when you're looking at a leader not just to talk about being the governor of a the whole state but someone who has been the treasurer of the whole state and wants to be the governor of the whole state. >> thank you. >> thanks to the panelists and everyone for turning in. i did not cause the economic collapse but nobody is working harder to get out of it. that's why we're investing in education and innovation and the infrastructure. .

>> make it count and get out on

november 2, get out and about. thank you and good night from chicopee. [applause] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2010] >> there are debates every night read up until election day. there are archived debates on the cspan video library. follow the cspan election coverage right through election day. we will have live coverage of the pennsylvania senate candidates on cspan tonight at 7:00 eastern. in a poll yesterday, the democratic rep led the republican rep.

this race could be a tossup. on saturday at 8:00 p.m. eastern, live coverage of the debate between senate candidates in colorado. the democratic incumbent and the republican challenger. this race is also rated a toss up. up next, a debate between the new mexico candidates for governor. the lieutenant governor and the republican. "washington journal" is live in one hour with segments on issues involving taxes and spending, voters, and inspection into the gulf oil spill. this week on "q &a," on the

roles that run parliament and congress sunday night on "q &a". the new mexico candidates for government are the democratic lt. gov and the republican challenger. the incumbent is finishing her second term as the first female lieutenant governor in new mexico. her challenger is the first hispanic woman nominated by a major party for governor. this race is rated a toss up. >> now, a kob gubernatorial debate. >> thank you for joining us tonight. kob is proud to present the last televised debate for the governor of new mexico. >> this race is historic and one of these candidates will make history by becoming the first

woman governor of new mexico. >> now to the candidate. the democrat die end dennis is currently the lieutenant governor since 2002. susanna martinez is the district attorney. >> let's go over the rules. each candidate will have up to one minute and 45 seconds to make an opening statement. each candidate will also have two minutes for closing statements. >> you will also have two minutes to answer each question. you will each be given a one minute rebuttal if necessary. >> in order to assure fairness, we do names. ms. martinez, you will add to the first question. >> you can begin with your opening statement. >>

my family struggled paycheck to paycheck in a neighborhood that was very simple. my mom worked in an office all her life. my mom and dad worked to make ends meet. my dad was a deputy sheriff and my mom worked in an office and then my parents started a business which frightened me completely. i knew how little we had in the bank. however, my mom and dad to gather -- together pulled together a business or i was one of my dad's first security guards preyed we expended that business and my parents continued after went to law school ingres that business over -- to over 125 employees. when i graduated, i had to beg a decision whether i was going to become a private attorney, corporate attorney, or a prosecutor and a judge to be a prosecutor because i want to be the voice of the most abominable

around us, our children and people who were victims of crime. that was important to make our i became a public servant. i worked very hard on delivering results. my opponent has asked you to void the last eight years of her record. i will ask you to focus in on that record. what is important to everyone is what you have done the last eight years. that is a great predictor of what you can do the next 40 years. i ask for your support by the end of the degree that asked to earn that. i hope you listen carefully and vote for me on november 2. >> ms. dennis it is now your turn. >> these elections are more important when times are tough like they are now. those of you who are watching us tonight on this debate, you are worried about your family. i am right there with you.

frequently, my granddaughter says to me that she wants to grow up and be an artist. i hope she is. her master's thesis are on the refrigerator and all of my house. every child has a tremendous up to us to help them get there. sometimes that simple point it's lost in these elections. you see all those negative ads and the clutter and the noise. it is so easy to forget what this election is really about. it is about you and your family and who will help you get ahead. on that point, the choice is very clear. i have spent a lifetime fighting for new mexico families. first as a young single mother with my own small business and then for all mexico families as lieutenant governor. my opponent has a different agenda. listen very carefully. she says she will cut money from public schools. she will let big corporations

