shares a lot in the state with people who are in the state, you can get him up to 32%, maybe even 35%. but it is also a state where governor pence has a friend in senator lee, and where he recently spoke to the education reform senate. he is on his way to colorado and nevada as well. i also take nothing for granted. that is my job. my job is also not to chase every good promising statewide poll and go deploy our best resources there, meeting governor pence and mr. trump. we are trying to do a tighter electoral map than republican candidates have done in the past. i look to the obama 2012 effort as a partial model. even though some of the states that president obama and his that looked for gone, they

started to improve over time, but he did not visit those states. they kept him competitive and they wanted to seal the deal in places where he was competitive. obviously it was a smart strategy. >> finally this fall, "saturday night live," they did a skit on you. >> i thought it was adorable. it was meant to be a parody. boy, cousin said to me, they really followed you around for three days. ithink on the family side, captured my cheerful chaos with four children in a busy household very well. i think "saturday night live" and it was good humor and we had a good laugh at my house over

at. i think -- obviously the kate mckinnon character there is supportive of hillary clinton in real life. so, there is something to that someone.are portraying i think some of the comedy writing is very good. i think people can see the funny, humorous donald trump that i see. i think people who give him a chance see that in him. i think some of the media did he tellat joke that was really funny. aw much time did he spend after the rally signing posters, shaking hands, hugging kids, that is the lifeblood of his

campaign. he enjoys mixing it up with people. that is how a candidate should be. it even whens -- people just want to cover wood he tweeted and what he said i his they don't forget essence. >> kellyanne conway joining us on the phone in new york. thank you very much. kellyanne conway and thank you, the all the best. romney is an washington, d.c., tamara speaking at the u.s. chamber of commerce. he has been critical of donald trump. servicesh and human this week, the average premiums for 2017 plans and sold on healthcare.gov rose 25% compared to 2016. about burwell talks policy and cost. that is live at 6:00 p.m. eastern.

♪ announcer: c-span washington journal live every day with news and policy issues that impact you. this week, presidential battleground states. morning, pennsylvania. we'll talk about voters, recent polls, and i eights on key political races. director of the center for politics and political affairs and democratic strategist. be sure to watch washington journal live at some :00 eastern wednesday morning. join the discussion. greg,ocrat john libertarian candidate rex bell, and air coal, are running for the indiana governor seat with free incumbent -- income of mike hence. this comes courtesy of the

indiana debate commission. w fighting and ws and and. there were some audio problems with this debate. >> good evening and welcome to the indiana debate commission's third and final gubernatorial debate. this is being televised from the .erformance center the three candidates want to succeed governor mike pence, a republican who is donald trump's vice presidential running mate. it is my pleasure to be your moderator this evening. it is great to be back here in evansville where i served for the evansville courier press from 2007- 2012. our first debate focused on education. the second was on jobs and the economy. we are now turning our attention to health and social issues. for the next hour the candidates will debate issues mostly

focused on those topics. many questions are drawn from those submitted by you, members of the voting public throughout indiana. some will be asked in person here by members of our audience. none of the questions have been shared in advance with any candidates. here are our candidates. eric holcomb is indiana's lieutenant governor. john gregg is the democratic candidate and a former indiana house speaker. rex bell is the libertarian candidate and owns a small business. the candidates' position on the stage and the order they answer questions were determined by a locked conducted by the debate commission. after i asked the question, each candidate will have one minute

to respond. each candidate will also have 30-second -- a rebuttal opportunity depending on the need. before the final question, each candidate will be given an opportunity to address a topic of his choice. this allow candidates to discuss a topic they believe is important but has not been touched on in the questions, or they can elaborate on a topic discussed previously. at this time, each candidate will make a one minute opening statement. we will begin with mr. holcomb. lt. gov holcomb: it's good to be back on the campus. thank you to the indiana debate commission for hosting all three of the debates and thank you to in cubs fan who are tuning before the first pitch. i would like to say indiana has never been a more prosperous position. unemployment is 4.5% lower than the national average. we have more people working in the private sector than ever before in our 200 year history of the state. a healthy savings account and a

triple-a credit rating. we have become a real leader nationally and internationally. logistics, biosciences, manufacturing. to take us to the next level, i believe we are going to have to focus on our people, our people, our people. if we equip our youngest people at the preschool age, when have a ticket to their success going into a college or career, we will let in fact take indiana to the next level. >> now mr. gregg. mr. gregg: i want to thank my opponents for the civility of which we have conducted this debate. it is not like the zoo going on at the national level. i would like to congratulate them on their conduct. i want to serve as indiana's

