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our state. today's debate broadcast live across the state of oregon between governor john kitzhaber and representative dennis richardson. it's an example of voip's involvement in the process -- but why be's involvement -- more than 250 radio and television stations across the state welcome you to today's debate. watch, listen and you decide. most importantly, vote. here is your moderator, matt mcdonnell. togood morning and welcome this, the 2014 oregon gubernatorial debate. the second time these two candidates will be meeting. or ehalf of the organization of broadcasting, i'm tired be your moderator today. john kitzhaber is seeking his fourth term as governor. he was elected in 1994. he was the president of the oregon summit. his republican challenger has served in the oregon house since 2002 representing district four. he's a retired attorney, business owner and a vietnam war veteran. both of these candidates have agreed to a set form for this debate. each candidate will have two minutes for opening remarks and three minutes a piece for closing. questions have been cemented -- submitted by oregon association of broadcasting members. candidates will have one minute for a response. the candidate that answers first will have a 32nd rebuttal. it will be at my discretion to 30 secondnd -- follow-ups. at this time, representative richardson, you have two minutes for your opening remarks. >> hello. i'm dennis richardson. i'm the republican and independent candidate for governor. i should start by telling you about who i am. as the son of a carpenter, a union man taught me how to work hard and not quit until the job is done. i learned from the example of president john kennedy when i was young about the importance and the honor of military service. and i was old enough to my joined the army, i flew helicopters in vietnam, nighthawk and single admissions. -- single shoot missions. i would meet kathy, who helped life.d new purpose in after 40 years of marriage, we continue to grow closer every year. we have one son and a daughter's. -- eight daughters. i served on the city council and to become ain 2002 legislator in the oregon house of representatives. while there, i was unanimously elected by the democrats and theblicans to serve as speaker pro tem and then became the cochair of ways and means where i was able to work across aisle to balance the budget in difficult times without raising taxes. today to ask for you to give me the opportunity to service oregon's next governor. this is not about a republican versus democrat. it's about the past versus the future. the governor has served for three terms. three terms of high unemployed and, low school achievement and continuing growing this crutch -- this trust in state government because of the radical views of our federal and state funds. oregon deserves a governor who will reboot oregon and restore our economy, our education system and be able to help restore trust and confidence to the oregon people. >> thank you very much. oab fore thank you sponsoring this debate. my career has revolved around the fact that we all want to be able to meet our basic needs and those of our families and strive to meet our full potential. we want hard work to be rewarded with a better life and we want to leave our kids better off than we were. one is based on the belief that free people are on their own and needed event for themselves. if you make it and you're lucky, great. if you don't, you don't make it. the other belief is based on the assumption that we are actually all in this together. if there are things we can actually do as a community and a society and at the state to lift i all up and i'm the -- believe in a second view. as an er doctor and legislator and governor and father -- iran in 2010 and am running again now. wherever the dire straits we were in four years ago. polarized states, hide employment divided the legislature. i saw an opportunity here but we had to throw away the political playbook, reach across partisan divide and take seriously the problems. that's exactly what we did and we've been doing that together for the last four years. in 2001, we raised that erased that budget deficit. we came into a special dept session to raise revenue for schools and provide small-business relief and we did that with bipartisan votes. aregotiated -- here we ahead of us with an open playing field. we did not care the state a part -- wee we did together did not care the state apart because we did it together. >> thank you. we move onto questions now. i always like to follow the things that are happening in the moment. let me set the stage for this first question. over the past week, the secretary of state has said they will be finding -- a story has come out in one of the media outlets that the kitzhaber campaign is facing some allegations. -- high will be was sure oregonians that your administration will operate in an ethical manner? >> i've got a pretty wrong political desk the long political career. -- pretty long political career. -- we haveto reported our activities according to the rule and that will all be available on the secretary of state's website on september 30. age, with thed level of media scrutiny that is brought to anyone in public office, we are all pretty transparent. i have a pretty long career of transparency. i'm more than happy to discuss that at any time in any place. >> are presented richardson. how will you assure oregonians that you are demonstration will operate in an ethical manner? the circuit state's office has challenged this because we are living in portland with a friend and he said we didn't say that on the print. they don't charge rent. we're going to comply with that because we want to comply with the law. but we have seen with the scandal is outrageous. here is a woman who is working for the governor who was on his staff was giving him counsel and advice about the colonial river crossing bridge project and at the same time she is getting $554,000 from the primary contractor on the project. i think that is criminal. i think it certainly unethical. imagine being an advisor to the governor while you are collecting half $1 million from the contractor who you are supposed to be hiring to build a bridge and we've never done a single shovel full of dirt on that bridge. >> governor