In the final night before early voting and the final debate of the hotly contested election season, all three candidates for governor of North Carolina squared off in Charlotte Wednesday. The hour-long affair featured Republican Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory, Libertarian candidate Mike Munger, chair of the political science department and Democratic Lt. Gov. Bev Perdue.
Before their meeting, which was sponsored by Charlotte's WSOC-TV, WTVI public broadcasting station and the League of Women Voters of Charlotte-Mecklenburg, only two of the three candidates participated in each debate since the primaries. The candidates covered a range of issues Wednesday, including crime, education, healthcare and illegal immigration. The economy, however, remained the primary concern for all three candidates.
"The fact of the matter is that trickle-down, Bush Wall Street policies are hurting Main Streets all across North Carolina," Perdue said.
To help alleviate some of North Carolina's economic troubles, McCrory proposed attracting new businesses to the state. He cited lowering both the state's income and corporate taxes as potential ways to achieve this.
"We have the highest income taxes in the Southeast," said McCrory. "The main job of the governor is to sell the state of North Carolina to businesses."
The candidates said the rising cost of healthcare was one of the reasons businesses are leaving the state. Munger argued that the mandates insurance companies have placed on them by state law make healthcare expensive. These mandates include various types of services not covered in other states.
"We have to change the way we view healthcare in this state," Munger said. "I have automobile insurance and it doesn't pay for oil changes."
Although McCrory agreed with Munger on the issue of mandates, Perdue said she supported them and argued that North Carolina should focus on preventive healthcare.
"Healthcare is the driving cost for business and our system is skewed towards disease," Perdue said. "I believe that if I need a mammogram my insurance should pay for it, and I believe that if you need a prostrate exam your insurance should pay for it."
With respect to education, Munger and McCrory supported school vouchers, but Perdue said they would lead to the destruction of the public school system.
"I am the only person on this platform standing between vouchers and the public schools," she said, adding that the state could not afford a $900 million plan for vouchers from McCrory.
McCrory, however, said he had never supported such a broad initiative.
"She is making this up," McCrory said. "She never read a plan like that from me on my Web site or heard it come out of my mouth."
Tensions among the candidates also mounted when they were debating crime and what to do with repeat offenders.
"I have the endorsement of every single public safety official in the state," Perdue said. "As governor of this state I'm going to be tough on crime and smart on solutions."
McCrory argued that support for Perdue's plan stemmed from her support of giving law enforcement officers full retirement benefits after 25 years of service.
Perdue also said McCrory had supported a spending cut that took officers off the street. McCrory said this was not true.
"Her notes are inaccurate, just like her commercials," he said, referring to a commercial by the Perdue campaign which contends McCrory supports letting other states dump their trash in North Carolina.
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