51st governor. i believe indiana can do better. as governor i will focus like a laser on the economy, on high wage jobs, on attracting businesses, not scaring them away. in education as governor, we to test. teaching we will see teachers as part of the solution, not the problem, and we will have prekindergarten for all students. as a former president of the university, i am ready to govern and i'm ready to learn. check out our positions at greggforgovernor.com. moderator: mr. bell. mr. bell: i would like to think the indiana debate commission for including us this evening. thank you for hosting this debate. i have a connection to this institution, my two oldest children graduated from here more years ago than i like to

think. my plan for indiana is to get government out of your way. things we can think individuals do better. we would like to attract more jobs and better paying jobs in indiana. we feel we can do that by a eliminating the property tax. both for businesses and it individuals. this is what government does to attract jobs already to a few select businesses. we think we should do it for all businesses so we would have more businesses and jobs than we can keep up with. we would like to return control of the schools to the parents and teachers on local boards, get away from washington and the state. let the people who care most about the children do it. moderator: thank you. on to our questions. our first question will be asked by danielle my web developer here at the university of southern indiana. >> as governor would you support the expansion of needle exchange programs, and how would you

assist the increasing number of hoosiers who are dependent on illegal and prescription drugs? lt. gov holcomb: this is an issue that is strangling not just our families but communities across the state and in fact across the whole nation. we need to continue to explore every way we can to not just solve the problem for one community but to kill the drug epidemic itself. we're going to have to focus making sure we are preventing, that we are enforcing and importantlymost treating the families and individuals caught up in this scourge. yes to the needle exchange program. if we have to change the lot to do it, we will. to make sure it is more efficient. that will require legislative action. it will require action to make sure locals can identify and act

on the problem and not wait on the state to make sure they get the resources they need. this is an all hands on deck effort and it is a top priority in my administration. moderator: thank you mr. holcomb, now to mr. gregg. mr. gregg: we have a public safety plan. the first thing it mentions is about drugs. it is about that crisis. indiana is first in methamphetamine and fifth in heroin overdoses. the truth of the matter is we have got to change the way we look at drugs. for the dealer and the trafficker, they need to be locked up. to the violent criminals they need to be locked up. hoosiers, we need to realize this is a medical issue and we need to treat it as such. we need to realize that rehabilitation works. rehab,y dollar we within

we save four dollars in public health and seven dollars in the criminal justice system. we can do better. we cannot afford just to continue to build prisons. rehabilitation works. check out our full program at greggforgovernor.com. mr. bell: thank you. if we look at what we have accomplished in the last 50 years, we have to say "nothing." you know, the addiction rate is the same as it was. what are we doing, how are we going to continue this? we need to make a change. we need to stop treating drug addiction as a crime. we need to treat it as an illness. we need to decriminalize a lot so that when people need help they can step forward without fear of being arrested. needle exchange program, a lot of political input on that, a

lot of play from both sides. it is not something that can't he done privately. needles cost seven cents. we have seen the instances in west virginia and different states where private individuals and private organizations have set up needle exchange. at the local pharmacy. it is something we can do. there is a lot we can do that doesn't involve government force. moderator: our next question will also come from the audience and will be asked by amy kelly. she the regional director for the mentor network which provides residential community-based services for workers with disabilities. >> the unemployment rate for people with disabilities is 80%. many people disabilities can and want to work. what will you do to create employment opportunities to have access to job training and careers that will increase their independence? mr. gregg: the first thing we

