jail? >> can we trust rob astorino? he promised to cut property taxes 20% and then he broke his word. he vetoed a property tax god. but in the nation. the highest property taxes in the nation. if you cannot trust him to menace taxes in westchester, you can never trust him as governor. >> the governor's poster represent all the people, but andrew cuomo only represents elitist liberals in the city. cuomo does not care about you. his arrogance would wipe upstate off the map. that is why cuomo forced extreme gun control. uganda magazines, and violated the privacy of law_abiding gun owners. take the governor's office away from him.

>> trust is everything to me. that is why for all we have accomplished, the job is not done until we have cleaned up the legislative corruption. slammed appointing a new commission to investigate and prosecute wrongdoing. the politicians in albany won't like it, but i work for the people and i won't stop fighting until we all have a government we can trust. >> andrew cuomo is spending millions of our tax dollars on ads that are not true. just what state ranks last in economic output? has the highest property taxes in the nation? cuomo's new york. andrew cuomo's policies have new york last in too many categories.

>> new york has a proud history of fighting discrimination. that is why it is shocking that rob astorino has violated discrimination laws for years. he is the only __ $10 million in penalties for civil rights violations. rob astorino _ so far right, he is wrong for a new york. >> from buffalo, new york, it is election 14. the race for governor. sponsored by the buffalo news and wned. support for election 14, the race for governor, comes from verizon.

>> with horizon technology networks, we provide answers and communication solutions that will help create a better tomorrow for our communities. we are proud to support this broadcast of the 2014 gubernatorial debate. >> now from the wned studios, here is the moderator, brian myers. >> thank you, and welcome to all of you. over the next hour, we will learn more about four candidates for governor who are seeking your vote on election day. republican rob astorino is serving as second term. he is also running on the conservative line. democrat andrew cuomo became governor in 2011. green party candidate howie hawkins ran for governor in 2010.

libertarian party candidate michael mcdermott is a former real estate broker. he ran for congress in 2012. gentlemen, welcome. the candidates will be taking questions from a panelist. they will also answer video questions submitted from voters. here are the rules for tonight's debate. each candidate will have one minute to make an opening statement. questions from a catalyst will alternate and each candidate will have one minute to answer. apollo ring when time is expired. follow_up questions will be limited given time constraints. if they have a follow_up, each candidate will have 30 seconds to answer. video questions will be directed to all candidates, who have 30 seconds to respond. at the end of the question and answer period, each candidate will have one minute to make a closing statement. during the debate, candidates are not permitted to use any prepared notes or props.

we asked the candidates to stay on_topic and not interrupt one another. the league of women voters of buffalo, niagara will moderate. >> thank you. first, let me begin by thanking tonight's sponsors and the panelists. my pleasure to be back in buffalo, once again. applies to other people in buffalo who have done a great job turning it around. i say, go bills. it has been my honor to serve as the governor for the past four years. when you remember where we were and you look at where we are now, there is no doubt that the state is better off and better in general. when we started four years ago, the government was not even working. we now have the lowest taxes in over 50 years. we have more jobs than we ever had before and we have democrats and republicans working together again.

the state is better because it is stronger, it is safer, and it is more progressive. an ultraconservative glossary that disrespects women and minorities and immigrants, i reject that and i believe __ we have more work to do, but the arrows are pointed in the right direction. >> mr. hawkins, you have one minute. >> thank you. i have been an organizer since the 1960's. i have served in the marine corps, i have had working_class jobs on construction sites and loading docks, and build solar wind and energy efficiency upgrades for homes and businesses. i am running for governor to go to work for working_class people.

i am calling for a green view for new york. it would allow everybody affordable health care, affordable housing, and good education. we must fight climate change by moving to 100% clean energy over the next 15 years. real solutions cannot wait. >> mr. astorino, you have one minute. >> thank you very much. i'm running for governor because new york is losing. we have the highest taxes in america, the worst business climate, the worst economic outlook. our economic recovery is anemic. we have poverty here in buffalo off the charts, especially with children, and we cannot afford another four more years under this gentleman's term. i am running because we need to cut taxes in a real way.

it will get the economy moving again so people can go back to work. we also need term limits. one way we need term limits is to clean up the corruption of the andrew cuomo administration. we also need to get rid of cuomo's common core. we also need to get rid of the unsafe act. i am running because, right now, the privileged and the well protected are doing very well. but the rest of us, not so much. that is who i am representing. >> mr. dermot, you have one minute. >> thank you. my name is michael mcdermott. i'm the libertarian candidate for governor and i want to thank everybody who sponsored this debate. a special thanks to governor cuomo for insisting that i be here. if not for him, i would probably not be here. i tell you that __ i am here to ask you to listen closely to what is said of this debate.

don't listen as democrats or republicans, just listen as fellow new yorkers. we have to get to a point where we can empower new yorkers to take their __ their lives back. please, listen to everything that is said and the libertarian philosophy that we established as one of individual liberty and individual freedom. that is what we are here to do. thank you very much and i look for to the debate. >> the first question comes from bob mccarthy, political reporter for the buffalo news. and it is for mr. mcdermott. >> let's get right to it with the question on economic develop and. the two major candidates have outlined far different approaches. mr. cuomo has established targeted programs, like the buffalo billions, in which he claims successes. while mr. astorino proposes

that lower taxes and a less stringent regulatory climate will result in even more success. what is your take on that? >> mr. mcdermott, you have one minute to respond. >> i think that is a very good question. i have had some experience with start up new york and i'm not in favor of it. i think the idea of bringing companies in and having a 10 year tax rebate sounds good to me, but i have tried with some comedies that i have work with and it is very difficult to deal with. it doesn't include a lot that it needs to include. i'm not a big fan of it. i have seen a lot of commercials lately __ i think they spent $200 million i commercials __ and it sounds good, but it is not working that well. i like the economic development idea, but i think we should do this as people is the state of new york. not just the government and the state representatives who are telling you what they're going to do, how they're going to do

it, .and then after filling those promises mr. astorino, one minute. >> this is what is happening in new york right now. tax credits to billionaires and big corporations. andrew cuomo benefits from this tremendously. he uses to attack me and negative and false advertising all over tv. the governor gives out tax credits and a wink and a nod, and in return, he gets very big checks from corporations and billionaires for his big war chest. that is bad economic policy. what we need in the state are not gimmicks. we need actually reducing taxes to make us competitive in the northeast. we know what the problems are. the problems are in albany right now. we have massive taxes driving our middle class, our small

businesses, and a big corporations out of the state. people are following the steps to better states. we have to put that to an end and change the actual climate in the state. >> mr. cuomo, you have one minute. >> rhetoric is fine, fax or better. the taxes in the middle class of the lowest they have been since 1953. we just won an award wwhere, from in a business point of view, we go to number four. we have brought on taxes and that has brought up jobs. the state has more jobs than it has ever had in the history of the state of new york. in terms of credibility of my friend, mr. astorino. he promised a 20% tax cut. he guaranteed there would never be a downgrade.

and he promised they would not be the highest and taxes. do not we got after five years? the number one tax county in the united states of america. property taxes went up 8% and the county was downgraded. >> mr. hawkins, you have one minute. >> trickle_down welfare does not trickle down to working people and small businesses. we need a bottom_up, full employment that raises demand and gives real incentive to businesses to invest. the best way we can do that is to commit to 100% clean energy. we have a peer_reviewed study from cornell that says that if we do that, we create 4.5 million jobs. and it would cut electric rates in half. cut the costs in doing business. cut electric rates in half.

and lower the property taxes by restoring progressive taxes that we had in the 1970's. local governments will get eight times the amount they're getting now. they can still pay for their schools and services. that is the way we get the economy moving in the right direction. >> our next question comes from karen from new york state public radio. >> my question is on hydroraking. what will happen with fracking in the next four years? >> mr. astorino, 60 seconds. >> 34 states are safely drilling and their economies are booming. let's look at what is going on in pennsylvania, ohio, and north dakota. we can do that in new york.

so yes, we need to move forward with this. the state democratic chairman of the past once said that 200,000 jobs could be created by this. for the 641,000 new yorkers were still unemployed right now, getting by on a second job __ those are the jobs he is pretended to created __ then we need good jobs. this will lower our energy costs, bring back manufacturing, it will be great for our taxes, and it is exactly what we need to bring people back to work. so yes, we would move forward within the first 90 days. >> mr. cuomo, a one minute response. >> he believes that fracking is

very dangerous. i say __ i am not a scientist, but let the scientist aside. people have very different opinions. academic studies come out all different ways. let the experts decide. let them at the department of health and the department of conservation give me a report. frankly, it is too complicated for lehman. as far as mr. astorino's debate, he passed a law that said fracking mortar cannot be treated in a facilities or used on his roads. so it is safe upstate, just not in westchester county. >> mr. hawkins, 60 seconds.

