Vying for the Democratic nomination to run against Sen. Jessie Helms, R-NC, Harvey Gantt and Dr. Charlie Sanders participated in a publicly televised forum at the Terry Sanford Institute of Public Policy on Saturday night.
Rather than slinging mud at one another, both candidates focused their responses on issues such as health care, education, social security, family values and crime. In fact, the two candidates held similar stances on nearly every issue.
Sanders emphasized the need to ensure that families can live in a safe community where their children can attend safe schools. He added that children need appropriate job training so they can find jobs that allow for upward mobility.
Gantt agreed that the government should provide the necessary job training to facilitate movement up the socioeconomic ladder. People need to feel that, if they work hard, they can realize the American Dream, he said.
In addition to job training, Gantt said he supports several other education programs, including the Head Start program, which provides extra assistance to needy young children. He said he will not, however, support any programs that "undermine" the public school system. As an example, Gantt cited a proposal that would allow taxpayers to choose whether to use funding to send their children to public or private schools.
"I support strongly the public school system of this nation," Gantt said. "Education is the centerpiece of my campaign."
For families with college-bound students, Gantt proposed tax deductions for college tuition. He also pledged to prevent cutbacks in scholarship funding.
Sanders said he shared Gantt's belief that public schools are the "backbone" of the nation's education system. Teachers should receive higher salaries, he said. Sanders also said he favors increasing the computing resources available to public school students. "We've got to make darn sure that we have a computer in every school classroom," he said.
Education must also be improved at home, Sanders added. Parents must be more involved in their children's education, he said, instead of expecting teachers to provide children with their entire education.
Although they expressed similar positions about improving education, the two candidates differed on ways to reform the health-care system.
Gantt said he will ensure that there is affordable health care for senior citizens. He also said he plans on examining the reasons for rising health-care costs.
One cause of the increase, Gantt said, is that pharmaceutical companies are making too much of a profit at the expense of senior citizens. "I have watched senior citizens debate whether or not they were going to pay for necessary medication or whether or not they were going to have to fork over that money to eat," he said.
In his remarks, Sanders proposed a system that would allow employees to carry their health insurance from one company to another. He also said he supports ways to provide insurance to high-risk patients.
A cardiologist, Sanders stressed his experience in the health-care industry, which includes a five-year stint as president and chief executive officer for Glaxo, Inc., a leader in the pharmaceutical industry. "I have a lifetime of experience in health care" he said. "I think I know what to do to fix it."
Both candidates also proposed measures to reduce crime.
Sanders said he favored stiff penalties for drug-related offenses. In addition to the harsher penalties, he stressed the importance of educating children and strengthening the family unit as a means of reducing crime.
Gantt said he agreed that preventative measures, including programs such as Title I and Head Start, should be used to prevent more crime. He also said he would try to prevent people from being acquitted solely because they can afford to hire high-profile lawyers.
Audience members responded favorably to the two candidates.
"I think both of them are terrific candidates for the Senate. Either one of them has a reasonable chance at beating Senator Helms," said Helen Ladd, a professor of public policy studies.
One student said she was intrigued with Gantt's stance on education reform. "I am a college student and I know how hard it is to try to raise money to pay tuition," said Bridgett Wiley, a junior at North Carolina Central University. "He really hit home when he said he wanted grants and scholarships to be made available for anybody who wants to attend college."
In the end, however, the choice must come down to electability, said Durham resident James Bond. "Basically, it kind of boils down to which one of these guys can beat Helms," he said.
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