kitzhaber? >> think the reason people attacked patricia is she is effective. when she shows up, things happen. she is also a powerful woman. she has been a value add on the crc. a valued friend and consultant over the years. we will continue to secret vice. advice .er >> lawsuits, technical failures. how will you and the cover oregon debacle and ensure the state does not have similar problems on future i.t. projects? the case study in fraud, waste and abuse. wasted $300 million on a website project. the governor is going to say that we have signed up all these people under cover oregon for health care. most of them would have been signed up under medicaid anyway. he will say we provide all this coverage, but in reality, we have cut almost 100,000 individuals who now have to be reenrolled by the federal government. that is a waste of our time, effort and money. we can't let that happen again. the way to avoid it is by being connected. the governor was in boot and learning about -- while we were in session try to figure out how to implement cover oregon. the way you solve these things is to have a governor who will pay attention, be on the job, who will work and shows up. >> thank you. you, governor kitzhaber. >> i will try to answer the question. our chief information officer has instituted a number of steps to address exactly that one. he sat responsibly for each i.t. project. problems occur, you don't point fingers after the fact. the second one is what's called the stage a priceless were each -- stage eight process. we have instituted this throughout the state. with regards to cover oregon specifically, it will deliver a functional website in november. we have only 5% of oregonians who don't have health insurance coverage today because we kept our eye on the ball. the remaining functions will be moved to a state agency after november to ensure marketability. -- more accountability. >> it's great to keep your eye on the ball. if you keep our eye on medicare afternoon billion dollars wasted on this project. -- we have to keep our eye on money. $300ve wasted 30 million on this project. it's $390 million on the crc project. $72 million on the most recent department of human services baylor. the way you solve this is you have leadership that will pay attention and see that we do not have projects that are just starting and then continue without oversight. recreational marijuana recently became legal in washington and colorado. if pot is legalized here in oregon, do you favor allowing individual communities having the right to ban marijuana related businesses? >> i think we need a statewide policy. i don't support the ballot measure. not because i have anything against marijuana. i'm concerned we don't know enough and don't have public safety and law enforcement and educational framework for to work. if colorado and california. it seems to make more sense to wait a couple of years and learn from that experience and put in that kind of framework. it's difficult to do that once the bill is passed. the time to have a thoughtful discussion is before the bill passes. that we aree afforded the opportunity in the state to get ahead of the curve. it's coming. it's inevitable. we can be better prepared to better serve the people of and interest of those who were concerned about it why taking the time to come up with this is possible framework. legalized here in oregon, do you favor allowing individual communities having the right to ban recreational marijuana business? >> i firmly believe the best government is that which is closest to the people. i see no moving interest by the state to determine whether or not a local community should have pot or not have thought. i think local control is a rational way to approach it. i agree with the governor that we should delay, if we could if wend lamenting -- could come implementing the law in oregon. we can learn from their mistakes and successes. once the voters speak, i will take a note to support the will of the people and i where's -- i will assure that happens. because that's pathetic. a governor takes a oath to honor the constitution and the will of the people. while our governor has chosen not to do that -- when it comes to marijuana enforcement and the limitation of that law, i will see that is done. we found some common ground. a rarity in politics. what would you do differently immediately to improve high school graduation rates in our state? these be specific. -- please be specific. >> oregon's education system is second to last in the nation and graduation rates. the highest rate of non-attendance. absenteeism. we cannot afford to lose another generation. we can have promises made, but promises are broken. what i will do is first, we need to winter that education is funded first and not last. too often, it's a political football in the budgeting process. the kids are forced to suffer in school district not have the ability to make their plan. we should fund education first. secondly, we should use common sense and not common core. we don't need to have the federal government and bureaucrats telling us what is best for our schools. we have to have local control wherever possible. we should listen to our teachers , to our parents and to school districts because they know what is best for our students. we need to make sure that we have common sense in our schools and that our teachers are allowed to teach. .> governor kitzhaber what would you do differently to immediately improve high school graduation rates in our state? >> we have already started over the last four years. have viewed kids as nonexistent till they get to kindergarten. we lose a whole lot before they even get their peer we have a laser focus on outcomes for kids. you are four times more likely to graduate if you are reading at your grade level. with reconnect kids in high toool and middle school colleges and careers and career technical education. toto give them the ability be pulled through school rather than being pushed through. first funding schools begs the question of what system you're funding. leaves out the ability to ask whether you are actually funding the social services. thank you. representative richardson, you have 30 seconds to respond. >> what we need to do is focus on the outcomes we have allotted. you can have more of the same. our students a day mentor and an