roll over our family and pollute our water and land. that is not what we need in new mexico. as governor, i will put new mexico families first every single day. i will fight the predatory lenders. i will fight against the insurance companies and anybody who takes advantage of our families. times are tough and new mexico deserves a governor that will be on their side. if i have not heard your but, i hope to learn it tonight, thank you. >> time for the questions. each of you just spoke briefly about yourselves. let's face it, most new mexicans know that you're commercials which are negative attacks and your opponent. as a voter, i don't know -- i want to know what her daughter can't do. i want it -- that want to know what you as governor will do. without attacking your pot, tell us why you are the best candidate for governor and how you would lead. >>-the best candidate because i

have always focused my career on results. i want to make sure that everything i worked for is in delivering results for those who need it. i have handled some of the worst cases this case -- this state has ever seen. i work hard for those who cannot speak for themselves in the courtroom. i have had cases that were horrific. there was a baby who was raped and murdered. it was important for me to be successful in that case but to take it beyond that case and go forward with laws that would protect other children in our state. that is what i bring to new mexicans here in new mexico. i hope to earn your support because i deliver results, fight very hard for those who cannot fight for themselves, and i definitely want to make a difference in people's lives as i had for the last 24 years of my career. a want to fight for you and your family and i want to turn you

mexico around and make sure that we fight in a way that educate our children, brings back the jobs we need to bring back what we have lost, i want to make this a competitive environment in the state of new mexico said that we can keep the business of we have and make sure we bring back those that we have lost. we have to be more competitive. i have no doubt that together we can take back our state. it is our state and together we can make the difference that is possible and we can be competitive with it harrowed region and nationally. >> ms dennis. >> you have 12 minutes to answer the question. >> i in a job creator. i brought a family of small business owners. they taught me how to open my own business and i did it and i created jobs. for 12 years, i ran my own small business. when you go to elected office, you could only take a few things of you and one thing i took with

me was my experience of a small- business owner. as a lieutenant governor, i traveled around the state talking to new mexico business owners and asked what they need. they said we need to access capital. they need credit and they don't have a collateral. they need money to get their businesses started and to live their dream. i work across the aisles with republicans and democrats and we created a micro-loan program that today has 2000 success stories across new mexico. you can go to the south valley of albuquerque and talked to carl who owns a small mobile home park business. he says without our micro loan program, he would not be in business today. we need to do more of that. as governor, i propose that we have a $2,500 tax credit for small businesses so that they can go out and hire somebody in

their community. that means more money circulating in your community. --'s get community banks let's give community banks some of the new mexico's money so they can invest in their communities and small businesses. there is one job crater in this race and i am that job create corporate i am the best candidate to be your governor this year. >> we made history with 4 minutes of the candidates not attacking each other. would you like to add anything? >> we have had a crisis in new mexico that has cost us an awful lot of jobs. we have lost over 55,000 jobs. we cannot afford to lose another job. we have expanded the growth of state government by over $2 billion. we cannot continue on this path. it is about attitude and making sure we are making the

difference is every day in state government, cutting back on spending, making sure we bring it down to where the population and inflation justifies it, and make sure we make mexico more competitive by getting rid of job-killing taxes. we have lost businesses to colorado, texas, oklahoma and i am committed to creating an environment in new mexico for jobs to be created because government does not create jobs. we can do this together. we can cut back spending and make sure we have a positive environment every day here in new mexico. >> on that positive note, she is right. government does not create jobs. the private sector creates jobs. i have been a private sector job creation or. my family has been in new mexico for 80 years creating jobs, are people in their communities, some have worked for them for 40 years or 50 years because we were small business employers

who took care of our employees who made it possible for them to have a good life in their community. i am a job creator and i know how to do it. let's get into our communities and give tax breaks to small businesses. let's put businesses in community banks and let's make sure that we are cutting the red tape and giving our small businesses a one-stop technology shop to get their licenses, permits, tax forms. i am the only job creator in this race and want to get out there and create more jobs for new mexico, thank you. >> new mexico has some serious money problems right now. in fact, the latest projection that came out yesterday show a $260 million shortfall for the next fiscal year that you will have to deal with, one of you. both of you have said that if elected you will not raise taxes and you won't cut education or medicaid. how are you going to pay the bills?

