really call out the representatives on this for this a sick live it keeps getting passed around. thank you. thank you for giving the background to these speakers, looking at moveon.org, they attack on the. i remember saying that george soros was a major component of moveon.org. i want more it's very unfair. i want more background and people giving their background, whether they are democratic, liberal, or conservative. everybody must give their background and who is funding them. >> continue to let us know what to think about the programs you are watching. call or e-mail. .r you can send us a tweet join the c-span conversation.

like us on facebook. follow us on twitter. now, friday's wisconsin governors debate between incumbent governor scott walker and democratic challenger mary burke. this is the first of two debates in this race, which the cook political report and rothenberg political report list as a tossup. this is just under an hour. >> from the mayo clinic health system auditorium in eau claire, the wisconsin broadcasters association 2014 the editorial debate, sponsored by the wisconsin association of independent colleges and universities, and aarp wisconsin. now, the ceo of the foundation, michelle vetterkind. broadcasters are committed to continuing our broadcast tradition by sponsoring debates in major wisconsin political campaigns.

this year, the wisconsin broadcasters association is hosting 2 statewide beginningial debates, with tonight. this evening's debate will engage the leading candidates for wisconsin governor, republican governor scott walker and democratic candidate mary burke. this debate is made possible in part through generous grants from the wisconsin association of independent colleges and universities, and aarp of wisconsin. i would like to introduce the moderator for the debate, a longtime wisconsin broadcaster , member of the wba hall of fame, and senior faculty member at the winter institute, jill geisler. choices.e informed we encourage the candidates to share specifics about how they plan to govern. this is tonight's format. each candidate will present a two-minute opening statement. the order was chosen by coin flip.

after that we turn to the panel for questions. each candidate will have one minute and 30 seconds to respond followed by 30 second rebuttals. we will alternate the order. candidates have opportunities for the first and last word. burke, candidate governor walker, i encourage you to provide responses that are detailed and stay on topic. if you change the subject, we may restate the question and give you an additional 30 seconds for a focused reply. i also asked you to be faithful to the time limit you agreed to. there is a countdown clock visible to both of you, and i will respectfully remind you if you exceed your time. should you persist -- i do not think you will -- i would invoke the state motto by saying it is time to move forward, and your

microphone will go silent. i do not expect we will need to do that. we will conclude with three-minute statements from each candidate. finally, there is a balanced audience of invited guests tonight, and they have promised to hold applause until the end of the broadcast. with that, let us begin with opening statements, and by coin flip, we begin with ms. burke. >> thank you to the broadcast association and everyone viewing tonight. it's my honor to be here. i am running for governor to focus on what works for you and your family. i am a fourth-generation wisconsinite. my great grandparents were farmers. my grandpa george was a mailman who used to deliver the mail to the house i live in today. every day i am reminded of my deep wisconsin roots in the values i was brought up on. one of those values is that everyone deserves a fair shot to get ahead if they are willing to put in the hard work. unfortunately, for too many,

that opportunity is getting further and further out of reach. four years ago, governor walker promised us 250,000 jobs. that is a broken promise. we're not even close. we are dead last in the midwest in terms of job creation. his approach is not working. the typical wisconsin family has seen real income drop nearly $3000 in the last four years. $3000. governor walker cut taxes for those on the top while raising them for working families and making the biggest cuts to education in the country. as a businessperson who helped create good paying jobs in wisconsin, i know how to do this. first, we will invest in education, not cut it. second, stop the tax breaks for the wealthy and focus on small businesses. -- focus on the middle class and small businesses. third, reduce the cost of college. i know the economy is not better until it is better for you, and i know we can do better. a lot better. wisconsin has everything that it

takes, but we have to focus, -- focus on what works, put the politics aside, bring people together, and use the best ideas. it is time for a new approach and new leadership, and tonight, i look forward to sharing my plans for a wisconsin that works for everyone. thank you. >> governor walker? >> thank you to the broadcasters association and the moderator and panelists. thank you to my opponent for joining us. and thanks to all of you, it is great to be back in eau claire. it is particularly nice to have my wife with me tonight as well. and thank you all of you at home for turning in for what i hope is an honest discussion about the future of the great state. i love wisconsin. but in 2010, when i was traveling the state, software -- i saw firsthand the effect of losing 130,000 jobs. i saw the effect it had on people. people like sandy, who took a pay cut to keep a job, and later

lost that job. people like michael, who, after 20 years working as a press it -- ended up seeing his company downsize them out of a job. these are real people with real families and communities all across the state. i decided then and there that i would aim high, set a big goal of 250,000 jobs. we have come a long way, but we are not done yet. we went from losing 133,000 jobs in the four years before i took office to gaining more than 100,000 jobs since. we rank third in the midwest for private-sector job creation from july of last year to july of this year. fourth from august to august. either way, we are in the top our unemployment rate is the five. lowest it has been since october 2008. well below the national rate. my opponent will try and use old and outdated data to criticize the wisconsin comeback. this week alone, the "wisconsin sentinel" said that these attacks are false.