opportunity, especially with a breakdown in families. we need to look at alternatives. not all of our kids are going to go to college. every student deserves an equal educational opportunity. we can do that if we focus on the needs of all of our students and not just the ones heading to college. >> thank you. we move onto our next question. in 2015, organs minimum wage will be $9.25 an hour. in your view, should it be higher or the same and why? oregon was the first state to institute a minimum wage in 1913. this has been a core value of oregon for over a century. i do believe the minimum wage should be higher. i don't think it should be $15, but i concede at $11 or so. simply raising the minimum wage by itself doesn't help the problem. there is a benefit clip. -- youcome goes up and move from nine dollars an hour to $13 an hour, you have less money in your pocket. moving up the minimum wage is very important. the people who request social services -- we should support the minimum wage. so that work actually pays. when you get a minimum wage increase, you actually end up with more money in your pocket. that will be our objective. giving people the ability to take care of themselves and their families. richardson?ative it's important to know that oregon is the second highest in the country and its index with inflation, something the other states don't have. minimum wage is supposed to be an entry wage. we should not be looking at how we are going to be able to raise the minimum wage. but we need are more jobs. that requires us to focus on those barriers that prevent us from having good jobs in oregon. expand ourus to christmas the product because when there is greater demand for our products and services, that creates more desire for those products and create jobs. -- expand our gross domestic product. just growing the economy doesn't help people at the bottom. we have the second fastest growing economy in the nation. most of those jobs are flat out on the bottom. people trapped in the minimum-wage job. no one can live on a minimum wage. a familyke care of for $18,000 year. we will pay people in this state a wage that allows them to take care of themselves. >> i do want to ask a quick clarification on that question. in 2015,ion was, oregon's minimum wage will be $9.05 an hour and you talked about that in entry-level wage. should it be higher or stayed the same? >> the minimum-wage should probably stay with the same program we have now. it is indexed. what we need to do is not focus on men wage. focus on wages so people can get beyond the minimum-wage. --s not focus on men wage what we need to do is not focus on minimum-wage. >> in 2013, the legislature may changes that are currently under judicial review. the potential unfunded liability remains significant. do you think additional reforms are needed and what specific reforms would you make? >> it's one of those issues that keeps coming back. we are waiting to see what the supreme court does with the most recent reform. tose reforms, contrary popular belief, did not solve the first problem. merely lowered the increase. we to determine what is contractual and what is the decision of the legislature. to do that, we need to solve once and for a what is contractual and what is not make the reforms and honor the contract we have to our retirees and are dedicated public servants. ?> governor kitzhaber >> the answer to the question is no. we need to remember these benefits were earned by these people. they were excepted in lieu of pay increases. because of the market crash and the loss of the fund, the cost of the unfunded liability was taken down to the classroom. i lead our state into a special session and addressed the issue in a fairness possible way. i think maybe strong case to win the supreme court. i think we have made a big dent in the unfunded liability. we need to raise the minimum wage and ensure we reduce income inequality. they have done their share and they have taken reductions in the person system and now it's time to move on to other issues. >> we talk about the purse crisis. it continues to be a place where -- what isn't discussed is the problems that came about during john kitzhaber's term in the legislature. creating the problem and now we are left to try to solve it. we shouldn't have had it to begin with. we don't need four more years of excuses and blame. what are the fundamental problems with oregon's tax structure? what would change? >> the venerable problem is very narrow corporate income taxes. i have favored a consumption tax in the past. if you can't add that third leg, what can we do within this text richer? -- tax structure? when people get more money in their paycheck, they get more money in their pockets. at the top and come we know most of our job growth comes from small businesses that are rapidly.ifte when they are big enough, they have liquidity in the the state. we need a targeted capital gains tax reduction to keep those resources in the state of oregon. richardson?ative one of the fundamental problems with our tax structure is that there is never enough money. with government, you have an addict and the drug of choice is money. we have a cycle of boom and bust. we always spend everything we've got and then when we have the inevitable reduction, the recession, there is never enough money and you end up having to lay off teachers and cut schooldays. when it comes to our tech structure, we have what we have and there is not going to be a change in that until people decide to do that. we can look at other states and see what works and what doesn't work. we can learn from the experiences of those states that have a growing and vibrant economy because they attract business and attract growth. right now, what we have is barriers and a tax structure which has a negative impact on growth. we have high unemployment, low development of innovators and entrepreneurs and inventors in our state. >> governor kitzhaber? >> i'm not sure what his answer was. because of changes in medicaid, -- ourlion people our care model is growing at much less inflation. --we have schoolteachers, by we will cut expenditures by $4 billion. will have eliminated the structural budget deficit we've had since -- that's a part of tax reform. how you raise it and how you spend it. we are addressing both of those. >> thank you. we will return to the topic of