need to do in indiana is to take a look at how we are doing our training right now. i have employers tell me they never talk about taxes, they talk about needing employees. we are doing training through the governor's office. some sort of workforce development office. some through ivy tech. there is not a lot of communication. i think we can do a better job if we have all of these groups talking to one another so we find out what is working, what is not working, and what we are training people for. another thing is the state's adding processes have been changed where they really work to a detriment of the small

business owner, people with disabilities and minorities. the bids are to big for startups to bid on. when he to make them easier for those folks access. moderator: thank you. mr. bell. mr. bell: when we talk about unemployment, and we look at it when everybody is involved, people without disabilities have a leg up on being able to get that job. what we need to consider, are there enough jobs out there? what can we do to create more jobs? if we did away with the property tax, attract more businesses to the state, we would have businesses competing for workers incident of workers competing for the jobs. i think that is something we need to consider. the best thing we can do to help everybody, disabled or not, is make a situation where there are more jobs available. i think we can do that. as i say, with doing away with

the property tax is going to solve a lot of the problems try to figure out another way to fix it. i think we already have the answer if we just take it. lt. gov holcomb: i agree with both on two issues. people are not talk about taxes because they are a reasonable level in the state of indiana and i take that as a compliment. and mr. bell is correct in the sense that what we have to do is make sure we are building an economy and a jobs market magnet that lifts all boats. specifically when it comes to those who are disabled, our work will never be done on this front. we need it to make sure we are focused on what they are able to do in transforming our workforce development can go a long way on this front. we need to make sure there are local providers like the teaching hotel providing skills to those who are disabled.

creative ways to get folks into the job force, so with the department of workforce development and with global -- local partnerships this will go a long way. moderator: let me remind you that tonight's debate focuses on health and social issues facing hoosiers. our next question was supported by mitchell smith, a graduate student in indianapolis. indiana is ranked 48th and public health funding. $39 per person. indiana is ranked 41st and overall health and ranks high in the percentage of people who are obese and diabetic. indiana is also ranked 47th and air quality. given all of this, what do you plan to do about investing in the health of hoosiers? let me remind folks watching via television and live stream that this is a question that has

particular resonance here in southwestern indiana between local health indicators and the --sence of co-fired coal-fired power plants. we will turn first to mr. bell. mr. bell: there is a lot of parts to that question. certainly we expect the government to protect us from fraud. if someone is polluting the air we need to step up and put an end to that. as far as the obesity problem, that is something we have to look at and say is that the role of government or something we can handle as a society? and i say, as a society we have a better shot handling that type of thing. a lot of this is considered how we can steer society towards these areas. certainly whenever we have a company coming in with jobs and they want to keep a healthy workforce, they are invested in

that type of a situation. it is what we need the work for, other than government protecting us from somebody, forcing something on us. we need to step back from that. moderator: now to mr. holcomb. lt. gov holcomb: there are many , many parts to that question. some concern behavior and choices we make. obesity, talking about we need to make sure that there are no food deserts. and that is a local issue we need to get to so folks are not restricted to healthy food options. we need to make progress in 2005 building out our trail systems. all over the state of luis it -- indiana. this was a big part of our regional cities initiative, to make sure communities were vibrant, to encourage keeping in shape.

if you are smoking, we know there is an adverse reaction -- connection between smoking and obesity. i would encourage folks to take advantage of 1-800-quitnow. there are programs and i would encourage people to call if you are under the grips of smoking. 1-800-quitnow. mr. gregg: indiana does rank so badly when it comes to public health, you can directly relate that to the priority we put on it. being one of the five lowest states. we see that in the obesity. we see that in the diabetes. and all of the other issues. i met with people from riley children's hospital. we talked about the problem we have in indiana. in some cases just basic education would go a long way helping with infant mortality rate. sometimes it is education.

sometimes it is telling mothers not to sleep with their children and sometimes it is educating them not to smoke. we see problems in indiana caused by public health by the lack of priority we put in this area. like our caseworkers supposed to be dealing with just 12 cases but in reality they are dealing with a up in the 20's and higher. an adult protective services go 200-300. dealing with >> we receive many questions from a man released from prison after witnesses recanted and dna evidence cleared him. governor pence has refused to mr. cooper. and has instructed him to go back to the courts. how do you believe the power of the pardon should be used, and would you use it in his case? we will start with mr. holcomb. lt. gov holcomb: reviewing what i have on this case, which has