>> new mexico is part of a global economic crisis. families across new mexico are tightening their belts and state government needs to do the same period a few months ago, i put out a 36 point plan that said we can take $450 million over five years. $90 million per year. here are a few of the points. first of all, we can't cut the paid political appointees. -- we can cut the paid political appointees. we have better technology and better use of technology. we have and have a well as plan to keep their health premiums level or make them go down. we can get rid of some cabinet secretaries and yes i can cut so we don't need a personal chef at the. june. every single year i came in

under budget i returned $300,000 to the state budget. my philosophy is spent what you need, give back what you don't need for other priorities. my opponent has a different philosophy. her budget has grown by 70% and 160% since she has been in office and she never gives any money back. she spends hundreds of thousands of dollars of luxury cars. one is her luxury car that she tried to and from work and you pay for the guest. one other thing we can do to close the gap is we can close that tax loopholes and out of state corporations to pay nothing on their profits. those out of state corporations have an unfair advantage in new mexico. they caused our families and businesses $70 million. taxs close that corporate

loopholes. my opponent says she will not do that . >> this may be the most pressing question in the state. how will you pay the bills if you will not raise taxes or cut education or medicaid? >> what is most important is that we have a zero growth budget. the stake arabic cannot afford to continue to grow the state budget at the rate -- the state budget cannot afford to -- the state cannot afford to continue to grow the state budget at this same right. we need to cut back on spending. when you talk about tax loopholes for out-of-state corporations, that is another word for increasing taxes. you and i have made a commitment not to raise taxes. to close a loophole, that is what you are doing is raising taxes. we cannot afford to do that if we are going to improve economically in the state of new mexico. we have to get rid of the executive positions that have gone as high as 600 positions

many of which are over $100,000 salaries. if we cut back those positions close to what we had during the johnson administration, we could save $10 million. that should have been done long ago under this administration and it did not take place. you talk about the economy being a global economy that has impacted new mexico. it has been made it worse in new mexico by the excess of spending that this administration has taken and because of the job killing taxes that have been imposed in the last session. $170 million in additional taxes have been imposed on new mexico families. that is unacceptable. we have to make sure that we take care of business. in my office, the priority is keeping people in my community safe. that is why my budget has grown. i have to make sure that have by law enforcement that is available to take care of prosecuting and investigating cases. i have the prosecutors in the

courtroom because we have had a rise in crime. the murders in our community one year when up over 130%. tell me, which police officers should i let go? which prosecutors should handle those cases to cut my budget back? >> the solution to our budget problem is job creation. just today, freeport was proud to announce they will bring c ochino mine back. my opponent's numbers do not add up. she says she will cut new mexico's budget by 50%. medicaid and education are 70% of our budget. that will not work. those numbers don't add up. she cannot cut that budget 50% and not cut money to our public schools and not cut critical

services to mexico families. the real solution to our budget problems is to put a job creator in the governor's office. i am that job creator. sure whatlly not commercial or debate or what forum you have been watching that i would cut government by 50%. what i have said is at the richardson government has grown government by over 50% which was not justified by the population and inflation. there needs to be cuts and there is room to cut because we have grown beyond that which is necessary. i have never said we would cut government spending by 50%. that is irrational. i would never take monies from the public schools. i have a public commitment. you say i will ask for vouchers and let me be very clear -- that is not my intent.