>> my position is that we should avoid it. it does pollute the water in the land. we arty know that from what we see in pennsylvania and around the country. 5% of wells are still, according to a study of thousands of wells drilled in pennsylvania lately. his administration wanted a change it. so what is it? and then the study that you referred to is based on obsolete science. the draft state supplemental generic environmental impact statement is six years old and based on the underlying statement that is 22 years old. governor cuomo should take a position before the election to people know where he stands.

>> very interesting question. i can tell you that by listening to these guys, i do not know what the truth is. the truth is we have to be sure it is safe. i'm not taking a risk to our groundwater and our environment because it might be safe. i understand the need for jobs and to bring in money and all that, but i think that, governor cuomo, waiting for a report, it is hard for me to decide. i am against it until we can prove it is safe. there are other alternatives. i don't know if you know what industrial hemp is. please look it up. it cannot be smoked, but it can create jobs. the bugs don't like it, so you don't need pesticides. you can have cheaper and better clothing. we can create a huge economy and jobs just by considering that option. and nobody talks about it.

the libertarian viewpoint is that you can do what you want with your land, unless it affects someone else. >> also on the panel tonight is juan gonzalez of the daily news. his first question is for mr. cuomo. >> mr. cuomo, in 2013, you appointed a special panel to root out corruption in albany. but you suddenly abolished your own panel less than a year ago __ less than a year later __ and squashed your members from such investigations. how do you respond to those who call this the darkest stain of your first term and can you assure us tonight that your office never sought to interfere with any attorney general investigations? >> mr. cuomo, you have one minute.

>> thank you for bringing it up because there has been a lot of misinformation. two basic points. number one, we appointed a commission __ and i said to the chairman of the commission who happens to be the preeminent district attorney in the state of new york, fitzpatrick, you make all the decisions. yes, people gave him advice, but he has repeatedly said that he made all the decisions independently. he has been saying that for months in numerous mediums. second, there was no abrupt stopping. i wanted the commission to get a law passed. that is why i impanneld it. the law has an independent enforcement agency, redefined bribery, was applauded by all the dea's, and that is what we needed. that is what we produced.

>> mr. hawkins, you have one minute. >> when i am governor, i would re_plannel and let it follow through on the investigations that it began. to do with the underlying problem of outside income for legislatures and tax breaks. i favor a system of full public financing __ campaign financing, where everybody makes a reasonable contribution and makes a grants. they have to contribute __ who is running on 100% clean money and who is getting dirty money. what has happened in the legislature, we have a limited amount of public campaign financing in the matching funds and still unlimited private funding.

was a little public money on top of the old system that needs to be changed. this should work full_time for us as legislatures. >> mr. mcdermott, you have one minute. >> i have been watching tv. i see also to commercials from one side and the other. democrats accusing republicans of corruption and vice versa. i tend to think that they are probably both right. i am tired of it. i don't want to hear about the stuff. if you want to hear someone independent, who are you going to trust for the answer. new yorkers have to decide for themselves who is corrupt, who is not corrupt. i know one thing, i am not corrupt. i just want to represent the people. i'm tired of all the negative ads. we have so much work to do. as governor, i will make sure that there is not only no corruption, but the democrats

or republicans over the solution lies __ they are part of the problem, they are part of the solution __ part of the solution is getting people involved. my firm belief is that the people have to be empowered and start deciding for themselves. >> mr. astorino, you have one minute. >> mr. cuomo pretended to be the reformer. he called it an embarrassment and he was right. unfortunately, right now, he is swimming in a cesspool of corruption. so much so that we have a state where only in new york can the corruption committee be corrupted. albany is a corruption disaster. so you are looking at andrew cuomo, the rest of tonight, you'll see a person who very well may be indicted for witness tampering, obstruction of justice, failure to report crimes. we have seen this before in new york.

it has to come to an end. and governor, i would ask you tonight if you would talk to people directly, tell the truth, raise your right hand and swear that neither you nor your staff have been subpoenaed. i think that was set the record straight. >> mr. gonzales, i believe you have a follow_up question. >> to mr. cuomo first and the others can respond as well about the interview that we did today. he also said in the interview that the only way an investigative body can get to the root of a problem is to independence. mr. cuomo, was the panel independent and does the panel have to be independent to get to the root? >> yes, and the chairman said that a number of times. it is truly outrageous. the us attorney that he was not quoting said about mr. astorino that he has given numerous lies.

he was ordered to give a video statement for several hours under oath. when the us attorney says you have done __ that is federal speak for you have lied. he won't release his taxes __ >> mr. cuomo __ mr. hawkins, you have 30 seconds. >> mr. cuomo has said at times that this panel was independent, and at times it was a panel that he created that could shut it down. there has been an inconsistency where. you have to wonder why he shut it down when he said it was originally independent. i hope the us attorney is following through. >> mr. mcdermott, 30 seconds. >> i feel like i want to say i rest my case. i mean, here we go again. who knows what the answer is.

i would like to believe that our government officials are not corrupt and they really want to represent the people. i was speeding along the highway from albany to buffalo, trying to make it to this debate on time. who decides to the independent panel is? we have to give the people back the power. the libertarian platform is about the people. about doing what is right and what is fair. >> mr. cuomo once said that he would do anything and say anything, including lie, to get elected. there is only one person here that has a criminal defense team. not me. it is andrew cuomo. why do need a criminal defense team if he did nothing wrong? so once again, would you like

to tell the people if you or your staff has been subpoenaed? >> we now have a video question submitted by a new york voter. >> my name is andrew rogers. my question is _ what is your position on common core and you believe it is effective in educating the young people of new york? >> your hr 30 seconds to respond. we respond with mr. hawkins. >> common core comes from the state. i share from a lot of parents that it narrows the curriculum, that it ignores a whole lot of other things about education. i want local parents, teachers, and school boards to make the decisions about curriculum assessment. they know what their kids need.

>> mr. mcdermott, 30 seconds. >> common core is an abomination. i have a nine_year_old, we go through three hours of homework every night. unfortunately, i do not get it either. i read it, i do not understand it. 8+6 is 14. it is not 8+2, take two away from 10, add four. the problem is, we have to do a lot better than common core. >> cuomo's coming core has been an unmitigated disaster. the rollout was terrible. this is the federal government, now, guiding classrooms in new york. i would replace common core with better standards produced right here in new york. teachers right now are like testing automatons.

i am so opposed to common core and i deal with it around the kitchen table. >> cuomo's common core? i had nothing to do with its development. the only thing i did do it common core was i stopped in the degrading of common core. i agree with mr. mcdermott. there is too little learning. i started with a five_year moratorium before the grades counted __ >> this is election 14, the race for governor, coming to you live. let's begin a new round of questioning. bob mccarthy has a question for

mr. astorino. >> if you are governor, can you assure motorists that there will be no toll hike during your term? especially in light of the huge costs with building a new bridge. >> what i have said is the settlements of almost $4 million should be used for infrastructure. the governor here has put together __ he gets credit for that. however, he has no plan to pay for that. he will not say anything until after the election. he has no financing plan. he tried to swipe $5.5 million from a water funds to pay for it, yet the tolls are going to go up. we know that because he wanted that it. the freeway authority needs work. so does the infrastructure. i have said that the $4 billion should go directly to infrastructure repairs. we pay the highest taxes in

america and we have third world roads in the state. so i would develop a plan to make sure that buffalo and the three_way __ all of new york __ get some of that money for necessary bridge and road repairs. >> mr. cuomo, one minute. >> i don't think he ever answered your question. the answer to me is yes. what mr. mcdermott poins out __ democrats and republicans were fighting. we came in and brought everybody together and are finally rebuilding the bridge after 20 years. everyone agrees that it had to be done. we came up with a new way to do it. we're saving $1 billion with the new construction. it will take about another two to three years to build.