-- i am not governor yet, i want to make sure i talked to mr. cooper and review the facts of the case. i understand where governor pence is coming from. this would be in unprecedented pardon. having said that, knowing the facts as i do now, and wanting to accumulate more, i would look forward to quickly exonerating , quickly pardoning, swiftly if the facts bear that out. mr. gregg: based on what i have read i would pardon. i would pardon him immediately. i have traveled the state. this has been a huge news item. and a concern. i think any governor would realize this is something you need to do on a case-by-case basis and know the facts much mr. holcomb friend said. but there comes a time when you have to make a decision. the facts in this are pretty

clear. i take these charges seriously. i've had these discussion was members of state police alliance, the organization of our state troopers who have endorsed me. i'm very proud of that endorsement. as also the members of the fraternal order of police so i take crime and law and order seriously. but when the system has made a mistake we need to correct it immediately and move on. moderator: mr. bell. mr. bell: i think he should be pardoned immediately. i follow this case. you have to look at it and say whenever something like this comes up, definitely the burden of proof should be on the state always. if there is any question at all, and certainly in a case like this where there is no question the man was innocent, he needs to be pardoned. i can't understand. it is one of those situations where we are saying we need to protect the government instead

of the individuals. we should not be doing that. the individual should always be first. if we start worrying about we are worrying about the protocol of what has happened before, what kind of precedent it would set, if we set a precedent for releasing innocent people from prison that would be a good one to set. moderator: we are now going to turn back to the audience. an attorney will ask the next question. >> what role will your faith play in your decisions you make as governor? where do you draw the line between religious beliefs, and what is best for the interest of all hoosiers? moderator: mr. gregg will respond first. mr. gregg: i'm a person of faith. like many people in our nation i happen to belong to the christian faith. but i also realize there are people of other faiths and some people of no faith and i respect that. i think that is the same way you

will find that i will govern. i will respect all peoples. i think that is what we are called to do. i will take an oath to uphold our constitution and treat people equally. my faith is something that is important to me. i'm not running to force my ideology or my faith on someone else. rather than stand on the street corner, i will use a biblical analogy, i would rather people know that i'm a person of faith by my actions. moderator: very good. next, mr. bell. mr. bell: my faith is important to me. it is not something i want to force on other people. if you have done any reading it all on the libertarian party, that is what we are all about. we look at the individual. every individual has rights. and you know, if you get 40 individuals together they do not

have more rights than a single individual. for me to decide that the bulk of the nation is a christian nation that we should follow christian teachings, that is not for me to say. that is not for me to decide for you. certainly we would separate our faith from our governing ideals. i hope everybody would do that. moderator: thank you. mr. holcomb, bring it home. lt. gov holcomb: as governor, i would respect all faiths and those of no faith at all. i consider myself a matthew six christian. someone who tries to live out my faith. i think there are many lessons in the good book that instruct me privately and i will continue to take that approach as governor. one that would absolutely try to live it and not have to profess it. i understand the power of

witness but you can get that in watching how someone actually lives their life. moderator: thank you. speaking of expressions of faith and values, one voter asked about the indiana ban on the sale of alcohol on sunday. would your administration support modifying or eliminating the ban? why or why not? we will start with mr. bell. mr. bell: i have always maintained anything legal on saturday should be legal on sunday. [laughter] mr. bell: regardless of how i feel about it. i'm not a drinker. i am not going to buy it on saturday a handout i am not going to buy it on sunday. if somebody wants to, this is left over from the blue laws. you could sell cold beer in one

situation and in another you can't. you get into situations where a person, a store can be selling warm beer. if the power goes off in the beer gets too cold, all of a sudden he is breaking the law. i think that is something we need to look at and do away with the blue laws, and allow sunday sales. lt. gov holcomb: i don't favor it. i think alcohol is still a legally controlled substance in the state of indiana. we need to make sure we are able to do that. making sure our excise police have resources, this doesn't put an undue burden on folks who need to have a drink on a sunday. i think they can plan accordingly six days prior. mr. gregg: well, when you plan for things, right you didn't plan on a lot of questions, that is not one i thought we would be

