a job of. i got there. i put them to work. are we going to lay out 26,000 people? i do not think so. he would keep a program going so the federal government when they consider it again will extend it. the new york times has said illinois has the very best

program of its kind in the united states. it is the best way to put people to work. that is what i believe in. there we had a specific -- 26,000 people. they pay for rent and utilities. >> we are in getting the state by promoting a program that we cannot afford. you going to have the state pay everyone of those people. private sector is not. we want to see them employed.

people -- you do not have the money to reimburse them. what about their jobs? what about the services they provide? what about the deficit and debt? this is another this on his campaign ploy. >> we just heard the governor said lisa two of 26,000 people overnight, people who are working with 5000 different employers. it was all about getting together.

it makes trucks and diesel engines 3000 jobs and growing. i'm a job as governor. i know how to work with people. we will lose 120,000 jobs in illinois. >> this rounds into a theme. >> this is but human service providers. your government has left them when hasiou. those are real -- left them with an iou. those are real jobs. this is put this in this position of the way the state in the nation that is still in a recession.

we will free up the private sector and bring permanent sustain jobs. we will support human service providers that depend on the resources. >> i think that it does to our next area, not just spending but also the revenue. i want to ask one and then that summarizes many of the questions. many of us think the general assembly will raise taxes after the election. will you sign that bill? where reforms do you propose to add just a revenues?

the way to bring revenues is to bring the 800,000 jobs that the we lost under the blagojevich administration. i cannot tell you how many businesses are worried about the future. we need a right size government. we pay sales taxes on gasoline. the 800,000 jobs we lost treated trinity billion dollars in revenue. we need revenue like a state like texas. >> i like illinois. i want to make sure we have a good state today and tomorrow.

i heard business owners complain about the property tax in illinois. it is confusing. i want to reduce the property taxes. i do not think this is the right way to go. we should not rely on that. our state has the primary responsibility for funding our schools. we need an honest governor.

they say they will hold down taxes. that is exactly what they do after the election. >> some of these can go to a yes or no answer. you will be the judge of that. will you commit now to be to go a gerrymandered rematch of our legislative and congressional district? >> i would be to show a gerrymandered district. i live the effort with a club to reduce the size of the assembly. i think the best way to implement the will of the people is to have fair, competitive districts. i will make sure that happens. by reduce efforts to reduce the pay. i think these a the kind of things that the people want.

>> the gerrymandered process has ruined the democratic process in this state. it says you have a balanced budget. yet fail to provide people of illinois with a balanced budget. that is first and foremost. when it comes to property taxes come i never advocated an increase in property taxes. you know that. and set it aside for a property tax refund. >> do you support bringing a riverboat casino to chicago? >> my record has been clear. we cannot solve this process by gambling our way out of it.

he is the one who initiated video poker in ever establishment that had a license. this is not meaningful solutions to our problem. meaningful solutions are sustained economic growth through job growth. governor quinn's gramm was a false one. -- proposal was a false one. many communities have opted out of it. it is a wrong direction to head. >> when i was governor, i made your there is a local option established so people would have the opportunity to not have video gaming in their community. that we have to have funds in

illinois. interesting years of debate. illinois did not pass a capital debate. i got this pass. that is a record of accomplishment. he is a career politician. he does not have one single accomplishment as a legislature. i've got a record in getting the job done for the people of illinois. >> what is your position of the federal take over to house visitors from guantanamo bay? >> uygur to a law enforcement officers and illinois. they are second to none.

i believe that we should sell it in illinois to the federal government. they need a new federal prison. they will save tens of millions of dollars to us in order to buy it. i think that is a good deal. i worked with senator obama to make this happen. it is very important for our state. we will use them in a way to get money back to the people of illinois. the new federal prison will create about 3000 new jobs. we are working right now the federal government to support this. >> we have finally rid ourselves

of the productions. >> i would never move the focal point from terrorism in guantanamo to illinois. we need this to house inmates in the state. the governor is willing to sell it for a fraction of what a cost to replace. it makes no sense that he would sell a for what it cost is 10 years ago to build it. >> thank you for that. we have a couple of questions about women and minorities. >> what would the outlook leave? >> i have been a strong advocate

for fostering an environment that gives diversity for women owned and minority-owned contractors. it brings competition. it may set the economic fabric of our state. >> senator brady opposes equal pay for equal work. i think that is wrong. i think we should have equal pay for equal work. we have a very robust program in illinois, making sure there is diversity whether it is state buildings or roads. we have a building program. my opponent voted against funding for building anything in illinois.

we have to have the fortitude to go into the ring and get the funding for paying off. my opponent goes to the reading cuttings to take bows for the spending. he does not want to do the heavy work for the bonds. >> you bring up the issue of contract. this question asks, what plans do you have to facilitate the growth and improvement of this region's public transportation infrastructure? >> i believe the public transit. i've taken it on my life. i understand how important the cta is. we have money for public transit.