we will figure out the tall when we know the final cost. you can't really figure out the final toll until you know the final bill, but it will be affordable for the commuters. we understand that and that is the commitment from the state, which is what we do with all the bridges and all the tolls, obviously. there has to be a balance and has to be affordable. >> mr. hawkins, a 60 second response. >> i can tell you that the tolls will be raised. it is also our public transportation. we have an interstate that has to come down in my home city of syracuse, and the discussion is how do we get commuters in and out. nothing about the people in the city and the neighborhoods where half the people don't have cars, cake at the suburbs with jobs. we need to talk about public

transportation and targeted investment. instead of going to wall street and paying these huge finance charges, we could have a state bank like north dakota does. then we get the interest and principal back in the treasury and we put the state money there and we could lower the cost of financing these long_term investments. >> mr. mcdermott, one minute. >> after listening to these guys, i am not sure what the question is. would you raise the tolls, is that it? personally, i would not raise the tolls. it is crowded __ you know what i like about the bridge in particular, you go into new jersey and the gases $.30 cheaper. the problem is __ you can have an independent commission, you can do lots of things to try and make it seem like we can raise money.

we have to reduce __ we have to get government down to its constitutional size. the trucks that travel over these roads can barely afford it. we have people fleeing new york because they can afford to travel the roads. i agree with governor cuomo as far as we have to take care of a lot of these things, but let's do it in a responsible way with the people in new york are empowered to make decisions. decisions cannot be made by democrats and republicans fighting __ >> karen do it now has a question for mr. cuomo. >> you said that people with extreme views such as antiabortion and anti_gun_control do not belong in new york. can you oppose abortion and gun control and still be welcome here? >> of course, and that is not what i said, karen. i don't know the exact words you are referring to.

this is my point _ the ultraconservative philosophy that is being put forth by mr. astorino disrespects women. i think it disrespects minorities because he is being sued for discrimination by the federal government. i think it disrespects immigrants by being against the dream act. i think it's a suspect's gaze by being against marriage equality, which is a question of equal rights and why would we discriminate against gays. that is not true new yorkers are. i don't believe there is political support for a politician who has that position. do you want to have your own religious beliefs? god bless you, i respect them. i'm not imposing my religious beliefs on this people of new york. >> mr. hawkins, one minute. >> i think new york is a place

for everybody and everybody should be represented in the political system. we situate stewart system of political representation __ you get everybody together and everybody is represented. there is no competition. i have six senate seats around syracuse and central new york area where there is no opposition. so i think that is one way to include everybody in the process. as far as the women's equality agenda goes. i am upset that the nine items were held hostage to the 10th. we could've focused the selection on the 10th item which really puts __ then we need issues that affect women

like minimum wage. >> mr. mcdermott, one minute. >> i do not know mr. cuomo personally. i know that if that was said, he did not mean it. when you see something like that, you know he didn't mean it. and when you see he is a practicing catholic, you know what his position is on abortion and women's rights. the libertarian platform really does work in a situation like this. i am personally opposed to abortion. if i could adopt all those children, i would, but who am i to insist that what a woman should be able to do with her own body. the libertarian platform is one of individual freedoms. you should decide what you need to do. the women's equality party? that has nothing to do with women's equality. the same thing with common core. it is another vote for rob astorino.

let's just say what it is. i think what it is is that women are equal, they should have their own choice, and the government does not have a right __ >> mr. astorino, you have one minute. >> shame on mr. cuomo on playing the race card all night, disrespecting women by supporting shall be silver was used __ shebly was used half $1 million to cover up. he signed off on the hush money, silencing women. where was the women's justice there? on abortion, abortion is not going anywhere. it was made legal way before roe v wade. he doesn't have to talk about why he is under federal investigation for corruption, that is why he talks about that

kind of stuff. i will not expand abortion in the state, which is exactly what andrew cuomo's bill will do. and allow non_doctors to perform those risky surgeries. if you want to talk about abortion, let's get the facts out about how radical you really are and out of step with new york. >> one gonzales has a question for mr. hawkins. >> mr. hawkins, public school closings have sparked countries in many urban school districts. advocates have countered with multimillion dollar ad campaigns and process for better funding. they want albany to lift the current statewide cap. what is your position and what you say to charters? >> we have concentrated poverty

and all those problems are coming into the schools. there defined as failed by this testing and then turned over to charter __ they are a bunch of hedge fund investors who make money, even though the starters are nominally nonprofit. this is the cannibalization of our school system. we need to get rid of the gap of elimination judgment. we need to go back to the foundation 8 formula, which is to provide every student with the sound basic education. we need to fund our schools and with charters, i am not for expanding them. if they are good, good. if not, then they should be shut down. >> i do not agree with that. charter schools __ do not charter schools are?

they are publicly funded schools who have no local control. the former us education secretary under ronald reagan said that charter schools are the endgame. common core is the distraction. we cannot have charter schools expanded. we need to bring schools back to local control, the local people, the local school board. i know that mr. astorino has come through __ he wants to stop, core and all that __ however, he seems to support charter schools. charter schools are terrible. they take away __ it takes away the people's control over education of their children. my little girl gracie? she is not going to a charter school. i want local control. i am the parents, my wife is the parent, i want us to control our children's education. i want local school boards and teachers. that does not happen with charter schools.

>> i'm a very big believer in public education. i was on the school board. my three kids go to public education and my wife is a special education teacher. it is governor cuomo who took away $7.5 billion in school aid to public schools. so we want to get that back as fast weekend, so we do not have to have cut in our schools with teachers and our priorities get put by the wayside. i want to go back to the litany of nonsense. i am proud to be county executive in the county of 1 million people. it is the fourth most diverse county in new york. i could only get elected twice by 13 point marge is margins with help from democrats, african_americans, and latinos. i want 25% of the african_american vote and it is the only way i'm going to win this election. i ask you for your support in

this election because we can make new york great again. >> mr. cuomo, one minute. >> the facts, again, as opposed to a rhetoric. the tax plan is very simple __ a tax plan for the rich would decimate the education budget. as far as his race relations, the federal government sues one representative out of every three. and that is mr. astorino. it has gone on for five years. as far as women's rights to choose, all my law says is to cut roe v wade, which was a court case over 40 years ago. he is against it. he has said that i am a catholic and the catholic church is against abortion.

i understand that. i am a roman catholic, too. i respect a woman's right to choose and i will defend it. >we now have another video question. >> i am gary walters. if you are elected the governor of new york, what type of financial assistance will you provide the buffalo bills for a new dome stadium? >> you will each have 30 seconds to respond. >> i hope the miami dolphins come the buffalo. listen, the state has a role. the state has a very strong will to make things right. i think private enterprise to be involved. there is very little difference between the big corporations and government, but let's get people involved who can work on donations to build a stadium.

i think the buffalo bills are great. i would like to see them when every super bowl and have a brand_new stadium to support them, but let's face facts. the people of new york after the empower. >> mr. astorino, 30 seconds. >> i think the stadium got enough upgrades with county and state money, so i think the stadium looks good and i do not think tax money should go for a billionaire. to answer his last question. the battle with hudd is about the federal government taking over zoning in westchester and put apartment buildings in any neighborhood. i'm going to fight that tooth and nail. he is rooting for his old agency. >> mr. cuomo, 30 seconds. >> the federal government are trying to impose laws that say you cannot discriminate against people based on color of skin. the law was passed after martin

luther king's death as a tribute to him. it is a disgrace that it should happen in the state. my opponent is also against the buffalo billion, which has been a home run. i do not want to talk about anymore money for buffalo __ >> mr. hawkins, you have 30 seconds. >> i think the new owner has enough money if you want a new stadium. he is a smart businessman, he got out of the industry at its peak. if he does neither, however, i think that if the state goes in, we ought to have ownership share. that might be a better wayto make sure the bills stay here permanently like the green bay packers who have a ownership structure that anchors them to green bay. i would like to see that here in new york. >> this is election 14, the

race for governor, coming to you live. let's begin a new round of questioning. bob mccarthy has a question for mr. cuomo. >> mr. cuomo, if elected to a second term, will you pledge to serve in a full four_year term? >> if i drop dead of a heart attack, how does that count? yes. >> okay, one minute. we now go to mr. hawkins. >> if elected, i will serve a full term. as long as i am alive and kicking. >> mr. mcdermott, one minute. >> i do because __ it is a good question, but i want to go to another question. my daughters arty planning on moving into the governor's mansion. i want to talk about this race card that you were talking about. the only race car that counts is the red and the blue. that is it.