asked about. how people would decide how they would vote for governor. i would want to see a piece of legislation. let me tell you why. it is a controlled substance. the idea that anybody can sell it without having proximities and all, there is some concerns on that. i think if the legislature set me a bill to allow sunday sales i would likely sign it. having given it a lot of thought, i would want to see how the debate play out and listen to retailers and consumers. but contrary to what my mother is going to say, she is not going to like my answer, i would likely sign it. moderator: we are going to continue on the theme of controlled substances with a -- with a question from jason, a retired air force nurse from the indianapolis area.

jason wanted to know, why is that we have not allowed cannabis to become a medical treatment for children with untreatable diseases? we allow medicine such as ketamine, a derivative of pcp to be used, methamphetamine to be used to treat adhd, and oxycodone for pain. but we will not allow patients to even try cannabis. the question is why. we will start with mr. holcomb. lt. gov holcomb: having a discussion about legalizing drugs at this time seems to be off-key. when you read about story after story about the drug busts occurring that have marijuana and heroin, this is a great concern. i understand the distinction. between medical marijuana and legalizing it wholesale. i would want to talk a lot more with the medical professionals who say there are no other alternatives for these children. and make sure that the children

are receiving the treatment they need and if only medical marijuana could suffice. then i would entertain that as an option. but right now in the world we're are living in, expanding or legalizing drugs is not on my list. mr. gregg: this is a very serious matter. i would support as i did in 2012, i would support medical marijuana. i think this is something that be a benefit to a patient and they should be allowed to use it. the last election i lost my father to cancer of the esophagus and it was a very pain all death and not a fun one to observe in the last year of dads life. anythingr never said about cannabis and medical weijuana but have they have,

should have had that right to let him alleviate that pain. i would support medical marijuana as i did the last time. moderator: mr. bell. mr. bell: i would support medical marijuana and i think, we are going to seeing after this election there is going to be more states supporting it already. allowing it. it is a matter if indiana is going to do it. i don't know exactly when by eventually we are going to allow it. it is something we need to step out in front of and get it done. there is so much we can do, not only helping people that need it for sickness. it has been proven to be a help in alleviating some of the opiate addictions going on around here. that we are having so much trouble with. so there is more the and one reason to legalize it. and you know, along with that, you know, even with the industrial hemp that we need to

bring back in. it is a plant that has been made illegal years and years ago and we need to re-legalize it. moderator: mr. holcomb, would you like to have a 30 second rebuttal opportunity? mr. holcomb: i remain where i was standing. i have not flip-flopped. moderator: a question from a resident of indiana. recently a federal judge put on hold the most restrictive antiabortion bill to come out of the state legislature. what is your position on abortion and birth control? we will start with mr. gregg. mr. gregg: i have always been and considered myself a pro-life

democrat. with that said, i do not believe it is my business to interject myself and issues between a woman and her physician. i do not believe legislatures should be practicing medicine. i have always supported the funding of planned parenthood, even though personally being opposed to abortion, because do -- the truth of the matter is, all of the money that they get from taxpayers goes to providing birth control and health screenings. and cutting down on std's and mammograms. i mean, that is what the money is for. are talking about birth. if the problem is unwanted children, we need to make that more accessible. i would have vetoed that though. there were many members of the legislature who had been pro-life for many years who got up and spoke out against it in a bipartisan fashion. it stops millions of dollars of research on alzheimer's and cancer and things like that. it is just wrong. moderator: very good. mr. bell?

mr. bell: certainly, i am opposed. i understand that it is a problem that will never be solved. i think that in a situation like this bill, stepping in between a woman and her doctor, that is wrong. i think one of the best things that we can do about abortion is make sure that we keep the federal government out of it, i -- allow the states to make these decisions. i do not think every state will decide the same. i believe if someone is 100% pro-life or 100% pro-choice, they will never be satisfied by a decision handed down by a judge anyway. we need to take it back to the states and get the federal government out of it. moderator: we conclude the question with mr. holcomb. mr. holcomb: i am pro-life. i understand the debate is been going on for decades and there are good people on both sides.