instead, i hope you will focus on the facts, facts you will see on our website. we have a comprehensive plan, called continuing the wisconsin comeback, and i will show that plan tonight and in the days to come. i look forward to a real discussion about the future of this great state. >> thank you. let's begin the questions now. i will begin with shawn johnson. he has covered a state politics for public radio for a decade. >> as we sit here right now because of a 6-3 decision from , the supreme court, wisconsin will not implement voter id for the november election. this is a two-part question. first, are voters better off or worse off because of the ruling. second, the attorney general has said he is exploring ways to implement voter i.d. before election day. do you support the attorney general's efforts? wethe coin toss, ms. burke, will go to you first.

>> i think what is important is that every eligible voter in wisconsin has the chance to vote . i think the supreme court made the right decision, because i heard stories from so many people about the difficulties that they were facing in being able to cast their vote. a woman, living in senior housing. she did not get her driver's license renewed, because she did not drive. she was faced with how she would get to the dmv and find the paperwork. i think it is a part of democracy here in wisconsin and across the u.s. that people are able to vote. in terms of the attorney general pursuing the voter id, i am concerned that people -- that we are putting roadblocks in front of the ability to vote. the federal judge had indicated that there are 300,000 people in wisconsin that could be hurt by this law. while it seems like a reasonable requirement, when you talk to folks about the hurdles that that places in their lives in

order to get that, i am concerned that we are not doing the right thing and shutting down people's voices. in democracy, that is not the right thing to do. >> the law of the state of wisconsin is simple. it is easy to vote and hard to cheat. for us, this is a commonsense reform that protects the integrity of every vote. i was at a town hall meeting yesterday in appleton, and took questions from the crowd, and i was asked how many cases of fraud there have been. i said, does not matter if it was one or a hundred or a thousand. i ask amongst us, who would be that one person who would want to have their vote canceled out by a vote cast illegally? we used that in 2012, it worked well. in that primary election, there was media coverage. there were no problems reported. the problem is going back and forth in the courts, and that is the basis of the supreme court

decision. ultimately, i think it will be upheld. whether or not the attorney general has the ability to move forward, i have not talked to him directly. certainly we will abide by what the court say. in the end, i believe it will be upheld. >> rebuttal? >> it is shocking to me to hear that the governor would say that he does not care if there was only one instance in fraud, and would put these roadblocks in front of 300,000 people would -- who would find it difficult to get the id and to vote, even though there are no identified cases of fraud and it could cost millions and millions of dollars to implement. that is just not common sense and is not what i would do as governor. >> governor walker? >> in 2008, the milwaukee police department issued a report on the fraud they saw alone in -- in milwaukee alone in 2004. in the presidential election. there is more than just one case, there are many cases. again, i go back and say that this is common sense reform, it

has been in place for three years. we offered free id for people who do not have access to a driver's license, upon request. since the wisconsin supreme court upheld the law, we offered a process where they could get access to documentation. >> we are invoking our effort to press for specifics. >> a quick follow-up. what about the attorney general's plan to reinstate the law with less than a month ago -- to go before the election? >> as i understand it, he has stated that, but we have not seen a specific plan. i think it will ultimately be upheld, but i would rather spend the time in the debate talking about creating jobs and building a better economy. improving our schools and advancing the state. not just on this specific. >> yes, i do not believe that we should pursue that unless we are assured that those 300,000 people who are facing roadblocks in terms of casting their eligible vote, that we have the proper processes in place with the state to assure us that that is not a hurdle that they face.

>> let's go to the next question, from mike thompson, an anchor and reporter at wkbt news 8. >> i want to begin with jobs, because it is arguably the most important issue in this election . i think you would both agree that we are not where we want to be with employment in the state. so my question to you both, specifically, what is one thing that you will do to create jobs or bring more jobs to the state that has not been done before? let me be clear -- has not been done before? governor walker? >> we will build off the successes we have had over the past year. you look from july through july, last year to this year, we ranked third in the midwest for private-sector job creations. if you look at the updated figures for a month after, august through august, we ranked fourth in the midwest. either way, we are in the top five. we are seeing things gel.