i do not look atpeople as black, white, chinese, latino, and all the other races. new yorkers have to be empowered to come back. it is the blue and the red that is the problem. that is what we have to take care of. we have to come back and get people involved. anytime we come up with something, it is red and blue, folks. start thinking like new yorkers and work on new york problems. work on what is best for new york. we are new yorkers, we have the right to do what we have to do and we have to get back to having the power and being empowered. >> mr. astorino, 60 seconds. >> let's go back to the racist stuff that he is throwing out, which is just despicable. i am proud to have been endorsed by the president of the national action network,

who led democrats for astorino last year. many latino leaders and black leaders, i would never have gotten that endorsement or support if i were racist. this lawsuit that he is referring to was, by the democratic administration, was there before i got there. this is all about the federal government overreaching, coming into westchester, and their coming into your community next. they're using disguise and trying to go after zoning and equating it with racism. i will defend my community and every community in new york from federal government trying to put apartment buildings and any neighborhood they choose. i don't think that's __ >> thank you. karen dewitt has a question for mr. hawkins.

>> new york is in the process of setting up a limited medical marijuana program. how long do you think it will be before marijuana is completely legal in new york and should it be? >> 60 seconds. >> if i am the governor, i will push very hard for legalization, regulation, taxation. we have an enormous problem of tens of thousands of people going to prison for nonviolent offenses for holding and using marijuana. it is irrational. it has destroyed communities, families, and individuals opportunities in life. it has been particularly targeted at black saying latino communities. 94% of our prisoners in the state penitentiary's are black or latino for drug offenses.

as well as those who are going to the system so they would not be branded when they go on for jobs in education. we must examine the damages and then make recommendations for how we can put these communities and families back together. >> mr. mcdermott, 60 seconds. >> the marijuana __ the appeal of pro_marijuana has been a libertarian platform for the past 42 years. mr. hawkins is absolutely right, power drills are overfilled. marijuana __ if you want to go home and smoke a joint, that is your right. i don't smoke it because it makes me choke like cigarettes, but you have a right to put what you want into your own body and i agree that we __ it is not a matter of legalization of marijuana, it is about repealing.

marijuana is not the problem. the problem is the war on drugs we have jails filled with kids who were arrested. when those kids come out, they do not have a job because they were felons. i'm not talking about children, of course. adults have the right to do what they want with their bodies. >> mr. astorino. >> i do support medical marijuana in limited circumstances. i do not want to widespread recreational use of marijuana. i want to go back to what he was talking to about taxes before because i think he has become so tone deaf to the average new yorker is dealing with right now. i have traveled all 62 counties. i have talked to a lot of people. they are hurting. people are looking for a way out of new york and that shouldn't be, but under governor cuomo, texas keep going up and up and up.

my budget is followed today than when i walked in the door. 1.8 billion to 1.7 billion. he should be thanking me. i am his county executive. his county taxes went down. she failed on the number one issue back in 2010. when your taxes go up, it is now because of the state property tax by governor cuomo. >> mr. cuomo, 60 seconds. >> i support medical marijuana, i do not support legalizing marijuana. discrimination is the purview of the federal government. the civil war was fought over the states. the only one being sued __ only you.

as far as taxes are concerned, the taxes did not go down in westchester county. you were the highest tax county in the united states of america. taxes went up 8% for homeowners. you will say that is the towns in the villages, but it is a shell game. the property taxes are killing the state. 400 governments in westchester, our county executive should have called them together and find ways to save money. >> the candidate will now deliver closing statements. we begin with mr. cuomo. >> thank you very much. there is no doubt that the state has suffered for many, many decades, especially in upstate new york. we saw young people leaving and

upstate new york was abandoned by albany. the downstate mentality that took over and everybody focused on downstate. we have reversed that. that is what the buffalo billion is all about. when my opponent says he will stop it, over my dead body. that would be saying dropdead to buffalo. jobs are at historic highs. 7.6 million jobs more than ever before in history and we respect people's rights. we have democrats and republicans working together again in albany. we passed for budgets on_time in a row. that hadn't happened in 40 years. the arrows are pointed in the right direction. i want to keep doing it, i want to keep up the moving forward together. >> mr. mcdermott, you have one minute. >> let me revisit some of my

opening remarks. i want to speak to you as a libertarian. democrats and republicans are the problem. you want to stop common core? vote libertarian this one time. you want to make a difference three new york? don't think that you have to vote for a democrat or republican. vote for michael mcdermott. you want to prevent safe act? vote libertarian. you want to not have charter schools taking over our children? vote libertarian this one time. i am asking you to not think of what you have done and don't continue to what you have done every other time. this time, vote libertarian. what do you have to lose? in four years, if we do not do what we say we are going to do, you can vote for democrat or

republican. >> mr. astorino, you have one minute. >> i am running for governor and i'm ready to be your governor, to turn the state around, so that our families to live in the state and not think about leaving or actually leave. do you really feel your taxes have gone down under andrew cuomo? they haven't.

>> and more debates tonight and this weekend on c-span. at eric like eastern tonight from anchorage, mark begich debates his republican challenger dan sullivan. at 10:00, a debate from virginias seven sister, represented by former majority leader eric cantor before he lost his primary. the man who defeated him republican dave brat, debates jack trammell.

from the 24th and 19th district of new york. from minnesota's seventh district and the 14th congressional district of ohio. >> throughout campaign 2014, c-span has brought your more than 130 candidate debates from across the country in races that will determine control of the next congress. this tuesday night, watch live election night coverage to find out what happ -- find out who wins, loses, and who will control the house and senate. we begin at 8:00 p.m. eastern. throughout the night and into the morning, we want to hear from you. with your calls, facebook,'s, and tweets. campaign 2014 election night coverage on c-span. >> president obama and the first

lady welcome children from the washington dc area and children from military families to trick-or-treat at the white house. according to sources, they handed out hershey's kisses bottle cook -- butter cookies and kettle corn. 4500 people were expected. >> ♪ it's a graveyard smash ♪ >> ♪ it's a mesh ♪ >> ♪ it's the monster mash everything is cool that is a part of the plan when you get to my door, tell them bodies into the monster mash into my gate -- graveyard smash you will catch on in a flash and then you can monster mash

♪ >> president obama handing out candy at the white house. this week and he will be hitting the campaign drilled to support democratic candidates. -- hit the campaign trail to support democratic candidates. on sunday he will be in philadelphia to campaign for tom wolfe, trying to unseat incumbent pennsylvania governor tom corbett. live coverage rate here on c-span. -- right here on c-span. >> in the south carolina race republican tim scott was appointed to the senate last year in south carolina. this year he is running against democrat joyce dickerson and third-party candidate job oc. -- jill bossi. the candidates debated last week for about an hour.

>> this program is made possible in part by aarp south carolina. >> the greenville news in association with the florence morning news, the sun news of myrtle beach, the herald of rock hill. andy sumter item -- and the sumter item. candidates for u.s. senate. and now your moderator. the dean of mass communication and information studies. >> good evening. welcome to tonight's debate for the unexpired senate term. we want to welcome our radio listeners. joining me tonight to ask questions of the candidates is andrew shane of the state newspaper. the candidates are tim scott the republican senator from charleston. joyce dickerson, the democrats forom columbia, and jill bossi. the american party candidate.

before we begin tonight, some ground rules. each candidate will have 90 seconds to respond to questions. if necessary i will allow a 32nd of -- 30 second rebuttal. we drew names with the candidates arrived for the order . >> good evening. thank you for hosting tonight's debate. i am grateful the people of south carolina who have afforded me the opportunity to serve them from county council to the state house, congress, and now the united states senate. it is one of the greatest honors of my life. i'm here tonight because life has not always been easy. but i have learned important lessons and met remarkable people, and have benefited from the strength and blessings of the great state of south carolina. our nation faces many challenges today. but i prefer to see them as opportunities. because i believe the best is

yet to come. my commitment to you is simple. every single day, i will work very hard to afford south -- also carolinians -- all south carolinians and opportunities to succeed. i focus on education and jobs. i believe we will have the tools necessary to succeed. god bless you. >> thank you and good evening. my name is jill bossi. i am not a democrat, i am not a republican. i am an american. and i care deeply about what is happening to america. e pluribus unum, out of many one. we the people need to take control of our government from career politicians like my opponents, who take their orders from special interests and big money. tonight you have the opportunity to interview all three candidates and determine who is the best candidate for the role as u.s. senator.