my intent is to make sure that public schools have a full commitment. we want them to have a world- class education. that is my focus and i know we can do it. >> we will have more time later to talk about education but we want to get back to jobs. it is easy to talk about creating jobs. it is harder to actually do that. what is your plan to get new mexicans back to work? >> my focus has always been on small businesses and my attitude is government does not create jobs. the fact that diane and dennis has not been a job creator is not really the focus. the focus is this -- what government does is create a positive environment for jobs to be created. corruption kills jobs. nothing more than a big and

corrupt government will impact the ability for jobs to want to come here. we have to tackle corruption and quickly. we have no time to waste. in 2006, the richardson administration said they would take on and they have not done enough. businesses don't want to come to new mexico if it is unpredictable. that is what we have. people are getting shaken down for these in order to do business in new mexico. that is unacceptable. we have to phase out the taxes. we have 158 suburbs that -- services in the state of new mexico that are taxed. only six states in the nation? over 100. we are not competitive in the country much less or reasonably. regionally. we cannot afford the tax is any more. we have to cut back on spending such as selling the $5.5 million jet that the legislature recommended against purchasing.

we cannot go around spending money, tax dollars as though it is theirs. when johnson left this administration, the budget was $3.8 million. today it is $5.8 billion. we have actually overspend what is necessary. there were $360 million in surplus. that is gone plus an additional $260 million of deficit. having a job creator as a second-in-command has not gotten as anywhere in creating jobs in the state of new mexico. >> you have talked about jobs a lot but how would you specifically put new mexicans back to work? >> a started out saying that is the reason i should the governor because i am a job creator. this is about our jobs for our families and their economic security. i would reinvest in the micro- loan program to make sure we can still give the smallest mom-and- pop shops, the dry cleaner, the

opportunity to work for themselves and to live their dream. given -- give them the tax credit for hiring one person, $2,500, cut the red tape. invest in community banks, that is what i would do. i would invest in innovation, the new green energy economy. in new mexico, we are on the press that this of being able to have a green energy economy in solar, wind, geothermal and people going back to school, they can get trained and retrained. we have money for training and retraining so people can go out and take those jobs. there is something else we can do to make our families economically secure. my opponent will not do it and that is we can say no to predatory lenders, the people who take advantage to our families of the mexico and charged $600 -- 600% or more interest. those people are hard at work in

new mexico taking advantage of someone who needs a mortgage payment and ends up paying five times the cost of the loan. i know that because i brought along with me tonight this invitation by a predatory lender lobbyist. they hosted my opponent and here is what they said," diane dennis is out to end predatory lender but ms. martinez says she will be on the side of predatory lenders." >> would you like to respond? >> i would like to respond and say that the private sector is what creates jobs. it would let the private sector do what they do best and let government get out of the way, they can certainly start to expand and invest in their businesses and make sure they are creating an environment that the government has created in order for them to develop

another job. the jobs they create, people go out and buy groceries, clothing, a home, cars. they spend money because they are earning money. people in new mexico want to work hard. the rules in this simple debate are that we are not supposed to bring any to this table from the outside. the rules don't apply to you because you brought something year to the table that was not allowed. instead, you want to make a point of view brought something that was not fair. that is what i want the people listening had come to understand that you are not willing to follow the rules. i want to make it a point that i do. i intend to fight for you every day and i will follow those rules and take on the corruption where necessary. >> there you have it. she will stay on the side of those predatory lenders. i am glad they got my message. i will put them out of business. she will let them continue to take advantage of new mexico

families. not only that, she will roll back all those roles that let them take advantage of new mexico families so they can continue to charge a widow trying to get a second mortgage on her house at 1000% interest. she ends up losing her home and away. susanna martinez has made it clear that she is on the side of the big out-of-state corporations, the people that take advantage of our families. i am proud. i have been a fighter for the mexico families all my life and will continue to fight for a new mexico families. >> we will take a quick timeout. >> we will be back in three minutes with more of their answers on the issues that are key to you the voter on -- in this election. stay with us. >welcome back. we have received more e-mails

and comments about cuts to state-funded today care than just about any other issue. some families in mexico say state funding cut, they would have to stay on to take care of their kids'. >> some say that the state should not subsidize day care at all. what did the government role be in this case? >> first of all, i was one of the first ones to speak out when they said they would cut day care in new mexico. when a family or a single mother loses their day care, they cannot go to work, they lose their jobs. under the johnson administration, he cut day care subsidies to the bare bones. in our administration, i have worked hard to get that back up so people -- so families can get back to work and take care of their families. the real solution is to make sure that we resolve our budget crisis in new mexico.