manpower's report a few weeks ago, they showed from the fourth quarter of 2013, the projection is twice as big as it was a year ago in terms of employers looking to grow in the state of wisconsin. i think we want to go forward with things that have worked. we do not want to go back to the things that gave us trouble before. not just because of the 130,000 jobs that we lost before i took office, but when my opponent was in congress. we were 42nd and job creation, and the unemployment rate was worse than the nation. the state was worse than in the nation during the three years that my opponent worked as the head of commerce. we do not want to go backwards, we want to go forward. the unemployment is the lowest it has been since october of 2008. i want to build on success, put money in the hands of small business owners and help build from the bottom up. an organic up -- economy that

says you can do whatever you want to do. not the top down approach. >> the fact is, the economy is not growing at the rate that it needs to grow. in fact, if wisconsin's economy had just kept pace with the rest of the country it would be $4 , billion a year bigger. that is money that could be spent on our businesses and education. it is additional tax base on which to grow the economy, invest in infrastructure, education, while reducing taxes. we need to do something different. the one thing i would do -- you asked what specifically we would do that has not been done before. i would reduce the cost of college. my jobs plan shows that we have to have a 670,000 more degree holders for wisconsin to compete for jobs in 2025. 670,000. we have to increase capacity and reduce costs. unfortunately under governor walker, we have seen large

cuts to technical colleges and higher education which has left 41,000 people on the wait list for financial aid for tech colleges and universities. i will prioritize in the state budget and reduce the cost of higher education. >> rebuttal? >> if you look at the rate when my opponent grew -- worked in congress, we would have half as -- in commerce, we would have half as many jobs as we do today. i do not want to go back to that, i want to build off of that. you can read my 62 page plan that talks about the things that my opponent has talked about that we have been doing. we are going to build off investments in higher education, investments in technical colleges, investments in workforce programs. we want to build off that going forward, and that is what we are going to do. >> just this week, the "journal sentinel" said that the governor's plan is more of the same. i do not think we should double down on the strategy that has not worked for four years.

with regards to my record at the department of commerce, we had 50,000 more jobs than we have currently and the employment rate was 4.8%. i got $70 million out of the commerce budget. >> good evening, everyone. one of the issues on the eau claire county ballot next month is the state minimum wage. wisconsin's minimum wage is $7.25 an hour. for someone working full-time, 40 hours a week, that is a little over $15,000 a year. a complaint was filed under the living wage law recently, saying that $7.25 is not enough to live on, and as you know, the department of workforce development rejected that. please tell us if you believe a wisconsin worker can live on our

minimum wage, if you believe the state has any obligation to make sure that workers are paid some sort of minimum wage, and if so, what that wage should be? >> i do not think that our minimum wage is enough for folks to live on. that is why i strongly support an increase in the minimum wage to the suggested $10.10 an hour over three steps. i have talked to business owners both small and large. , they support increasing this. the reason is, first of all, it reduces reliance on government assistance. i want people who work full-time to have the pride of a job and being able to support themselves. at $7.25 an hour, that is ridiculous, you cannot do that. it ensures that people are dependent on government assistance. the second reason to do that, this is additional money that gets spent right back into the economy, which helps local small businesses and our communities grow. businessperson craig culver,

great homegrown culver's restaurants. we are all very proud of that. he supports increasing minimum wage for working adults. that is the smart thing to do, it will help the economy and reduce government assistance. >> governor walker? >> in august i met a wonderful 25-year-old woman who had gone back to school to be a welder. it was kind of fun. she told me that her daughter who was four years old would go to kindergarten for the first time. they were both excited to be going back to school. she told me that the reason she was able to be there was because of the investments that we made over the summer to buy down the wait list for programs like welding, i.t., health care, and other areas. those are targeted areas that we need not just there but all across wisconsin. we have invested more than $100 million the last year alone in workforce development. about $180 million in the last couple of years. the reason that i bring that up

is because our plan for the future is based on a concept that we call learn more to earn more. we want to raise wages but we need to do that by giving skills to making them more valuable. we do it through high schools, technical colleges, the uw system, apprenticeships. i want jobs that pay two or three times the minimum wage. earlier today, i broke ground for a new $34 million headquarters for skyware down in stevens point. not only did they make that capital investment in the state of wisconsin, they retain the high-quality jobs that they have . over the next few years they , will add 510 new jobs that, on average, have salaries worth about $20 an hour. in middleton, we created 55 new jobs that pay $33 or more per hour. we want jobs that pay more than

minimum wage. >> governor walker, time. >> the fact is, governor walker made cuts to our technical college system, taking them back in his first budget to 1989 funding levels. to put additional money into grants now does not help the 41,000 people who are on the financial aid waitlist while giving tax breaks to those at the top. it is unrealistic to think that all of the workers who work in retail, home health care, that are paid the minimum wage, are going to be able to shift to welding jobs. that is not realistic, there are not that many jobs out there. we have to raise the minimum wage immediately. >> governor walker? >> there is a website that the state has. job center wisconsin. right now this week there are , 70,000 job openings on that. we do not have a jobs problem, we have a work problem. we have to connect the dots between people looking for a job or looking for a better job in the skills they need. it is not just welding and advanced manufacturing, it is i.t., we talked about that in the chippewa valley.