we have made sure they have adequate money. senator brady wants to cut deeply our investment in public transit here in northeastern illinois. for people who take the train to work, the wear. this is someone who does not understand the urban need. people need to get to work and school. is important to have the governor understands public and invests in public transit. we do it in a way that is sustainable. >> do not know where you are coming from.

we are going to have to reinvigorate the public transportation system. your revenues from capital bill from video poker in bars and from the tax increase -- the revenues are not there. that is what i warn you of two years ago. let's talk about having the backbone of public transportation. there is an issue we work for in a bipartisan way that would have eliminated threefree rides for the wealthy. we should not be providing free rides for millionaires in the city of chicago. it has cost us millions of dollars that can be put into the public transportation system.

>> this is about the -- we of questions like this from members and supporters. this is something i'm not going to read. it points up that the aging car is a delicacy and become an income stream. [laughter] there is compelling-a. >> says he is sticking to integrate the asian carp into the great lakes system. >> it is a serious problem. one of the responsibilities is river waste.

we can fix the system. to take leadership, we will put people in place to solve this problem. >> i have a record of getting something done. if you can beat them, eat them. >> in illinois, we have a company that i felt was catching it in the big river and freezing them. they are selling them 30 million pounds of them caught in illinois to people in china.

we can do it in a way that creates jobs. we can create dozens of judges are hard-working people. >> another attempt at a yes or no question. [laughter] will you live in the governors mansion if elected this november? >> he is a combat veteran. he is going to afghanistan in a few days. he is a sergeant. his line to the most dangerous part of afghanistan. i had dinner with him at the

governors mansion. i think that is what the governors mansion is all about. we have to in the senate to avenge that the governors mansion. -- we had 272 events at the governors mansion. that is what it is all about. we had our nascar drivers coming down. i think this is what a governor should do. we should celebrate illinois in every which way. >> one saturday night [unintelligible] i think it is important that the governor does take residents. we a series problems in government. it is the seat is a government.

in these difficult times, we need a hand on governor in the state capital. i think it is a slap in the face that the government does not live in the mansion. the people of illinois provided a gracious hospitality for a respectable place to live. as governor, i assure you we would reside there. >> we are getting close to the end. we have several questions related to ethics. what would you do to improve ethics in the state of illinois government regarding legislative leaders and members of your own

administration? >> transparency is the key today. we cannot continue to have secret programs. we have secret early release programs, secret pay houses, a secret tax increases. a secret deal with the state's largest public service union. why can these be on line? what can they know where the real spending cuts are? i will provide the transparency. we will put initiatives to put every bill owed online. it will be no secret deal of the expense of the people of illinois. >> everything is on line. i think he ought to take a look. >> are your bills online?

i'll let you talk. why did he let me talk. we have our boards and commissions for the you can come on line in see the boards and commissions. you can nominate yourself or someone else. we have an active campaign finance reform. a lot of these budget reforms in particular have been opposed by senator brady. i have led the efforts for years in illinois to in a conflict of interest. i collected 158 signatures in 1968. it is not good for the people of illinois. we need an honest governor to

make sure every day people come first without conflict of interest. >> three questions left and then closing remarks. pension and education keep coming up. . . back in 19676, we tried to eliminate double dipping in our state, i believe in petition passing and remp dumbs, that's why we have in on the ballot in illinois, a recall referendum for the people to enact into the constitution recalls for the first time in the history of our state. i got that on the ballot. i also believe in term limits. my career is -- my opponent is a career politicians.

he says he's for term limits but when we had petitions for this back in 1994, he wouldn't sign the petition. now he's been in springfield for 17 years. he says it's time to have term limits and i agree but over the last 16 years, he's refused to do so. i think you need somebody as governor who nod only -- not only says things but gets thing done. >> senator brady. >> you had a chance to recall four years ago but you decided to call governor blagojevich an honest man of integrity. where was that recall? and you talk about career politicians, as your 40 years in governing, how many years have you been involved in private sector? i initiated term lifments and called for term limits.