i hope you demonstrate to you this evening -- to demonstrate to you this evening that i am not bound by party, money, or ideology. i am a public servant, and i hope to demonstrate my ideas of what is broken in america. i want a better america for our future, a strong economy, strong military, term limits, campaign finance reform, and tax reform. i'm asking for your vote and i got -- i hope that tonight you will make a decision on the person and not the party. thank you. >> good afternoon. thank you for having us. we are so grateful. i am pleased that. -- please to be here tonight. here tonight i am running for the

united states senate because i believe that this is a humbling opportunity for me to present to the people of south carolina a new idea, new person who will always be there for them, who will stand for them, who will want to serve them in every way they possibly can. i am focused on our seniors, i am focused on our veterans, and i am focused on women's issues. those are the main issues i will be focusing on tonight. i believe this is the greatest opportunity for me to represent the people of this state and the nation. i am here tonight to ask for the people of south carolina for your vote and for your support on november 4. thank you. >> let me start with you senator scott. you have a free pass to the senate, in a sense. you didn't have to run the state and now you are running statewide for the first time. why should you have the benefit of incumbency? >> i don't think i should have -- i don't think the benefit of incumbency is what it used to be. i have traveled through all of the counties over the last few months. i have spent monday through thursday in washington, i come back home every weekend to go to my own church, hanging with my grandfather, take my mom to lunch. because these are the reasons why i serve. i look at my nephew and say to myself i can prepare a future for him.

that is why i came up with the opportunity agenda. it is an agenda that focuses on education, skills in the workplace, and focuses on allowing people to earn while they learn. the fact of the matter is that people that like washington are very very few. it wasn't for relatives are not sure we would be popular at all. the truth of the matter is incumbency has major negatives. i look forward to not running on the fact that i am in office but running on the fact that i love south carolina. i have benefited from being a south carolinan. from growing up. . i have had the chance, the privilege, of seeing people rally around me when i was not doing well in school, and standing strong with me, and forcing me to look in the m irror and take responsibility. that has been one of the privileges of being a south carolinian. i am running because it is an opportunity to continue to serve from my days on county counsel

being elected twice to congress, and now having opportunity to ask you for your vote to the united states senate. >> let me ask a different version of what is essentially the same question to the two of you. senator scott has a somewhat tenuous hold on incumbency. but he does have one thing to -- inc., washington -- singer, washington experience that you don't. why should south carolina voters give that up? >> i think what we have to understand is that a lot of the voters these days don't like what is going on in washington. they are asking for something to change. it doesn't matter whether they are on the right or left. i think the majority of americans are somewhere in the middle. what we have seen the one in washington with the gridlock with the hyper partisanship, with the fighting, it is not short of untenable for us as citizens to accept that this is what we are paying our

representatives to do. but we want our representatives to do is go to washington dc sit down, negotiate, talk, find ways to fix what is broken with america. we've got a $17.6 trillion debt. we've got an economy that is struggling along. we need to restore the middle class. they have been eviscerated by the great recession. we have got to work for our veterans. we have to work with our military. i have got three of my four children served in the military or are serving in the military. and i can tell you we have a lot , of work to do. i have two sons who are still in active duty stations and could be called at any time. there is a lot of work that needs to be done. so incumbency is too much on how long they have been there. and i am a big supporter of term limits and campaign finance reform. we need more public servants and citizen legislatures.

and that is why i am here. >> same question. >> i am here because i believe in the people of south carolina. i believe it is time for change and people are looking for a person that will have their interests, and not special interest. i am here because people have asked me as i have traveled all over this day, i have visited -- this state, i have visited 46 counties in this state, i have listened to the people, i have heard them talk around their kitchen table, saying how they are having a hard time making ends meet. i'm hearing people say they are kicked off their insurance. i am hearing people all over this nation, all over this county talk about what they need and how washington is broken and how we need to fix it. they are looking for new people with new ideas, to go there, to help them. someone that will be their voice, someone who will listen to them and take their interest to heart. this is why i am here. because this is a great opportunity to go to washington.

i think senator scott is a great person but it is time for a change. it is a challenge i look forward to and i'm happy to be here tonight. because i believe that i will be the best, best choice to be the voice of the people that the state of south carolina in washington d.c., and that is what i'm here to make sure their interests are being served. i thank you for the question. >> i've heard each of you allude to the notion that washington is broken. and a lot of americans, right or wrong, have that perception. i have not heard how you would approach fixing it or correcting it, changing that perception that a lot of americans have. could you address that? that this thing doesn't work terribly well and you are running for an office that may not be held in particular high regard. >> thank you. yes. one of the reasons why i am running as a member of the american party of south carolina

is that, like many americans i felt disenfranchised. i felt like both parties have left me. i was almost ready to go on the towel. and say, forget it. but then i found that term limits addressed my desire to see things change. and as i looked into that more i came across the american party and the census project. -- centrist project. if you think about it, if there are anywhere between 3-7 independents in the senate, the u.s. senate is the only body still elected by voters directly. and if the majority is denied to both democrats and republicans and there are enough independence that can caucus separate from the democrats and republicans they can begin to create a dialogue that will move us toward what can be , what can only be compromises, negotiation, and discussions so we can start to fix the problem and come up with solutions instead of just fighting and

kicking the can down the road. i have four grandchildren. i don't want to leave them worse off than i am. i want to make sure that we do for posterity what our parents and grandparents did for us. and quite honestly what the founding fathers did for us. therefore i think that part of the reason why we should change. and quite honestly, i think that they should all go home and we should start over. it couldn't be any worse than it is. >> i'm looking at the fact that we used to have between democrats and republicans, there was a good opportunity for dialogue. but i remember back in august of 2009 when the tea party rolled up and when that tea party rolled up, they began to stand in the middle of democrats and republicans and basically what happened was the democrats and the republicans could no longer sit down to the table. date a divide -- they put a

divide between the republicans and democrats which hindered us from having a dialogue. i believe if we delete the tea party people that are there, i believe we will have a better opportunity to sit down and have a great dialogue again between democrats and republicans. and i don't believe in term limits. at my age, i will have a term limit anyhow. i'm saying that i am hoping that i will be able to open the door so that many other people can come through and have the greatest opportunity that i am having to say to south carolina and this nation, has offered me this opportunity. and i believe that they want me to vote, to take a woman's perspective from south carolina, which at this point we do not have. and so i'm looking to represent this state and this nation, and do it from the perspective of a woman. and i believe i am a very strong woman to do it. >> senator? >> thank you. washington is broken. the fact of the matter is what we do is work for you, the

people. at the end of the day, it is not about republicans or democrats or independents. it is about putting americans first. we can see the brokenness of washington. when we look at the $17.6 trillion debt. annual deficits of $700 billion. in that environment we come up with something that will not work, obamacare. we come up with new regulations like dodd frank that only create more pressure on those who would create jobs. but instead, they are paying the highest corporate tax rate in all of the world. washington is broken. what i offer is common sense from south carolina. common sense starts with personal accountability to the voters here at home. that is one of the reasons why every weekend i come home to spend time talking to voters so that i can understand issues that impact folks today. i went through and did many jobs.