we have got a plan to help employers create more jobs and opportunities. talk about ine continuing wisconsin's comeback. >> keith, i believe you asked a specific question about the actual minimum wage. >> i did. governor walker, i need you to answer, do you believe that a worker can live on the minimum wage? do you believe the state has an obligation to make sure workers are paid sort of a minimum wage? what should that be? >> my point is, i think the state should be focused on creating jobs that are greater than the minimum wage. i was paid the minimum wage when i worked for mcdonald's when i was a kid. to save up for money for college. i did not expect that to be my lifetime work. give young people an opportunity to do seasonal work and go forward. at the same time, we need to make sure that people who are living off that to support themselves and their families have jobs that pay far greater than that. the way that you do that is not

by an arbitrary limit by the state. as far as technical colleges go, the reality is that we saved -- >> time is up. miss burke, your rebuttal. >> i have already rebuttal be on thered rebuttal minimum wage. >> when we asked a follow-up, we give everyone a question to respond. >> i do not think that people can live on the minimum wage. that is why i support raising the minimum wage, the money will be spent in the local economy and will create more jobs. i want to be clear about this, as governor, i want to reduce people's need for public assistance. that is what the minimum wage does. quick thank you. we now go to judy clark, anchor in reporter of weau-13 news eau claire. >> there are dueling television ads airing this week focusing on the governor's position on abortion. governor walker, you are on record as opposing all abortion without exception.

is that still your position, and why or why not? and ms. burke, what is your response, your position on abortion? >> first of all, reasonable people can obviously disagree on this issue. i am pro-life but i can only imagine how difficult it is for someone in going through the difficult decision to determine whether they will end the pregnancy or not. that is why i supported legislation that would increase safety and provide more information to a woman considering her options. that bill leaves the final decision to a woman and her doctor. to the specific request the u.s. -- that you made, that issue has been resolved. that was decided by the supreme court 40 years ago. that is something that does not act on this debate. seekinger issue is us to protect the health and safety of every wisconsin citizen. >> i believe it should be up to a woman, according to her religious belief and in

consultation with her family and doctors, to make that decision on her own. when governor walker talks about making these decisions and passing this legislation that stands in the way of women being able to make their own health care choices, making politicians in madison the deciders on this, it gets ridiculous. and frankly, to talk about safety when cuts have resulted in the closing of five clinics that provided needed health care such as cancer screenings, birth control, and family planning services, along with mandating invasive procedures that are against a woman's right to choose. i think this is absolutely wrong. i think it should be women who are able to make these choices for themselves. >> governor walker, rebuttal? >> in terms of funding, for -- we actually just moved it to other areas. for example, the winnebago county health department, we moved it from one area to another in clinics that were respected in their communities. we talked about it on stage and

elsewhere. we increased funding for the university of wisconsin cancer center to help not only uw but affiliates across the state. we have added $50 million more to help victims of domestic violence and child abuse. we have done more to help victims of other issues across the state. we have added to that, and the -- in the last budget in particular. >> governor walker is trying to have it both ways, he talks about health and safety as if it was reasonable, but his position is anything but reasonable. he believes that, even in cases of rape incest, that is not a woman's choice, and that is politicians deciding that for them. that is wrong. taking that decision away from women is not something i would do as governor. >> shawn johnson, next question. >> yes. if voters elect you in november, do you promise to serve your whole four-year term? this question goes first to miss burke. >> it will not take me 90 seconds to answer. absolutely. i look forward to being governor

not just for four years, but the longest-serving governor in the state of wisconsin. there is no greater job in the entire world for me. i look forward to doing that and i hope the people of wisconsin will have me. >> my plan is that if the people elect me, it is to be here for four years. i have had to work pretty hard three times in the past 12 years to run for governor. it is a position i am committed to. >> response? >> i look forward to being governor of this great state and i get more excited every day i am on the campaign trail. i know we have everything it takes an incredible potential. i cannot wait to get to work because of the people of , wisconsin who are so committed to their own communities. >> it is not only my plan to be here the next four years -- looking at my wife, there is no way i could run for four terms.

maybe two, but that is about it. >> there is an estimate that turning down federal funds for medicaid will cost wisconsin $500 million in the next two years. estimates show that 27,000 people are lacking health insurance after losing coverage and told to transition to the marketplace earlier this year. governor walker, would anything make you reconsider your decision to turn down the federal funds? and to ms. burke your decision in regards to the federal funds? >> the start about that in terms of obamacare, i think it has failed to live up to promises. i would like to repeal it and put health care decisions in the hands of patients. and their families. that is the difference between my opponent and i.