health care. i won't be saying the words cover oregon. >> may be in the answers him about. -- may be in the answers, though. how can we reversed the trend and increased the number of general practitioners in our state? >> we're going to have to change the model, not merely giving more practitioners. we need to turn to our team approach where you have doctors working at the top of their license and nurse practitioners and a physicians assistant and those that are willing to make contact. they follow-up with chronically ill patients to make sure they are doing their meds and doing blood tests and don't keep showing up in emergency rooms. way we dochange the business in medicine, we are not going to change the outcomes we have. we need to have incentives for patients to be consumers. when you are a patient, you go in and it's like going to have a menu at a restaurant and there is no prices. we have to come up with a system also. there is an incentive for the patient to ask the question as to why i need to have this mri, heres it $450 here and $12 and what about prescription drugs? we need to have incentives for the patient to be on the ball with their own health care. >> how can we reverse the trend referring to a lack of primary care physicians and increased the number of general practitioners in our state? -- we haveagree with one million people enrolled under the -- we are using a team approach. we have a position that the top doing what he or she can only do because of their training. nurse practitioners. we are focusing on prevention -- that provides regular providers with a lot. this model is not only reducing costs. to have a games changer for businesses in the state if their health care costs are going through -- it frees up massive amounts of money for reinvestment. this is a huge success story. >> thank you. just to continue this joint discussion. theeed to ensure that community care model thus what is intended to do. spend money you differently, but actually work with individuals. help them to see the importance of changing their lifestyles. if we can have people less and smoking and lessen obesity and lessen their dependence on drugs, we can help them that only have a better life, but also have lower expenses that will help also. >> refreshing to have some agreement during campaign season. senator ron wyden has sponsored . bill to double the harvest some groups would say it would allow too much logging. others will say donna. -- others will say not enough. >> everyone is going to be upset with this bill. i have had a conference car with the center. we are getting a new bill draft this week. there is a pathway here to allow responsible increased harvest that still provides a significant conversation. -- theues are really certainty that whatever the border right said, you can count on and we can bring some revenue into the county. the isn't about cutting endangered species act or rolling back my mental laws. it's stepping back and asking ourselves, can't we do a better job finding a pathway to get more value off of those specific 2 million acres of land in southwest oregon and manage that in a way that dramatically improves the conversation -- conservation value? >> representative richardson? >> i think the bill is flawed because once again it doesn't give the certainty that the timber industry needs. llshave lost several bi and what do we have to show for it? we need to be able to count on there being certain timber that can be utilized i her mills. organization at true resource-based estate. in our world communities, we have the language -- they can't utilize the timber. we need a governor who will be back in washington and will lead a delegation of other western toernors and bring our case the congress and the president and the national media to show that we cannot allow citizens, americans in oregon to be languishing in poverty and oppression -- and depression. we are all americans. we need a governor who will bring this to the people and not settle for just more talk by a senator. >> we're doing a lot of those things. the blue mountain partnership is jobs.rs -- adding there are things we can do to find that middle ground that improves the economy, improves the health of the forest and keeps people back to work. we have done that in eastern oregon. we found a creative way to get a tumor supply -- tumor supply. -- timber supply. >> should undocumented immigrants have driving privileges in oregon? why? >> this is a very sensitive question because it affects lives. the decisions that are made really have an impact on toilies and their ability attend things and have transportation. i take it very seriously. i think it's a mistake for us to grant those driving privileges because we can learn from the experiences of other jurisdictions. tennessee had this program and they repealed it because they had busloads of illegal residents coming to tennessee so they could get that government card. hasew mexico, the governor said if she had the power to law, shee new mexico would repeal it for the same reason. they have a certain number of immigrants in their boundaries that they have issued cards that are much more. theeed to learn from experience of others. driving is not a right. it's a privilege. thank you. governor kitzhaber? absolutely, yes. it reduces the number of uninsured and unlicensed people on the roads. --s is part of a much longer archer commitment to equity in the state. these people are working in oregon, paying taxes in oregon, the backbone of a huge part of agricultural industry. hard workers. they deserve the right to be able to legally drive to and from work, to and from church, take their kids to school. if this is a nation that believes in equity and opportunity, we are all created equal and we all have certain rights. naturally the pursuit of happiness must have the ability to drive to work. to me, this is an issue of fundamental equity and i believe very deeply that we should allow these individuals to be able to drive. >> representative richardson? >> i appreciate the governor's passion. but the declaration of independence was not for illegal immigrants in our state were here breaking the law. it's not an easy issue. ultimately, it has to have certain principles. we enforce the law or we make initial exceptions for special people. we have to live with what we have here. we