i went on a jobs tour. i rode public buses. i also waited tables. i took the time so that i can understand and appreciate what people are going through today's -- today so that i could take their ideas, my best ideas are not mine. i'm a conduit to find its way to washington dc's we can fix a broken system. >> thank you. how should the united states conduct itself in the world affairs? should we be a police officer that keeps order or should we have a more hands-off approach? >> i think knowing the situation that we are dealing with 2-d -- today, that our borders and to be protected at all times, it is important and it is that we have hands-on with the national. but i am very comfortable with

the fact that we should have people to contribute, and we should be a hands-on nation so that we can have the greatest dialogue between these countries where we can work together so that we can feel safe in our respective nations. so yes, i believe that we should have a hands-on approach. >> senator scott? >> thank you. what we have seen and what we need to see from america is america first. we should involve ourselves in the world as long as it includes our national interest. the fact of the matter when you look around the world, and america is the only superpower left on earth, withdraws itself completely from the world, we see absolute volatility. mcas. whether it is in and the ukraine, whether it is iran, the middle east, the push towards a nuclear weapon, we should stand strong and use our influence to help the world find order and

structure. we do that by looking at our allies. i always start with israel. because i believe in psalms. i believe it is very important our allies understandably are with them and our enemies fear us. we should not spend money we do not have buying influence we are not doing well with and doing things inconsistent with their -- are -- our best interest. if we are one to be successful and effective at helping the world progress, we need to focus on first what is our national interests, how do we impact the world for our own best interest. number two, how do we recognize and protect our allies who have come to the table with us. number three, how do we make sure our enemies respect us if not fear us? if we don't do those things, our involvement will only lead to more chaos.

and frankly, what we have seen so far is leading from behind, red lines that don't count. >> thank you senator. >> thank you. obviously for me this is , personal. any international decisions that refers to isis or isil could impact my children. therefore i want to make sure we , are using diplomacy first before we ever talk about using any other kinds of means. america is the greatest nation on the face of the earth. i agree with america first. that is the slogan of my campaign. america first. but i think we need to take a new look, a new doctrine of containment. much like the truman doctrine that was done doing world war ii. as it dealt with communism. i think that here, with the radical islamic terrorists we have to do the same containment

and begin to require that the -- it be minimized. and we have to ask all of the countries in that area the most impacted by these issues to stand up and take their rightful place in the forefront. whether it be iraq, iran, syria, turkey, egypt. they all need to take their rightful place and take care of the problems that are existing in their area of the world. and yes i agree with senator , scott. we need to stand with israel. we must always be thereir ally and protect them no matter what comes. at the same time want to make sure that we are following a path of diplomacy and we are using our economic might. as we become energy independent we are going to be able to do so. thank you. >> how would you tackle isis at this moment, and what do you think of the administration's response? >> i will tell you that all of us have relatives that are in the military. it is important. you see three dedicated americans that care about this country.

both of my brothers served. -- serve active duty today. my dad is retired air force. but i believe that when we look at isis, what we have to do is assess our responsibility and create and coordinate a coalition of forces that starts with those folks who are most imminent danger, folks living in the middle east. i think we have done well in our airstrikes. we have done well in the collaboration, the coalition building we have seen from countries around the globe coming to our assistance. seeing isis as a global threat to all nations. this has been an important step. what we must continue to do is make sure that the boots that are on the ground are the boots that live in the middle east. it is very important for us to make sure that our middle east partners are leading the way. as relates to actually be offensive.

-- the offense of. we can provide the air cover. we can provide the intelligence said that we know exactly where to strike and how to push back. that has been effective. but we cannot do, what we have seen, lead from behind. the administration got it became very they and allowed isis to grow stronger when we could have stopped it early on. -- got into the game very late and allowed isis to go stronger when we could have stopped it early on. >> as i said before, i will say it again. i agree with some of the things scott said. and i applaud his brother's and his father service. but as a mother of an active -duty marine and the mother of somebody who served in the international guard i want to make sure i am not sending my son or anybody else's in harms way. we have done that before and , quite honestly america cannot , be the world policeman. we need to use our diplomatic might.

we need to use economic might. we need to use our airstrikes strategically. and we need to use our strategy and technology to format that strategy within that region, to help them battle. again i go back to the idea of a , doctrine of containment. i think we need to work very carefully with the countries in that area. and i think we are starting to see that in the way that turkey is beginning to stand up and take on a greater role in the area. again i think we need to insist , that happened. -- that happen. there is a lot of work that needs to be done before we would ever consider going any further than providing the strategic airstrikes. as far as what the current administration has done, i think that it is too little, too late. but we need to keep a focus on it and we cannot let it go. because we cannot let that kind of evil stand. >> i do agree with both senator scott and ms. bossi. i am the wife of a veteran.

i am very concerned about the situation in the middle east. and i realize israel is our strongest ally, but i believe those nations need to take more responsibility for their own actions. we have been over there for a . -- a long time. almost 14 years. our sons in the military, they have been there, and it is time for our troops to come home. i think that airstrikes are the best way to resolve this at this point in time. i refuse to have more troops on the ground in those countries because we are putting our troops in harms way. our borders need to be protected. the only way we can do that is to have a very strong military presence in the world.

yes, we are a superpower. and yes, we are looking at as one of the leaders in the world. we need to continue that dialogue showing that we are a strong nation. that we are not afraid. and yes, i do support my president because he is doing the job. he is putting everything that you can -- that he can to make sure our borders are protected. one of the things we have to understand from my perspective i do not have the privilege of having the intelligence that senator scott -- i'm sorry, that president obama has. >> i want to change to the economy. i suppose we have the 1992 presidential campaign to think -- thank for one of the political catchphrases. it's the economy, stupid. it is about the economy. it is all about the economy. what are your priorities? how do you achieve them? what is it going to cost? >> thank you.

aristotle said the most perfect political community is one in which the middle class has control and outnumbers the other two. i believe that is a very accurate statement. again as i said earlier the , middle class has been in this -- has been even serrated -- eviscerated. they are the most important part of our economy. we need to bring good jobs back home to america. i believe we can do that. there are initiatives going on now in corporate america that can bring good jobs back here that will create middle class jobs that provide good pay and benefits to those people that are qualified and have the training necessary. obviously, we have to have a lot better education system, not only for pre-k-12 but into our post secondary education so that we are training people to take those jobs on. right now, we have over 4 million jobs that go unfilled because we are lacking that experience.

so we have a lot of opportunity to create jobs, to innovate and -- in america, to look on a global scale and make sure that we're doing what is important not only from america but to create the answers that we need to create in the business community that will address our health care issues and ola dress -- will address our economic issues, and that will address our immigration issues. and so as we look at those things a sound economic policy can help bring us back out of the doldrums we are currently in. >> economic priorities? >> why economic priorities will be -- my economic priorities will be to strengthen the middle class, i have been going around the state, sitting down at tables, talking to people who are suffering, who have lost their jobs. speaking to students who are over -- who have high student -- college loan debt.

and that is so important to me, they are worried about how they will pay those loans. i believe that if we can strengthen our middle class, bring back jobs, open the markets of people can go back and get those jobs that have gone overseas because we have given so many tax credits to people to take those jobs overseas and cause the middle class to decline, if the middle class declines the world is on -- the united states, in my opinion -- is on the decline. the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. if we do not sustain our middle class i believe this country is going to have a great downfall. because that is the backbone. the middle class is the backbone of america. when you remove that status you are going to have problems. so i would look at ways through education. i believe it is one of the main things, to make sure we retrain workers to go into the workforce. to me, that is most important thing, educating our workforce. >> senator scott. economic priority.

>> thank you. our economy needs two things for it to grow and prosper. we need certainty in the workplace and predictability. business owners and employers will hire people when those things are there. they can deal with that policy. -- deal with bad policy. they prefer not to, but they can. i was an employer. i was ceo for 13 years. if i had certainty and predictability i hired more people, invested more equipment, and brought back an economy. what the government can do, a couple of things. number one, cut taxes and regulations. we have the highest corporate tax rate in the world. we have seen burger king and other companies looking to move their businesses out of our country so they can avoid the highest tax rate in the world. regulations, dodd frank, obamacare. so many others. they actually add pressure that reduces the number of employees

that could be hired. the amount of equipment that can be purchased. if we want to see a robust economy we have to deal with certainty and predictability. we have to reduce taxes to make ourselves competitive. when you think about the fact that the corporate tax rate is 10 points higher than the rest of the world, i would say my opportunity agenda focuses on education, on skills in the workplace, provided people who want to go into the workforce the skills to do so, we would have done it well. from boing to michelin, south carolina is a great place to do business. regulators and taxes are right. >> may ever but -- may i rebut? i hear this all the time. and as i travel around the state i have heard people say i don't want that obamacare. but what we need to understand is that bill is not obamacare. it is the affordable health care. and we need to make sure that

that is the message that is taken and not say that it is lawncare. because -- is obamacare. because that is not what that bill is. >> i would like to rebut on the issue of taxes. one of the problems we have with our tax code is that it is so highly complex, it allows for companies to look at -- we had apple moving to ireland. and luckily the irish have , changed that law. we had burger king looking to move to canada. etc. what we have to do is simplify our tax system. i agree we need to bring taxes down. not only for corporations but also for individuals. we need to get a fair flat tax that simplifies the tax code reduces the amount of our iressa -- amount of irs and allows business to generate a lot more jobs. >> i've heard you talk about helping the middle class. presumably, perhaps even the working class. what about the minimum wage?