having said that, i personally have the right to take another innocent life. while my agenda will focus on economic development, community development, excellence in education, and good government and taxpayer value, if legislation comes down to my desk, i will be working with those legislators before it arrived so we can avoid any missed impressions along the way. moderator: thank you very much. now we come to the segment of the debate where candidates speak on a topic of their choice. mr. holcomb will go first and can talk for up to one minute. mr. bell will follow on the same topic for a maximum of two minutes. mr. gregg will also speak on that topic for up to two minutes.

and then we will conclude the first round with mr. holcomb, who can close out the topic with up to one minute of rebuttal. the other candidates will have the same opportunity to speak on a topic of their choice following the normal rotation and format. we start with mr. holcomb. mr. holcomb: my topic involves public service. i have long appreciated serving a cause greater than myself starting with the u.s. navy. that took me to service at home and abroad will stop i later went to work for other strong leaders, including former governor daniels and a united states senator and now our governor, mike pence. when he called, i was not seeking the job, but i jumped up in a nanosecond and put aside what i was working on at the time to help a cause greater the

young myself. myself.er than because of public service, we are able to do so much when we are focusing, working on leaders throughout my life, i have learned a few things. i have learned to focus and prioritize. that is why i am laser focused on my four-point plan to make sure that we get indiana to the next level. moderator: mr. bell, you have two minutes. mr. bell: certainly public services important. i think a lot of what we need to do is public service put government in a position where it is helpful to everybody. to aide government position where it is helpful to everybody, not transferring money from one citizen to another, not making our educational choices for us. i think one of the best things we can do as public servants is to lead to the government out of

people's way. that is what i will try to do. i understand there are people who have been involved in politics their entire lives. and you know, you get into a situation where it is the same group of people making the same rules and you know, basically i believe we should not be making rules, we should be removing rules. there is not a law to protect people from forces abroad, it should not be on the books. moderator: thank you, mr. bell. mr. gregg, you have two minutes. mr. gregg: thank you. i believe in public service. i am very proud to have been a candidate for governor. in 2012 and this time. and, i am proud of many years ago when i served in the ghoosiers. what we should be doing. what government should be doing is taking all of the taxes and using them on the road. we should eliminate incarceration for victimless crime. thank you. moderator: thank you, mr. bell bell.

mr. gregg: i understand the concern about government but there is a very specific role for government in our lives and one of them is on a our state infrastructure. indiana has got a problem with state infrastructure and we know it. you do not have to travel to evansville to know the truth of the matter. because the matter is that we have a $200 billion deficit on infrastructure. my running mate and i put out a detailed program with specifics where we go to the next generation trust fund, $500 million, and leverage that while money now, while money as that an all-time low to come up with over 300 billion dollars additional funds for the cities and towns for roads and bridges as we are going over the next 10 years and create 56,000 jobs. this is so important that we do

that. one in five bridges is going to be obsolete and not be able to be used and just 18 years. now, we take the second pot of money and we create the closure state infrastructure bank. because there are some things that are very important. drinking, green spaces, cultural, broadband conductivity. will be so local communities can borrow money and improve the quality of life issues to retract and retain capital. i am concerned about the state advance. working for some of the people in indiana that do not have dependable cell phone service or hice bead internet. high-speed internet. and we cannot operate like that in the future. we need money for infrastructure and the plan will put money aside so we can start talking about the fourth port, double tracking the south shore for the

south bend to chicago, we can talk about finishing i-69, and we can talk about the new bridge between evansville and henderson. moderator: thank you mr. holcomb. mr. bell, you can close out. mr. gregg: i am mr. gregg. i finished. we have only spent about $10 million -- moderator: sorry. see what happens when i look at my notes. [laughter] moderator: it is all yours. mr. holcomb: i am back here -- the hair challenegd one. [laughter] mr. holcomb: if i may. i think mr. bell brings up a great point and it drives at what kind of state we want to be and what role do you want the state government to play in your da proud for as i went through these statistics earlier about our rankings in the country. it does not just represent numbers, it represents