we need to tighten our belt and said new mexico money and change our priorities. we make sure we are cutting back on those high-paid political appointees and do the things we need to do to give the families the services they need. in new mexico, families are struggling. government has a role to help them get out of that struggle. the first rule i have is to make sure that we are creating jobs and then to make sure our families can actually go to work and then when they need help, make sure they have access to day care subsidies so their kids can be taking care of in a safe, warm environment with quality care. as a lieutenant governor, i made it possible for 17,000 kids to go to 4-year-old pre-k in new mexico.

their parents know they are inequality and firemen. i want families to go to work in new mexico. we need to create jobs. we give them opportunities to go to work and give them those quality education opportunities. >> i think subsidizing child care is a temporary solution we have to get new mexicans back to work. sometimes they cannot get a full-time job at a salary that allows them to pay for child care. sometimes we have single moms out there that did not get child support and they need assistance. it is meant to be a temporary fix. we have to give those children the best care possible. we also have to make sure we tightened the state budget in a way that allows us to provide a better environment for jobs to be created. under this administration, one month or so ago, they purchased

a wild horse rescue ranch for almost $3 million. instead of giving that money and putting it toward the day care system, instead of allowing those parents to continue their jobs. we don't want people out of work and become part of a welfare system that is a permanent way of life. we want to give them a hand up but not a way of life with assistance from state government parent we have solutions that are being provided to today by the rigid and administration that are eight years too late. where were they when families were tightening their belts two and three years ago. ? for the first time, we are talking about cutting exemptions and tightening our belts. we needed to talk about this long ago. this crisis took place because priorities were not being sent by the richardson administration. money was being sent and government was growing.

when there was a surplus, it was being spent. we did not have priorities in line and one of those making sure our children are taken care of and that allows parents to go to work. if we tighten our belts and do it immediately and we don't just do it when we think it is important. >> let's be clear -- nobody bought a horse ranch. the reason we did not is the board of finance spoke up. i spoke up and we had to have other priorities. families are struggling and i've always given money back from my budget to make sure it can be spent on other priorities. we did not give any money -- she did not give any money back on luxury cars. the real issue is she wants to talk about the past because she wants to cut new mexico budget by 50%. one of the first things to go will be critical services like

child care for our families. it will be money to our public schools. that is what will happen under susanna martinez. she will cut the budget by 50% and you won't have child care anymore. >> i am not sure where you are getting this 50% cut. you must be making it up. i want to talk about the past because there is no greater predictor of the future that your past record i have deliver. result for people in my community who do not have a voice in the courtroom. i have taken a beyond the courtroom and make sure i have fought for those families in changing block. you want a promotion and you can i get a promotion, as you talk about the last eight years there is no greater predictor of how you will govern accept for the last eight years where you sat by silently we had one of the

largest governments and the most corrupt one in the country and new mexicans don't deserve that. we have a beautiful state with great people and we deserve better. we can turn this around we can pull this together and make sure we change the reputation we have had recently and make a difference. >> new mexico ranks 49th in the nation when it comes to education. that is one point away from the bottom. you don't seem to have any money to throw at the situation. if you could not spend $1 more in education, what are your innovative ideas to turn things around? >> in this administration, we have measure success by how much money is being spent in the education system. that is not acceptable. want to focus on results. we are not only for the night in