it is $7.25 an hour, the federal minimum wage. what would you do to change that? to try and perhaps contract the wealth gap between the wealthy and the less so? >> that is a very personal thing with me. as i stated earlier, i heard -- senator -- our senator is a selected senator and not the elected senator. i heard him say earlier that he went around to various places doing minimum jobs. i wonder, did he ask them whether or not seven dollars 25 cents an hour was a good wage for them? the working class are declining , as i stated before they are declining because people have to work 2-3 jobs, 20 hours a week just to try to make a balance wage so they can put food on their table, educate their kids, and take care of their families. we are living in a crisis when a person loses their job, their

whole livelihood goes down the tube. and so i think we should support raising the minimum wage from $7.25 to $10.10 an hour. now, i'm hearing that is going to cause us to lose jobs trade we don't have the stats to prove that. and since we do not have the stats to prove that, raising the minimum wage will cause you to lose jobs, i will stick with the fact that we need to seriously raise the minimum wage so that our people, the people of south carolina can have a decent lifestyle. >> senator. >> absolutely. when i talked to the folks i worked with, the one common denominator that was glaringly obvious is that the educational achievement has major impact on your lifetime earnings. when i was a kid struggling in

high school as a freshman, about to drop out literally, if a kid drops out as a freshman in high school they lose more than $1 million in income. what i learned was that so many of our folks are begging interested and hungry looking for ways to improve their education. i have suggested in my agenda we -- my opportunity agenda we do it two ways. one way is to focus on the four-year college. the other one is what i had when i was in high school, something called shop. giving people real work skills so they can go into the workforce. i visited companies in south carolina who have done that so well. they have a program where they can earn and learn the same time. what i would suggest that we do is make sure that we focus on poverty. if we can eradicate poverty, the best way to do so is through increasing the educational achievement. this will actually help us have the same challenges on the

top and that -- top and -- top -end that we are talking about today on the minimum wage. we've had great success stories. they are almost set full employment. the wages are going up. that is very important. >> one of the things that jesus said is we will always have the poor with us. will i would love to see poverty eradicated, the reality is that it will always be there. and we have to work to support those people. as it refers to the minimum wage, i'm in between. i believe the minimum wage has not been raised since 2009 and our economy has faltered and stumbled. and it is an important thing we need to reassess. at the same time, i believe that by bringing jobs back we will be able to create jobs that the middle class workers that are trained and that have the skills can take, that will create a supply and demand for younger people who want to supplement

their income, for people who it is not the job that they need full-time to support their families. a minimum wage is not a living wage. we need to recognize that. i also believe at the same time, as we look at the educational opportunities it is important to recognize it's not just hyperbole. it is not just what we talk about, it is about what we do. so what we have got to be able to support our educators from pre-k through high school. we have got to be able to support college students as they enter and create massive debt. we have to look at training programs when they come out of college. we have to create trade and technical schools. all of those things are going to be important to help us adjust the minimum wage here. >> senator scott. you voted against the immigration reform. that was backed by senator graham. and that the south carolina

agriculture and tourism industries considered vital for the economy and prosperity. so what solution do you have for the immigration issue? >> the reality of immigration is an important for the workforce and we should find ways to make sure we have the workers we need to come and build the best economy in the world. when i think about the immigration issue, i think first, the legal immigration process, my sister-in-law who came here from korea and spent 10 years getting her citizenship. she learned about this country she focused on the success and the opportunities, and she seized upon it. for us to create a system that we reward folks in a way because of the way that they came here it would be inconsistent with what we want to accomplish. the ways we start the process of immigration reform starts with our borders. we must secure our borders.

by doing so we need three basic parts. number one, more human capital on the border. number we need physical two, obstructions to stop them from crossing. and number three, technology we can use 24/7. they are today a national security issue. imagine if you saw terrorist coming across our borders. we would find ourselves in a serious position. the second thing that you do is you fix the visa system. i believe after we secure our border we can absolutely increase the number of visas. in order to make sure we have the workforce we need in the future. >> how would you address the immigration issue? >> the first thing is we have to secure our borders. we have a big problem. we have 11 million immigrants that are illegal in the country. that is not going to be something we can deal with with the snap of a finger overnight. we have to address that long-term. we have to redo our immigration legislation.

and make sure that the requirements that we have our -- our -- ourare sound and strong so that the people that should stay here are able to work their way toward legal citizenship or legal alien status. i think it is important to note that not only have senator scott voted against immigration, but he voted against the budget, infrastructure, equal pay, minimum wage, military justice. so many things he has voted against. and very little that he has voted for. that is part of the problem we're facing. we have to work on solutions. and whatever the solution is there are very smart and intelligent people that can sit down together and come together, and devise a solution that will create a good plan and policy for the united states level -- states that will secure our borders and will not end up costing billions and billions

more, and have that money wasted, and at the same time create that pathway to citizenship that so many people strive to have. if i go back to the idea of building the middle class back up, if we do that we can potentially create global jobs which will keep the people at home because that is why they are coming here. >> mrs. dickerson. >> well, i do believe that, first of all have got to protect our borders. that is one thing we are going to agree on tonight. and that is that senator scott, i think we would have had a better economy if senator scott knew the word yes on some of these issues. because, as she has stated, he has voted against -- he did not show up for the vote when labor -- when we were talking about refinancing student loans. i know this is not a border issue, but i know that when we talk about securing our borders, we have got to make sure the immigration persons that are here, that we make sure they go through the process, and that we make sure that they get legalized and go through that

process so that they can become legal citizens in the united states. because there are costing american jobs. and because they are taking away jobs from america i think it is important that we make sure that they get this process straight like we all have done. the process that all americans that come into the united states. go through the process, get legalized, and work for it. i do believe that if had a better working congress with people working together to try to resolve problems rather than create problems, then we will have a more secure, and our immigration problem will be taking care of. >> i want to make sure i clear up the fact that i voted to reduce the interest rate on student loans when i had an opportunity to. and i think my overall congressional voting record is

over 99%. >> we have two women on the stage, so let's go ahead. what is your stance on reproductive rights and ensuring equal pay for equal work? i believe that is ms. bossi's term. >> thank you. this is one of those hot button issues that politicians like to throw around. quite honestly i think the issue of reproductive rights has been addressed in america. i wish that we would stop pushing that so hard. and start dealing with the problems that we do have. we talk so much about reproductive rights and yet we don't take care of our children. how many children do we have that are hungry, that are homeless, that are lacking the basic needs that they have? we have to start dealing with the issues that we have and stop worrying about what people are doing. i am a woman and i stand for a woman's right to choose pre-i know that my god has given me the right to choose whether or not to believe in him.