opportunities, and we have been able to make so much progress. at the same time we remain a free state. we are ranked the fourth freest in the country. that is something to be said, something to be said for that. and at the very same time we have been providing this government service, we have done it at a 1975 state employee level. so we are leaner and cleaner and much more efficient at what we do. absolutely the infrastructure is a part of state responsibility. how are you going to pay for it? give an honest disagreement, mr. gregg and i, on how we are going to pay. i do not want to simply reflexively rain accounts. thatnt to create a program was a $3.8 billion infrastructure program that took us from talking about i-69 to actually building i-69.

it took us from talking about completing the heartland to a new bridge in madison. local projects all over the state of indiana that sat for decades, i-69 was talked about during the korean conflict. we finally found a way to not just talk about it but to actually do it. and so, absolutely we need to focus on a long-term, data-driven, sustainable infrastructure system that puts us not just raiding and borrowing. we are still paying on bonds. i do not just want to go down that route. i want a comprehensive, data-driven plan. moderator: mr. bell? mr. bell: a lot of this comes back into the proper role of government when we talk about bombs that we are paying on and when they tore down the hoosier dome when it cost more to tear down than it cost to build in the first place.

it is a matter of when government steps in, things that it should not be involved in. we talk about the roads, certainly everybody wants good roads and bridges. we can accomplish that by applying 100% of road use taxes to the road. you know, we do not need to be taking road use taxes and build walking trails. we talked about the infrastructure in town for water and sewage, certainly that is a necessary item, but it is tied in politically and people are a afraid to raise rates to pay for water and sewage. instead of running to the state governments, companies should be taking care of that on their own. as far as broadband, for the government to step in and say we are going to take care of this -- eh. moderator: thank you, mr. bell. and now, for my final round, mr. gregg. mr. gregg: thank you. thank you for recognizing me. [laughter] mr. gregg: you know, you will

hear a lot in this campaign about indiana, the state of indiana. i am not one that accepts the status quo. i will grant and concede to both of my opponents that indiana has low unemployment, but it is nothing to brag about. let's talk about actuality. we do have low unemployment. the actuality is that we have dropped to 38 per capita income. what that means for a family of four in princeton or fort wayne, they make $7,000 a year less than the average american family . we can do better than that. our wages are growing slower than the rate of inflation and slower than in our neighboring states. they are going slower than what they are in kentucky to the south of us. we need a plan that is in writing and detail that focuses in five main areas which i will explain at the end. moderator: thank you, mr. gregg. mr. holcomb?

mr. holcomb: the status quo is in large part why governor mitch daniels got elected in 2015. i do not think that the reforms that we brought about and i was associated with, proud to be a part of that crew that came into the government, we were operating in a sea of red ink, drowning in it, in fact. the status quo was pushed aside and we set out for infrastructure reform. we ushered in a come back. because of reforms, some of which were controversial. the service is important i made earlier, after you start building a road -- the point i made earlier, after you start building a road, have the ability to have your economy dialed into the point

where we have become a magnet, we are outpacing the national average in terms of high-tech jobs. we are tripling the national average. we have companies like salesforce saying, we are going to hire another 800. that is happening because we are not in another status quo. moderator: mr. bell. two minutes. mr. bell: we have been in the status quo with some minor changes over the last several years. you know, we talk about the roads and what each administration has dawned, -- done and and maybe one does it a little better than the other. we are still in a situation where we are not doing all that we can do. we talk about being the fourth freest state in the country. you know, i think we should strive to be the first freest state in the country. we talk about jobs and the wages being lower.

well, a lot of that has to do with not having enough jobs, not having companies have to compete for workers. certainly if we do away with property tax and attract more businesses here, we are going to have more jobs, not enough people to fill those jobs. that naturally drives wages up, that is something that we can do that way. as far as having a lower wage scale in indiana, we need to remember also that we have a lower cost of living here in indiana. my son that i mentioned graduated from usi, moved to san diego, california last year. from, he was down and all of -- down and all of branch, mississippi, at the time and he told me he went from being one of the richest men in all of branch, mississippi, to being one of the poorest men in san diego.