education, 80% of our children in the fourth grade don't read proficiently. a commitment that you made as part of your chairmanship of the children's cabot was that all children in the third grade would read proficiently. obviously, you have failed. we cannot allow nearly 40% of our children to continue to drop out. children who were in the fifth grade in 2003 when you took office are now seniors. we have lost 40% of those children because they have dropped out. that is unacceptable. my plan is to move 4 cents of every education dollar from the bureaucracy into the classroom. currently, only 61 cents of every education delegates to the classroom. when we move that money, we increase the budget for the classroom by $74 million and that is without raising taxes one dime. then we start measuring the

progress of the children every year throughout the year and start focusing on the kids that are challenged and the kids that are struggling, giving awards to the teachers that are doing well. that is where we need to place our focus. we have to make sure that we are giving kids an opportunity to change the curriculum for teachers to change the curriculum so they could start to progress throughout the year. we can focus after care programs, tutoring programs and move them from an elective and put them into class is that bring them up to speed. it is very simple -- money does not define the progress of our schools. we have to make sure we are holding everyone accountable so we can educate our kids the best way possible. >> ms. dennis, you have two minutes, fix education without spending more money. >> she will cut the state budget

by 50% t? she thinks a lieutenant governor makes all the decisions. they will cut the public budget by 50%. her plan is she will take money out of public schools and put it into a wealthy private schools. she will take money out of public schools and put into wealthy private schools. this is my plan. we need to fully fund public education. we need to put money into trading and fund early childhood education and make sure we have resources in our classroom. what can we do that is low cost? we can make sure that we transform the middle school and high-school experience in a way that is meaningful to our students. how do we do that? we have a partnership with communities schools like they do in loving, new mexico where the

construction industries and the school have a partnership with the finance community. they build affordable housing for their schools. what does that do? that gives those kids a meaningful, hands-on experience. they learn about working, they learn the finances of selling a house, they learn how to design a house and they learn how to build a house. that is the kind of education we need to give young people. we need to give every child the best start they can get. as lieutenant governor, this is what i have done by put a focus and early childhood education. 17,004-year olds across our state are performing on average 24% better than any other 4- year-old who don't go to pre-k. >> we have actually increased the education budget by $728

million. the richardson-dennis administration thought that would fix the eggs. things. our kids are not graduate. you cannot still throw money into a program that is not working. let me be very clear -- i have no intention of taking any money out of the public education system and placing it in private schools. i have said this many times. we have to focus on results. our the kids learning? we have to measure that throughout the year. that is my plan, focus on results of the children. you are beholden to the special interest groups and we can of except that. our kids are the ones who lose out. >> you have one minute. >> if our kids are a special

interest group, you are darn right that i am beholden to them. in 2003, she likes to say that we put that money in. new mexicans but that money into public education. i stood proudly with of the governor and we went to the voters and they said they want to invest more money in public education. they want teacher salaries to be raised by 6%. somebody did not vote in that election and that was susanna martinez bridge she did not even go downstairs in the county courthouse and vote for increasing one way or another bridge she did not care enough in 2003 to vote on public school funding and what would mean to new mexico. you bet, i will be beholden to that special interest group, our children and their families. i will give kids the quality education they deserve, investing in early childhood,

and making a meaningful high- school experience of they have the opportunity to go to college, have a career, or go to the military. >> next question, what is your opponents said about you that has bothered you the most? this is your chance to set the record straight. ms. dennis, we start with you. >> we all know that ms. martinez has been running a smear ads against my family. she has been called out from fact checking organizations and they say those ads are false. they are false. i can be clear -- my husband and i are small-business owners and we have been job creators in new mexico. the reason she runs these samir adzes because it does not want to know something. she is on the side of the big corporations. her plan is to roll back the regulations that keep big corporations accountable. she will let those out of state

corporations take advantage of that tax loopholes or our families and our businesses have to pay the difference, about $70 million. she will take money out of public education. all spring, she went across the state supporting vouchers. that means that the actors take money out of new mexico and -- out of the new mexico treasury and put it into public schools and then became tax credits, they take money out of the new mexico treasury and put it into wealthy private schools. there is a reason she runs those proven false ads. >> there was to add that called