we need honesty and integ in government. double dipping is a real problem. you had nearly 20 months to pass legislation to remove the opportunity to double dip but you didn't do system of you left it alone. your own ethics commissioner, governor, you refuted what they wanted to do, including your lieutenant governor nominee. we need serious reforms when it comes to pentagons. i've often said the best model is to move forward like the private sector did, employee-owned contributions, there's no double dipping in those systems. double-dipping. >> we'll start with for this question about education. senator james meeks has a voucher bill pending in the legislature. it did not pass this year and it is directed to certain neighborhoods in the city of chicago on a trial basis. if this legislation were to be passed either this november or next spring, i'm not sure of the

mechanics of that, but if it were to be passed, and you were governor and it came to your desk, would you sign it, yes or no. >> this is clearly a difference between and myself. i believe in putting students first. i believe parents make the best choice in their child's education. we need to bring more choice, elevate the tax credit for private schools. i worked hard with reverend meeks to provide a voucher option in 20 of the worst performing school districts in the state. we passed it in the state in a bypartisan way and were ready to pass it in the house in a bypartisan way but caved to special -- governor quinn caved to special interests. i absolutely will move forward on school choice. >> i believe in public schools and that's what our constitution says. i've signed bills to increase the charters, double the charters for public charter schools but they're public

schools. we have to make sure our public schools in illinois are second to none. i don't want to lose a generation of children. i don't want any state to out-educate illinois. when all is said and done, it's about making sure we invest in education. i want to invest in education and i have the courage to go to the people of illinois and say we have need of more revenue for schools, so we don't have high property taxes, so we don't have overcrowded classrooms, so we have enough teachers accountable to get the job done for the students. my opponent wants to slash the education budget of our state by $1.26 billion that will cause havoc for the school children, cause a loss of thousands of jobs in illinois. jobs follow brain power, there's no other way. we must invest in education if we're going to be a strong state economically and every other way. >> final question, before we get to closing remarks.

for both of you, do you believe that debates like this one are important for the voters to learn your positions on issues? and if so, why is this debate this morning one of only three public debates to which you have agreed? >> i've agreed to about 10 debates. i hope my friend, senator brady, shows up at all the debates. we want to debate everywhere. i believe in the nixon-kennedy debates and they were good for the country. the douglas-lincoln debates were good foriour state and our country and that's the best way for most people to get the information they need about who will be their governor. my opponent says he's a homebuilder but who would buy a home from someone without seeing the blueprint. we've gone through this debate without seeing any specifics from senator brady about what he would do with the budget. i'm honest and direct. i've laid out our budget, we

need revenue for education. i'm going to fight hard for that. if i'm elected on november 2, we will get more money for our schools so we'll have a good state that's strong when it comes to jobs. >> you're honest and direct. your budget leaves us with a $2 to $3 billion surplus and still leaves $6 billion in unpaid bills according to your own numbers. i think debates are important. this is a great forum and we've had trouble getting governor quinn to debate in elmhurst and other places around the state. we'll have access to forums around this state because it's important that people know their choices when it comes to election. our state is struggling. we have deep problems in the state. we need to define the differences between governor quinn's kicking the can down the road and what i think is a blueprint for illinois. we've laid out the blueprint.

we said we have to trim state spending to our needs. we have to build revenues into our budget to pay back the backlog of unpaid bills so we don't bankrupt the state's deficit with debt that on the bs of the taxpayers. >> i want to ask all of us here to recognize the harwork -- hard work done by everyone who helped set up this debate. [applause] this activity, as you can see from the turnout, has been open to all members of the illinois community. if you are a member, it's great to have you back in the club house. if you are new to the union

league club, this is a terrific introduction to the kind of things we do. you will find a flier outside about an upcoming violence prevention panel taking place in october. i commend it to your attention and we hope you will attend that activity here or some of our other public programming. it's great to have you here with us this morning. now i'm going to ask the candidates, a test to see how honest they really are. which of you was supposed to go first in the closing round? correct. and you've got two minutes to do it. state senator bill brady. >> our state is struggling with difficulty with a cloud of corruption in front of us. there are two issues that are important. we've got to turn the page and provide a clean break from the secrecy of our government. governor quinn's administration has continued the secret release programs, secret pay raises,

secret tax increases, a secret deal with the state's largest public sector union. when we negotiated a bypartisan agreement on how we were going to maximize the use of mccormack place, we find that governor quinn accepts a large contribution from one of the unions opposing it and vetoes the legislation. thank goodness we overrode that veto and within three weeks we signed $1 billion from sales from mccormack place, enhancing economic viability. we also have a state that is deep in deficit and debt. you can believe in governor quinn's tax, borrow and spend policies will work to prosperity. i don't think so. the successful states in the nation realize that taxing, borrowing and spending doesn't equal prosperity. i would redefine government

without tax increases. ladies and gentlemen, the future of our state depends on this election. i'm here today to share my ideas with you and ask for your support as we move our state to the forefront of this economic recovery for our children and grandchildren. thank you and god bless you all. >> governor quinn? >> thank you for listening. i really appreciate everyone's attention. i think it's important to have a governor who doesn't make pie-in-the-sky promises but someone with a record of accomplishment, a record of doing things, a record, not of promising, but a record of getting the job done in the toughest time we've had in illinois. we had an integrity crisis, we've passed landmark ethics laws. my running mate, sheila simon, and i will enforce those ethics laws and make sure the people of illinois have an honest government. that's the kind of government the people want.