and therefore i believe he is give me the right to choose on anything that i do with my life and how i conduct my life. so i have to believe if the creator of the universe is give me that choice he has also given me the ability to make the choice on reproductive rights. and when it comes to equal pay this is something that is personal for me. i know, as somebody who work their way up, i started as a single parent in a minimum wage job. and i worked hard all of my life to get my college education and take on new and harder jobs. but i knew in every single job but there was a man earning more than i was. right now i believe it is $.82 , on the dollar. we have to correct that. it is not an easy answer. but we have to start working on that. >> that is very much an issue close to my heart. and i believe i started when i said that god gave us a choice from day one from the garden when he said that he put all those trees in the garden, of

all those trees that you could eat of it except one, so god , from day one, gave us a choice. i believe in choice. i believe that a woman should have the right to choose. i had a serious problem when the five justices voted in favor of hobby lobby, which was against women's right to choose. and i think it is an insult to charge women more for insurance just because they are a woman. women and girls deserve to have the same opportunity as men. they did that with contraceptives but didn't say a word about viagra. but i tell you, i am very much concerned about that. i support choice. i think a woman should have the right to choose and that should be between her husband, her god, and her doctor. and as long as those three are in agreement that i think that is the best choice. and as for wages and equal pay for women, i think the problem

herein lies, we talk about $.82. that is the thing about stats. some are different. hispanics it is cheaper. , african-americans is lower. white females is different. there is a big span. we need to fix the women issue first and then go to equal pay. >> i am pro-life and i think the hobby lobby decision was an issue of religious liberty and i support the decision by the supreme court. i will say you that i had the opportunity to bring a young lady that went from being a's equity area he would -- hewlett-packard -- a secretary at hewlett-packard to becoming the ceo. i will tell you what she has taught me about the issue of equal pay. we all know that since 1962 it has been illegal to discriminate but it hasn't stopped. her research has led to a very important conclusion. that the seniority system as we know it today actually benefits

men and discriminates, to some extent, against women. let me explain. the fact of the matter is when a woman decides to leave the workforce, to have a family, what happens is when she comes back into the workforce because of the signatories system, because of the longevity of the people there they get paid more. no matter how hard she works, no matter how well she performs the fact of the matter is that she does not catch up from where she was. if we eliminated the seniority system and went to a meritocracy where we pay people based on how well they did their job, women would fare much better in the workforce. this is a silver bullet. so i look forward to focusing much of our time in the future on addressing some of the challenges that we face. i am thankful that she was willing to come to south carolina.

>> i have two hands up. >> thank you. as a woman, i'm very glad that senator scott has finally decided to investigate the issues that women deal with. but i will be very honest in terms of saying that it is not just the fact that women go out to raise their children. that kind of equal pay discrimination happens. i'm the breadwinner for my family. i never stated home with my -- stayed at home with my children. that is something my husband did for our family. i was discriminated against job after job after job. it meant moving positions to increase my salary. so do not go with the old wives tale, if you will, or old husband's tale, perhaps, that it is because women have to leave their jobs to have families. that is malarkey. >> i would like to concur with what she said. because today it disturbs me when i see a woman who is having

a baby, and expecting mother, -- and expect mother -- an expect in mother, who worked almost to the day she had the baby, and after she had the baby she is back on the job within a matter of a few days. for someone to use an excuse that women have to leave the workforce, we do more work while we are there than the average man because we are always there 24/7. we spend more times on our jobs, so i have a problem they say we leave the workforce. that we do not put in the time. we do. >> it is the balance between federal and state responsibility . the specific thing in mind is something that is relevant to south carolina. it is a cost of expanding the charleston harbor, which as i understand is going to be about a half $1 billion. and -- $500 million.

and the split is 40% federal and 60% stake if i have that right. i would like to know are you for it or is this a fair break down between state responsibilities and what you're willing to do to achieve that. >> i think this is a wonderful idea. that is one of the reasons why i am so against drilling on our shores. i think expanding our shores has been the greatest thing for south carolina. it is going to expand tourism. south carolina is one of the greatest economic things that we have in south carolina, that we have great tourism. our borders are so important. so i am all in favor of expansion. because i know it is going to bring more revenue into our state. it is going to assimilate our -- stimulate our economy to have more jobs coming here. i believe this is a very, very good move. and i support 100%. and as i stated, i do think this is a great thing. i will not be in favor of anyone drilling on our beautiful shores.

i think so shores need to be protected. i am all in favor of protecting those shores from big oil. because you notice the people that support big a while, they said follow the dollar. as you follow the dollar, you find out how those things are being taken care of. i support it. i think it is a great idea for the economy of south carolina. >> senator, the balance between federal and state responsibilities? >> i'm not sure if i agree with the split. but the fact the matter there is a split. the good news is that the statehouse has set aside $300 million to have the money necessary to move forward with the port. good news as well. the water bill that passed that i voted for provided more money to help that happen as well. there are $40 million need to figure out along the way. the good news from my days on county council, with the port in my backyard, it was an important

part of the economic driver. one out of every seven jobs in south carolina is connected to the port system. it is a major economic engine. one of the things that we celebrated, the success of the inland rail that provides more ways to get the goods from upstate to the port which is very important for us. to continue to be successful trade when i was in county council, we worked very hard to attract more businesses. one of the things that we saw that was a major asset for us was the port. the good news for south carolina is that america's port is in south carolina. there is the harbor maintenance fund $5.7 billion in washington that could be used to fund the charleston port, the jackson port, the georgetown port, and would allow us to have a vibrant competition and meet our goals of doubling exports from this country.

>> i agree with both senator scott and ms. dickerson at the charleston harbor project is absolutely essential. i am in favor of it. the 60/40 split is what we have to live with. obviously the state has plans for it. the federal government has plans for it. let's get it done. the longer we hold off higher the cost go. the cost of going high while we have been talking about it. we should make sure we -- i have traveled all over the state. and let me tell you, our highways inc.stink. my brains have been rattled by how many potholes we have on 77 and 95 and 20. we have to put more money into our infrastructure all over. that is our ports, harbors roads, bridges. they are all essential. we need to find a way to do it. because not only will that help us as citizens, but able start

-- but it will start to put people back to work in good, middle-class jobs. that is important. i am a big supporter of the harbor. i believe the split is a fair -- an equitable one. it is a return on investment. once that investment is down the return on that through cruise lines, through shipping lines, through trade that comes in, they are going to pay off handsomely for the state. >> the hour is waning. i'm going to ask for a shorter response to this question from andy. let's do it in 45 seconds. >> one of the things on folks minds is medicare. how do we keep it going, how do we sustain it? as some of you have mentioned for your children and for your grandchildren. how do we sustained for the future? >> thank you. one of the first ways we sustain medicare for the future is to

take a look back at obamacare. we saw billions of dollars siphoned from medicare to encourage young people to buy insurance. i don't think they should be subsidizing the young americans. the other thing, you look at medicare. the number fourr waste, fraud, and abuse is 9%. the number in corporate america is 2%. if we look for ways for us to reduce waste and fraud and abuse, we would see a path forward. the health care costs -- >> thank you. >> as far as health care in general is concerned, we need to protect medicare. my two parents were 1915 in 1922. they were depend on medicare. it is a good program.

it is a sound program. we need to strengthen it and keep it going. but i think that we need to look at the holistic issue of health care in america. whether you call the aca or obamacare, we need to look at that. we need to look at our veterans. we haven't talked about them, and they deserve not to be homeless, to be hungry, to have health care that they deserve. when you look at it holistically, bringing everybody together, bring the insurance companies to the table, the medical experts to the table and come with a plan that provides the kind of insurance that all of america needs. >> i have been hearing a lot about medicare. one of the things i'm hearing is the privatization of medicare. this is something i don't think is very much on my mind. i believe that we have got to really make sure that we protect our seniors, protect their investment. some people call the entitlement. some people call it entitlement, but i believe when i got my paycheck, when senator scott got his paycheck, we saw that they

deducted that cost from our paycheck. how can you say that is entitlement? you earned it. and i think you deserve it. i will support medicare and make sure we protect it. because it is vital to all of the citizens. >> this is the last question. you get about 20 seconds to answer it. if elected you only get a two-year term, the unexpired term that senator jim demint left the hind. -- left behind. what have you learned about the process that you would address differently next time? 20 seconds, how are you going to do that? >> term limits and campaign finance reform. we have $6.3 million, from the state of south carolina and all the rest from outside. our country is being bought and paid for. we have to change that. that is what i would focus my first two years on to implement term limits and campaign finance reform. one dollar for every registered voter.

>> thank you. what is the lesson russian mark -- lesson? >> my lesson is term limits is not a good thing. when you are in office, some people -- it takes a lot of time to get projects taking care of. so term limits would not work for me. and i do think -- i don't know about campaign finance reform but it is going to take a lot of money to be me with none. >> common ground. our nation is the greatest on earth. we are exceptional. and if we do what we are supposed to do we will see the most amazing thing happened. i have learned quickly that working together creates major opportunities for success. i have worked with my conservative friends, and my liberal friends. and we have one thing in common. >> thank you. >> we put america first. >> thank you to all of the senate candidates. thank you to andrew shane for being with us pray for more information on all the upcoming

debates, keep tabs on what is happening process and don't forget to vote next tuesday. i am charles, good night. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2014] >> c-span's campaign 2014 coverage continues. we've begin with the debate in the alaskan senate race. it features the candidates.