i am very proud of the fact that we can live cheaper here than other places. certainly we want to raise wages every chance we get but i think we need to keep things in our mind in proportion as to where we are. moderator: thank you, mr. bell. mr. gregg? mr. gregg: hoosiers are working two and three jobs to get by. the number of people that are working two jobs is because we have not focused on high wage paying jobs and indiana. -- high wage paying jobs in indiana. information technology, biotechnology, logistics, advanced manufacturing, and agribusiness. if you look at the detailed plan, you will see that we have, we talked about establishing a growth and opportunity fund to unleash entrepreneurial spirit, where neede with capital and to

seed capital can come to get money and we certify venture capitalists. we allow that to be increased to 20% and 30% like kentucky and tennessee have done. we allow the transfer and sale of that credit. there are so many things we can do. study the taxes as to how they affect the mom-and-pop businesses. you know, the indiana chamber of commerce says that one thing we have to do is be a welcoming community, and that means we have to pass civil rights protection for members of the lgbt community. moderator: thank you, mr. gregg. now, one of the great joys of my life, in addition to being a journalist, is serving as the president of the american society of news editors. one of our first tenets is open government. the first question is up my alley. indiana governors of both parties have considered open meetings as vital to the society. the recent indiana supreme court decision refusing to weigh in on whether legislative records were

subject to public disclosure has been criticized as effectively shielding both the legislative and executive branches from the people's ability to learn what the state government is up to. would you support more robust public access to the inner workings of government and court oversight? why or why not? gentlemen, you will have 30 seconds to respond and we start with mr. holcomb. mr. holcomb: well, i would, considering it is the taxpayers that pay for the office equipment that we use to interact with the public. having said that, we want to make sure that if the constituent signs a privacy authorization form, and does not wish their private information to be known, therein lies the balance. certainly if we're using public property to conduct public business, the public deserves

the right to see. moderator: the next response will come from mr. bell. mr. bell: certainly, this goes back to the pardon we talked about earlier. the burden of proof should always be on the government anytime a citizen asks to know something about the government. they have the right to know that. it goes back to who was in charge. certainly the citizens should be in charge, not the government. i cannot think of very many instances where the government would have the right to keep things a secret from the people paying the bill. moderator: mr. gregg? mr. gregg: the second policy initiative that we put out is open portal. open door, if you will. i 100% support it. i believe the more people low about government, the less they will fear about it. they ought to be able to see the tax dollars

coming in and going out. they are to be able to see the contracts and government business in real time. there is a great book called "innovative's a," if you would like to know about government, take a look at that book. it is not the easiest read but it is enjoyable. moderator: thank you, mr. gregg. and now for the final question of the night. folders who have been following the three debates now have a good -- voters who have been following the three debates now have a good idea where you stand on the issues. as we conclude the debates, tell us the most important thing about yourselves that you want voters to remember as they cast their vote. each of you will have 30 seconds to answer. mr. bell will go first. mr. bell: first of all, i am very happy to hear that we will not have an open records problem anymore. sounds like everybody is wanting to take care of that. the most important thing that i can say is that i believe in

you. i believe in limited government. i believe that you can make decisions for yourself. i want the government to protect you from force and fraud, perform its constitutional duties, and other then that i would like to live feel alone to live your own life. -- leave you alone to live your own life. mr. holcomb: each and every day i will serve as if i am looking through the taxpayer's window. i take the job very seriously. i also work wanted to be known -- i also want it to be known that i would continue to be, strive to be the most acceptable governor in history. that is why i remain in perpetual motion and i've gone to all 92 counties over and over again so that i know the issues. moderator: thank you mr. holcomb. finally, mr. gregg? mr. gregg: i would like voters to know that i have a passion

for indiana. that comes from traveling the state and talking to countless hoosiers. that has helped us great a vision for indiana and a detailed written plan based on what is best for