me names. i employed in spanish -- i am fluent in spanish. the albuquerque journal said it was in insidious and possibly even race-baiting. i don't believe that kind of ad has any place in new mexico. for the first time, republicans and democrats and tea party patriots and independents have to pull together to make a difference in new mexico so that we can pull together to get us out of the mass of the richardson-dennis administration. i am in favor of small businesses. the money that he has paid for comes to your house called and

your administration is the administration that makes the decisions that have given out one of the largest tax breaks in the state of new mexico. half a billion dollars. your husband is receiving funding and that money going to your household is not a conflict of interest? your administration gave those tax breaks to the hunt corporation. >> my opponent took the single largest contribution in new

mexico history from bob perry a big friend of karl rove. he is the architect of this country's failing economy. we found out that bob perry has given $7 million to the karl rove pac and he is the single largest contributor to the susanna martinez campaign very she was born in texas. she took texas money. she has texas-style politics and she has texas policy. that is bad for mexico. >> i have spent time fighting for my community. i don't have personal wealth. i am not able to put the kind of money into an account for me to run for governor. however, i am not beholden to

anyone. who has avant -- ever given a contribution this is the reason why so many of these positions have grown. they are nothing but political patronage positions. i will tell you that i have taken that to a nation and i owe him nothing and he owes me nothing. i will not make a single decision based on contributions. that is the way i have done business. i have run for office four different times and i've never made a political decision running my office because i know the importance of making a decision that is fair especially in prosecution. >> smart leaders pay attention to history. we can learn from it. >> looking back last eight years, what do you but think the richardson administration has done right and what did you think it has done wrong? >> the administration has raised

taxes because we are ranked 13 in the nation in total taxes paid by individuals per capita in this state. that does not make us competitive. common words in households throughout this state and country is corruption. i have a plan. my plan is to tackle that corruption and make sure that we make at the crime it is. we should not create a commission where politicians will watch politicians who have been appointed by other politicians. what we need to do is to treat this like the crime it is and make sure there is mandatory punishment which means present. if you're going to violate the public trust, you need to be held accountable for violating that public trust and you need to go to prison.

that is my plan. we don't want to allow any lobbyists to hold positions two years after having left state government. if they do that, we cannot have a trust. we have to make sure they are not making this isn't that impact personal lives later as lobbyists and allow them to earn money and take it home to their families where they are not keeping the public first. that is what is most important is making decisions best for the people of new mexico. this administration has forgotten that long ago. it is embarrassing to see and hear because mexico is a wonderful place. there is nothing worse than a big and corrupt government. we will turn that around. we will take it on and tackle that head-on and make sure the proper authorities are brought in and make sure we lose that were pay-to-play.

>> the richardson administration under bill richardson we lower personal income tax, capital gains tax, and we took the tax off food and medicine. that amounts to $400 million per year and lower taxes. secondly, we put education first. 6% salary increases for teachers in new mexico. we fought hard to make sure that our teachers are getting fairly paid. we also began to put the building blocks in place for the new emerging industries in new mexico. those industries are the solar, wind, biomass, geothermal. we have a reputation in the industry to do it all. our old industries can stand shoulder to shoulder with the new emerging industries in new mexico. we need to invest in those industries.

we invested in the film industry. 12,000 kids are going to school to learn to be part of that industry. that is what matters. here is something that went wrong. three years ago, there was a poll that said we need an independent ethics commission. i will not wait for the legislature. it is shameful that they have not passed an independent ethics commission. i will have an independent at this commission that had teeth and can request subpoenas from the district court. you'll know that if you launch a serious complaint that it will be investigated. it will be looked into. i don't think susanna martinez supports that. it will not be independent because state police are under the control of the governor.