two governors before me, one's in jail, one's in court. we also believe in taking on budget problems honestly, not with a fake plan that doesn't involve balancing the budget, but will increase the budget deficit. what we have to have is a governor who can cut the budget as i have by over $3 billion but still maintain investment in education, healthcare, public safety and helping our veterans. and i think our veterans are a model to me. they work hard, they take on every challenge, they never complain, they understand it's all about the future. all of us as adults and parents, we have to make sacrifices today to help our kids' future. that's what america's all about. that's what illinois is all about. there will always be fast-talking politicians who tell you what they think you want to hear but don't tell you what you need to know.

i want to be a politician, governor of illinois, who tells the truth before and after the election. i've done that every day since i was sworn in on january 29 of this year. our economy is recovering, we have a long way to go. i understand how hard it is to get people back to work, but i've been doing it, one by one, day by day, getting people in illinois a job. yesterday, we saved 26,000 jobs for hard-working people in illinois, people who live from paycheck to paycheck. that's what i'm about, fighting for everyday people, consumers, taxpayers, workers, veterans. they need a governor with a heart that cares about them. i've done that and i'll roll up my sleeves today and every day as long as i'm economy to get to the mission of getting our economy back on track and making the will of the people the law of the land. >> ladies and gentlemen, let's show our appreciation for our candidates. >> 37 states are electing

governors this year. democrats currently hold 19 of those seats, republicans hold 18. you can learn more about those races by going online to c-span.org/politics. you'll find debates from the most competitive races for governor, as well as key contesters in u.s. senate and house. all of that and more is at c-span.org/politics. our coverage of campaign 2010 continues in just a few moments with a look at the democrats' strategy with florida representative debbie wasserman schultz. in about 40 minutes, it's a debate between new hampshire's sec house district candidates, former republican congressman charlie bass and democrat ann mcclain-custer. after that, the debate in connecticut between the candidates for governor, republican tom foley and democrat dan malloy.

on washington journal tomorrow morning, the senior editor of "slate" magazine dahla lithwic discusses the number of vacancies in the federal court. we'll discuss defense spending with representative rob wittman and we'll look at the upcoming elections with bob cusack of the hill. "washington journal" is live on c-span every day at 7:00 a.m. eastern. >> hey, middle and high school students, enter c-span's video cam documentary competition. make a five to eight-minute video on this year's theme, washington through my lens. address a topic or event and down load your video to c-span by december 11 -- by january 20,

2011 for a grand prize of $5,000. it's open to all students, grades six through 12. for more details go online to studentcam.org. >> up next, a look at the democrats' election strategy with florida representative debbie wasserman schultz, vice chair of the democratic national committee and chief house deputy whip. this is 40 minutes. journal" continues. host: we welcome back to the table representative debbie wasserman schultz, democrat of florida. a few weeks before the midterm elections, it is getting busy. you are in town to do what? guest: doing some meetings and trying to pump some folks up for the election. it got a lot of polls out. gop retains edge --

host: gop retains edge as elections near. democrats cut the lead but it still shows republicans have a six-point lead on who they faber. guest: that is the generic ballot. which is what we all need to understand and remember is that generic members of congress are not on the ballot. you have real human beings who have been serving their districts and working hard. i am confident democrats will hold the majority because this election is really a choice. a choice between the policies of the past, backsliding toward the bush era focusing once again on tax breaks for the wealthiest you as opposed to small businesses and middle-class folks or focusing on deficit reduction and making sure that we don't spend ourselves into oblivion and drive the economy over the cliff. they have repeatedly said that they want to return to the exact same agenda.

so, our members are talking about that and have been serving the district's wealth. host: you predict the house will stay in democratic hands. as vice chair of the democratic national committee, you must have access to the numbers. what is your prediction? what is your prediction of how it looks? what do you see as your majority? guest: clearly, as any majority party after the presidential election, faces an uphill climb. you later on that the fact that people are still struggling. that we are fighting our way through a recovery that is lower than people would like. definitely facing an uphill climb and i think democrats will definitely lose seats. the republicans need to win 39 seats, but probably need 45 or 46 seats because we have seats that we will take from them. i think we will shrink back closer to the 2006 majority. that was around 16 seats, giver take a few. i think we will probably be a

round that point. host: in the gallup poll, from page of "usa today." gop voters are more fired up, they have a huge enthusiasm advantage, republicans do, heading into november. representative john boehner was on hand until last night and he said democrats and not going to show up because they feel betrayed. guest: i think the leader is engaged in quite a bit wistful thinking. that is what he said leading up to our victory in pennsylvania 12 paired the same kind of polling predicted the press democrat enthusiasm. and republicans would supposedly take back the seat for the republicans. we beat them by eight points. even going into 8:00 that election night he was still predicting a victory for their candidate and it didn't happen. because we have a ground and field operation that is second to none. we know how to turn out voters.