she wants to expand and i want to put it back in your hands. we did something unique, we did a wisconsin-specific option. we were able to draw down the waiting list that was under governor jim doyle. everyone living in poverty has access to health care through medicaid. we eliminated it for the first time in our state history. now everyone living in poverty has access to health care, to medicaid. we help people above poverty transition to market. and we protected the taxpayers. my opponent will ask you to depend on the federal government , the congress and the president, who cannot even deal with a seventh -- $7 trillion debt. the congress and a president that have failed to meet their commitment to medicaid. i had to add money to medicaid, more than a third of that was because the federal government reneged on commitments in the past. that is a risk i will not take on behalf of the taxpayers' money. we help everybody living in poverty, we transitioned everyone above it to market

place. some moved onto exchanges, but others got it through their own plans at work or spouses. at the same time we were able to protect the taxpayer. >> as governor, what i will work for is bringing down the cost of health care for everyone throughout the state. these are tough issues, but as i travel throughout the state, i talked to far too many entrepreneurs or farmers who say they are going without insurance because of the cost. when governor walker turned down the expansion of the funding, that was fiscally irresponsible. $206 million in this budget alone. over the lifetime, billions of dollars. this is money that could come into the wisconsin economy to fuel the economy and bring down high health care costs for everyone. we know that when we turned down the money, people still get sick. it's just that we are not getting money to pay for it.

in the business world, ceo's would be fired for this kind of fiscal irresponsibility. i would definitely accept the federal medicaid funding. it only makes common sense. the majority of governors in the united states took it, including eight republican governors. they were right and governor walker was wrong. he is leaving the taxpayers holding the bag for his poor decisions. >> governor walker? >> couple weeks ago, i was down in janesville. shawn, you might have been reporting on it that day. i was speaking at a small business, 12 employees, a small manufacturer. i was talking about obamacare. the owner grabbed the microphone and said, wait a minute. i have got to tell you about obamacare. he said, over the next couple of years i will see a 40% increase in my premiums because of obamacare. where is it going to come from? it is going to come out of his paycheck and the paychecks of his workers. that is not affordable. it is anything but. we had something that worked better before. it was not without faults, and

we have to build on that. the best way you do that is not only to get government bureaucracy out -- >> miss burke? >> i stand by the fiscal irresponsibility of this decision. this is hundreds of millions of dollars in this budget alone, billions of dollars over the next 10 years. the wisconsin taxpayers deserve this. the thought that we would turn away -- this is wisconsin taxpayer money that we pay to washington, and the fact that we do not have a governor fighting to get the money back here in wisconsin is irresponsible. >> mike, you wanted to ask a follow-up? >> governor walker, would be -- is there anything that would make you reconsider your decision? >> again, from our standpoint, we are protecting taxpayers. jim doyle made a bad bet when he raised eligibility. he did not put enough money in. he created a waiting list of -- four people living in poverty. we have eliminated that list by covering everybody living in poverty. we moved ourselves forward but

did not put ourselves at the same risk. the reasons we were at risk under jim doyle are the same things now. our opponent is asking us to trust a federal government that cannot make medicaid payments even now. that is not a realistic bet. >> i'm a business person. in the business world, if a company -- if you are getting a contract from a company, and they say we can only promise we will do that for three years, you take the contract. that is business that comes in. it is revenues that increase your sales and profit. that is no different. you do not know what will happen the future, but in the meantime, this is money for the wisconsin economy. it reduces the cost of health care and creates jobs. >> next question, keith edwards. >> it has been three years since the legislature approved act 10, and the state supreme court just thismmer --

summer upheld it. tell us what you think the law has accomplished, good or bad, and whether you plan to expanded -- expand it to include law enforcement and firefighters or repeal it? miss burke. >> i think that when i can was -- act 10 was put into place, governor walker had said it was needed to get our fiscal house in order. i agree that fiscal contribution to health care and pensions are only fair, and the private sector you have to do that. that is only fair. but we are back to a deficit. we were told that this was necessary to get the fiscal house in order and we are back to a deficit. $1.8 million. -- $1.8 billion. governor walker's plan is not working. he is spending money that we do not have. this year alone, he is spending $400 million more than we are taking in. the lagging economy means that the revenues are down. i want to focus on making fiscally responsible decisions that are going to put wisconsin

in a place where we have a thriving economy. act 10 was divisive and now we are back to a deficit position. i would definitely continue in terms of contributions, but public employees should have the right to collectively bargain. that does not stand in the way of having effective, efficient, and accountable state government. that is the kind of governor i will be. we are going to run a tight ship. >> literally every day, every week as i go around the state, i run into school board members, town board chairs, who tell me thank you. the savings alone saved some $3 billion for schools, towns, counties, and local government. $3 billion. that is why property taxes, for the first time in about a dozen years, have gone down. they are lower than they were four years ago. my plan is to have them even

lower, going forward. but it is not just about the money and balancing the budgets. it is about empowering people to do what they were elected to do by local officials. i talked years ago to an elected official in northern wisconsin, he said to me that in that school district, one of the best things was that he was able to go back to his office. instead of worrying about grievances he could focus on curriculum. those are the things people go into educated -- education for. dedicated public servants go to work on the local level. we are empowering people to do just that. the appleton school district alone, the first year, saved $3.1 million by bidding out their health insurance, and that went back into the classroom. my opponent went around this answer, because in this campaign she has done everything to avoid talking about act 10. the reality is, the people who are running millions of dollars attack ads against me on her behalf want that act repealed. why? because we took the power out of