she wants to control an ethics commission. i don't. >> we have continued to see that corruption is taking placebrian colon just received a $4 million contract after being elected as the for lieutenant governor. he received this contract from the richardson-dennis administration. the corruption is a major and impacts everything we do in this state from mary, to the money not available for education, to making new mexico on attractive for businesses to come and stay. i cannot imagine making a serious complaint that there was such a conflict of interest and some politician on a political

committee or commission will look at the way they should. the best place for corruption to be taken on as by the attorney- general office if we have a strong attorney general. >> it is clear to me that my opponent does not think much of what happened in the richardson administration. we fought hard to lower your taxes and put more money in your pocket. i think she wants us to think that we are hiring a prosecutor. you are hiring a governor. it's getting rid of corruption is important, i will have an independent ethics commission and they will be able to investigate those serious complaints. let's be clear -- you cannot prosecute your way to prosperity. this is a race about job creation getting rid of corruption is important, but

this is a race about job creation and our families' economic security and that is what i will concentrate on i will put that independent ethics commission to work. i will then be focused on you and your families. >> it is time to wrap things up. each of the candidates will have two minutes for closing statements. >> thank you for giving us this opportunity to visit with you. we have a big choice to be made november 2. you can make those choices now by going to the polls and voting early. we have to turn a new mexico around and make it more prosperous than we have seen in the last eight years. we can either get a promotion to someone who does not want to talk about the last eight years and how terribly we have failed or someone who has delivered results to those in my community and i give you my word that i will fight long and hard to deliver those very same results

for the state of new mexico. i have always argued about job creation. i finally gave up and said maybe die and for its jobs but they are being created in texas and colorado and oklahoma but they are not being treated here in oklahoma. you have had eight years to create those jobs. instead, we have lost 55,000 jobs in new mexico and we cannot afford to lose one more. we can take back our state and turn it around for our kids to make sure we are not exporting our graduating kids. we have to make sure small businesses which are the backbone of the job creation in new mexico focused on making sure these out of state corporations are not being led by lobbyists who have an inside track to the administration. level the playing field for everyone so that at the end of the day, the winners are all new

mexican kids and small businesses and they need to stay here and bring their families here and develop jobs and invest in their companies. at the end of the day, i can deliver those results and i thank you for being here and i appreciate your time and attention, good night. >> thank you for this debate. the stakes are high and i am not talking about for me or suzanne perry the stakes are high for you and your families. no one is satisfied with the status quo. we are mad at washington, met wall street, mad at santa fe. think over the next 12 days about what is truly best for you and your family. my opponent has a lot of flashy advertising about taking a mexico back. what does it really mean? she wants to cut public education. she wants to let the out of state corporations pay less so

we pay more. she was to roll back of the rules so that our water and land is polluted. that is not the kind of new mexico we want for our children. my grandparents came here almost 100 years ago. one became a teacher and the other a small-business owner and the work hard to raise their families. who will give my children a better opportunity? well i have a better opportunity? the answer has to be yes. susanna martinez wants this race to be about the past, not about the future she wanted to be about what has gone wrong, not what is going well in new mexico. she wants this campaign to be about the current governor, not the next governor. you are smarter than that.

i may work force and i will be a work force for new mexico families. i love new mexico, our people, our culture, and our traditions. this is my home and i would be honored beyond words to be your next. governor some of you may have already voted for me early and i am grateful i hope you will vote for me on november 2. thank you and god bless you >> we want to thank our candidates and you. >> one week from tonight, the candidates in the first congressional district will be here to debate. we will be live in our studio next thursday at 7:30 p.m.. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2010] journal" ishington next. our coverage of campaign 2010 continues tonight with the

second and final televised debate between pennsylvania's senate candidates. that is live at 7:00 p.m. eastern. at 8:00 eastern, a profile of the had about 10:00 p.m. eastern the final debate between the u.s. senate candidates in wisconsin democratic senator russ feingold and republican johnson. and we will get of ballot measures and we will be joined by the cochairs of the national