their hands and put it in the hands of the taxpayers. >> thank you governor. miss burke? your time is up. >> i have been very clear who i will work for as governor, and that is the hard-working people of wisconsin. like the mom in munro, who was worried that her daughter after graduating from uw madison has not found a job yet because of our lagging economy. it is the student who wants to go back to tech school, but is one of 41,000 still on the wait list for financial aid. those are the folks i will fight for every day. i want to make it perfectly clear that i do respect the right to collectively bargain to get those wages. >> the bottom line is that i will stand with the hard-working taxpayers. that is what it was all about. $3 billion worth of savings. i will leave it in place. i do not see a need to expand it per your question. taxesust because property

are down. but because i think that empowered the people that we elect of the local levels, for schools and disabilities, to do what we elected them to do -- and municipalities, to do what we elected them to do. >> the latest figures from the department of natural resources the state is home to active 135 frack operations in central wisconsin. mine south of, a here shut down after county regulators said they were in wastewater into a pond. it was operating without a permit. a recent report by wisconsin public radio says that 20% of have been inspected to make sure they comply with air pollution rules. do you think that the economic benefits outweigh the health concerns and environmental effects? and are the current regulations doing the job? >> thanks to the gods and the glaciers, we have some of the

best frack sands in the world. they have created opportunities we have not seen before in the west and northwest. we want to continue to do that going forward. in the last budget, i added additional positions to do those inspections. we are looking it is because of at tremendous growth. it is because of the boom that you talked about, we need to do more in the future. as we put our budget together if , i am still around, we will add more positions, both because he want to keep up with the pace with those who are legitimately here to operate, as well as to make sure that we protect the health and safety of everyone in and around those mines. >> i do have concerns about whether we are balancing job creation with protecting natural resources. in fact there was legislation to , try to take away local control so that local communities could be making decisions about what is best for them. i am concerned big-money special interests are driving the decisions in the governor's office instead of what is good for the people of wisconsin and the local community, to find the balance between jobs and protecting natural resources.

what we have seen recently is that there was a secret $700,000 campaign contribution from an out-of-state corporation. governor walker change the rules so that we have that companies -- that company stripmining in the northwoods. i think that most of the people of wisconsin think that that should be illegal, if it is not. i will not sell out to special interests. i will make sure that we make the best decisions for the people of wisconsin, for local communities. i know that we can balance jobs and protecting natural resources. >> governor walker? >> there is bipartisan interest in this. used to be a democrat member of the state senate, now the mayor of whitehall. i join with him and other local officials to tour a site. he said at first he had hesitation, but then he saw the operation, saw what was required, and saw the economic impact, both on the construction

, for a lot of great operating engineers and union members, as well as long-term for the people. i think there will be a healthy balance to continue to add staff to the dnr and keep up with the boom out there. >> governor. >> the fact remains, actually, we have not found a balance between jobs and protecting the environment. and that is what is important. we have to make sure to give the local communities the control that they need to make sure they are not only protecting our environment but also giving them the tools that they can negotiate, so the communities can repair the damage to the roads that the mining causes. this is an opportunity for wisconsin, but we should not be selling out our natural resources. >> shawn johnson? >> i wanted to ask you both about the budget, specifically the budget shortfall for the current fiscal year. the year that ends on june 30. a nonpartisan bureau says that even if the tax revenues grow by

the 3.5% they projected, in their last official revenue estimate wisconsin will end this , year $397 million in the hole. this could be job number one for one of you. how would you fill that hole? >> as a businessperson i have , balanced budgets my entire career. you have to go line item by line item. every single area that is being spent. you have to set priorities. the priorities that i would set are job creation. we have to focus on what will grow that economy, because if we had grown at the same rate as the national economy over the last four years, our economy would be $4 billion a year bigger. that is money to invest in infrastructure and education while still balancing the budget. governor walker made fiscally irresponsible decisions. he spent money we did not have ahead of revenues coming in, and

with the economy lagging, we are now in a $1.8 million -- $1.8 billion deficit. we will go through that budget and i will prioritize spending based on economic development. we will not spend money that we do not have. i will stop some programs, like the new $30 million entitlement program that the governor created that subsidizes private school tuition for while the -- wealthy parents. this is just a new entitlement program along with the expansion , of the statewide vouchers. that is draining money from our public schools. we have to to say what will look and we have impact wisconsin, what will help local communities to make sure that we have strong education. it will be about tough decisions, but i am prepared to do that. >> governor walker? >> sean, as you know, the most recent memo with respect of the nonpartisan legislative fiscal bureau, the cochairs of the financial committee shows that , the next budget will have a half billion dollars surplus.

the one my opponent referenced is a memo based on no changes to the budget and no changes to revenue, which has never happened. if you take -- the bottom line, is that if you take reasonable judgments, you take the five-year average of revenue growth, we end up with about $500 million in surplus in the next budget. we think those are reasonable. we made reasonable adjustments out there. i think it is also part of a pattern. we took a $3.6 billion budget deficit that we inherited from my predecessor and turned into a surplus. we did it the old-fashioned way, we pay back the money from the transportation fund. we pay back the money raided from the patient compensation fund. we even had to pay money back to minnesota. that stings. today, the rainy day fund is 165 times bigger than it was when i took office. the largest it has been in state history. the only pension fully funded in the country. once we got a surplus, what do we do? we give it back to the people who earned it, the taxpayers. this spring, we lowered property

and income taxes again. a typical family will see an extra $320. my opponents and others in madison said that we should not do that, we should keep the money in madison. of here, i do not hear a lot of people in eau claire saying that we should keep more of our money in madison. it is time to send it back to hard-working taxpayers. >> the fact remains that it is a $1.8 billion projected deficit. in fact in most cases, that stateeases as each of the agencies put in spending plans. i think that number could go up. governor walker made fiscally irresponsible decisions based on rosy projections. what we are hearing tonight is once again rosy projections and not being honest. >> governor? >> the memo is pretty straightforward. $500,000 surplus. that is one of the more recent memo's out there. these spending decisions my opponent is talking about were giving you money back. giving money back to the

hard-working taxpayers of the state. $322. for a young company, that is a lot of diapers. couple, that is a lot of trips to see grandkids. that is tires on a truck. so i think we made investments giving the money back to the hard-working taxpayers of the state. >> we go to another question, you will have to give short answers. >> what is one thing that your opponent brings to the table that you think is a positive for leading the state for four years? >> one minute each. >> i am sorry. governor walker, you are first. >> i respect the philanthropic activities of my opponent. i had the honor of working the last couple of years with the boys and girls club. helped make the decorations for one of the business trees. she has done some remarkable work, donated great money and provide a leadership. i give her hats off for that.

>> ms. burke? >> i think that governor walker has certainly done some very good things in the community. certainly his work around domestic abuse is important. along with some of the charitable work has done. -- that he has done. >> thanks to both of you. we now are going to turn to your opportunity to give us each three minutes closing statements. because of the coin flip governor walker goes first. , >> thanks to you and the broadcast association and the panelists. thanks to my opponent, i look forward to seeing you again next week, same time -- not the same station but the same location. here in the state of wisconsin. thanks to all of you for giving up your friday night. to talk a little more about the future of this great state a lot , has changed over the last four years. think about it. we have the lowest unemployment rate since six years ago. jobs are coming back, small businesses are expanding, new businesses are starting. property taxes are down.

the first time in about a dozen years. tuition is frozen. we took a $3.6 billion budget deficit and turned into a surplus. some things have not changed. i still have that saturn i've bought back in the fall of although my son drives it more. 1998, i still eat lunch of a brown bag . . i had one earlier today on my way back from stevens point. and i still love the people of the state of wisconsin. i am looking forward to being your governor if you give me the chance. i love being the governor, i love the state. i love traveling and visiting small towns and big downs and everywhere in between. i love going to factories and farms and small businesses and meeting amazing people. my wife and i are proud to work together as a team to represent the people of the state of wisconsin. tonight i ask for your vote on behalf of two people, matt and alex. they are my sons.

more than four years ago, we sat down and thought about, talked about, and ultimately prayed about getting into the race for governor. we knew it would be tough, but we have had to make tough decisions along the way. back then we knew it would be , worth it. because we were afraid. we were afraid that our sons would grow up in a wisconsin that was not as great as to -- the wisconsin we grew up in. as parents, that was not acceptable. tonight, i am proud to tell you, because of my reforms, as tough as they were -- and some people may not agree with everything that we have done in every step along the way -- but i hope that you can see that our motives were pure, that we did it to ensure that the next generation had a better future. we thought more about that generation than just about the next election. tonight, because of those reforms for matt and alex and all the other sons and daughters, they are going to grow up in a wisconsin even better than the wisconsin we grow up in. we do not want to go backwards, we want to go forward.

tonight, on their behalf, i ask for your vote on november 4. >> thank you, governor. and now, your three minutes, ms. burke. >> thank you to everyone who is tuned in and the panelists and, of course, jill. as you have heard tonight, there is a clear choice. governor walker has had four years. his top-down approach is not working. he is putting special interests ahead of you. let's recap the last four years. the economy is the dead last in the midwest in terms of job creation, 35th in the country, and is not getting better. august alone, we lost 4300 jobs. the typical family has lost $3000 in real income over the last four years. $3000. we are facing a $1.8 billion deficit going into the next budget. that is not a comeback, and it is not good enough. if we had kept pace with the rest of the country, the economy would be $4 billion bigger.

that is money that could be spent in local businesses that and our communities. would be an additional tax base to fund education and infrastructure while reducing taxes. think about what that means for you. a better school for your child, more affordable college education, more economic security for your retirement. tax cuts for millionaires and special interest do not create jobs. growing the middle class and small businesses does. i will put politics aside and focus on what is going to work. i do not care if ideas are republican or democratic, just whether they will get the job done. and i will set a different tone. governor walker's tone has been , in his own words, to divide and conquer. that is not the wisconsin way. i will not only change the tone, i will change the system. there is no way that big-money special interest should have more of a voice than you do.

we have seen what happens when we turn over a state to powerful special interests. a $700,000 campaign contribution, and governor walker changes the rules so that a big corporation can strip mine the northwoods. the new direction that i have laid out, wisconsin will be about a fair shot and a square deal for those willing to do the hard work. my career has been about possibilities, taking on challenges in getting results. i cannot wait to get to work as your governor. we have everything that we need to be a growing, thriving, innovative state that is the leader. i ask for your vote on november 4 to build a wisconsin that works for everyone. thank you. >> i would like to thank the candidates and recap the subjects we covered tonight. voter identification, jobs, the minimum wage, abortion, four-year terms, medicaid, send

-- act 10, sand mining, the budget. there are other questions that the citizens want to ask you, which is why we are glad the you agreed to a debate next week. we know that you will be asked questions about climate, student debt, the transportation budget. we know that the journalists on that panel will be, we think, as good as this panel has been. we thank you for listening carefully and responding candidly. we would also like to thank the wisconsin broadcasters association. over 100 stations are carrying this broadcast either live or delayed. it is carried live on c-span and will be streamed on the pbs news hour. there is a lot of attention on the race and we would like to thank you for your contributions . we would like to thank the panel. shawn johnson of wisconsin public radio.

we would like to thank mike thompson. we would like to thank keith edwards. and judy clark, anchor and reporter of weau-13 news in eau claire, this host city. we would like to thank all of you. and now, the audience which has , been so patient and promised it would hold its applause, may now do what it wants to do. [applause] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2014] >> you did a wonderful job. >> that concludes tonight's debate between wisconsin bus

gubernatorial candidate stash democrat mary burke and republican governor scott walker. and television stations worked together to produce and broadcast this debate as a public service to ensure every citizen in wisconsin has an opportunity to hear and see the two leading candidates for governor. this debate has been sponsored by our foundation, through generous grants from the wisconsin association of independent colleges and universities and aarp. we would like to thank the candidates for their participation, as well as the team of broadcasting professionals representing the lacrosse-eau claire market moderator jill geisler, clark, shawn judy johnson, and mike thompson. we ask you to watch our second

debate, and remember to vote on november 4. on the half of the wisconsin broadcasters association, thank you and good night. >> now, here is a look at some of the campaign ads that are currently running in connection with the wisconsin governor's race. >> i am scott walker. i am pro-life. there is no doubt in my mind the decision of whether or not to end a pregnancy is an agonizing one. that is why i support legislation to increase safety and to provide more information for a woman considering her options. the bill leaves the final decision to a woman and her doctor. reasonable people can disagree on this issue. our priority is to protect the health and safety of all wisconsin citizens. coming back.t is >> the indiana economy is improving significantly. >> minnesota unemployment numbers are down, and job numbers are up.

>> the economic recovery is on track to outpace all 50 states. >> in wisconsin, scott walker cut taxes for the top, slashed public education, and we felt to dead last in midwest job growth. >> miscounts and -- wisconsin lags the country in job growth. >> scott walker is not working for you. >> thanks to our reforms, the average family will have an extra $322 to spend. what are you going to do with your save as? >> we are going to buy more clothes and school supplies. >> 96 gallons of gas. >> we are taking a trip to the grand canyon. >> that is over 2700 diapers. they opponent criticizes wisconsin come back. she wants to keep your money in medicine. i want you to keep it. does $11 by you in wisconsin? how about a pizza? scott walker thanks $11 buys

your vote, because under his tax plan, the average wisconsin taxpayer got just $11 a month, but corporations cut $610 million in tax cuts. millionaires got at least $1400 per year. and you? enjoy your meal. scott walker. millions for them. pizza for you. >> be part of c-span's campaign coverage. follow us on twitter and like us on facebook to get debate schedules, video clips of key moments, previews from our politics team. c-span is bringing you over 100 house and governor debates. control offor congress. stay in touch and engage by following us on twitter, and liking us on facebook. >> monday night on the communicators, three members of

congress talk about their technology legislation. >> back in 2012, we passed a law that makes it possible for the back broadcasters to give some of their spectrum that they have had. it gives the fcc the authority to repackage spectrum and reallocate it. under current law, the low-power industry, they are granted licenses, that those licenses are subject to availability of spectrum in the particular marketplace. >> i am concerned about an improper call for a kill switch on somebody's phone, if a government entity or individual decides they want to cut your phone off. and it is your phone. i think you ought to have some protection. what this bill says is, you certainly can ask your carrier to cut your phone off. . .

now the second debate between the candidates for the senate in north carolina. kay hagan and tom hillis. this is courteous of the educational foundation. >> here is our moderator, george stephanopoulos.