have to make a decision. we allow people to have discretion or do we have a law where we enforce the law for everyone? >> thank you. should oregon employers provide paid sick leave to all workers including part-time employees? why or why not? paid sickbelieve in a leave policy. has to be a statewide policy. obviously, it has to work for small businesses and it doesn't result in anothers being dropped. if you are a low income worker in this state, you have no margin. if you have to leave to go to the doctor or get sick and you're on minimum wage, $18,000 a year, you get sick, that can devastate them. they can lose their job. will they come to the state welfare system? it's a system that doesn't make any sense. paid sick leave is a rational response to how we support people in our labor force, particularly people at the low end trying to move up. richardson?ative >> i believe they should. that's the difference between -- i don't believe it's the government's place to pass a law and punish people with the threat of either confiscation or imprisonment for not keeping a law as determined by the government. i think it's what employers should do. i did that as an employer myself. i think it's an important thing for us to do and it needs to be training and publicity about it, but we crossed the line when they -- when we say the government is going to pass a law to threaten people if they don't comply with the way the government thinks something ought to be done. what is the state's role when areties or school districts unable or unwilling to fund things that are mandated by the state legislature? >> that's a huge problem. one reason i raised this at the the other talked to city councilmembers because we kept getting mandates from the state about what to do with the building department and they would tell us how to be better but it would not give us the money to do it. i think it's a huge mistake for us to allow the government at any level to give mandates and not show how it's going to be funded. i believe the government should be a resource to local and county government and not a dictator. that.e room to improve ?> governor kitzhaber >> i think there is two parts to the answer. first is, unable. i do agree that we have to be careful about mandating things on other segments of government that can't be paid for. we need to look at that and continue to look at that. a larger question is when people are unwilling. what we have in parts of southern oregon is a true public safety crisis where a lot of the factories in the state, people are unwilling to raise those rates to fund basic law enforcement. there is no law-enforcement in the county and more. we passed legislation to try to address that. that hasn't happened yet. our observation is in the state police and. at some point, you have to ask, should the rest of the state be supporting the public safety services for county unwilling to pay for it for themselves? this is not going to adjust effect this county. -- going to just affect this county. >> representative richardson? >> the reason that counties are not able to pay the expensive law enforcement goes back to our policy on timber. you have a county with some 60% of its land controlled in timber and they can't cut. they can't develop their economy. they don't have the clusters we ofe in the northern parts the state. we have to ensure that they have the resources, the income, the revenue, the economy that will allow them to make the payments that are necessary. easy said it is not an topic to tackle and not an easy decision to make. do you feel it's appropriate for the state to stem state police? >> we are already doing it. the short answer is, yes. but the state police is under budgeted and their stretched. -- they are stretched. it's not a long-term solution. if you are going to have counties, there are basic services the county has to be able to fund and state police is a short-term answer. the next question begins with you. what is the transportation package containing for the next -- assuming it contains a revenue component? the most short term, likely revenue would be in some kind of gas tax increase. that's not a, long-term solution because the gas tax is bringing in less and less money as people drive less. we need to look at a long-term answer. we will change the way we finance transportation. we need to figure out a way to figure out how to attract private institutional capital to finance public infrastructure projects. we have something called a west coast exchange which is a partnership to do just that. -- they haveodel done $10 billion of public infrastructure projects through private resources. it is probably the most fruitful avenue because we can't count on the general government. >> representative richardson? >> infrastructure and transportation is a basic requirement of government. we need a bridge and we have a 100-year-old bridge going across the columbia river. we need to have that be a priority where the legislators and the governor's work together to come up with a system that will be able to have a project that will create a bridge and not just ensure that cronies get paid their money and millions of dollars wasted. we need to focus on statewide transportation improvement packages. every region has their own priorities. they have to have the funding and need to use -- need to have the ability to have their projects funded as well. how do you do that? a combination of focusing on high priorities, not have them get whatever's left. and utilizing debt in a rational way. when you are fixing a bridge, it's a long-term project. you need to be able to fund that sometimes using that. -- using debt. >> i do think by changing the contracting model, you can bring these institutional boundaries. it's a design build contractor to get the lowest bidder. it gets to a fundamentally different kind of contract. we have a trillion dollar infrastructure hole on the west coast and we are not going to fill it unless we somehow figure out how to form that public-private partnership and bring those dollars. it it's critical in the public sector. >> and requires tolling. >> thank you both for the additional comments. what ideas would you propose to assist economic recovery in the rural counties of oregon that are well behind in our recovery process? >> it's vitally important that a governor be the ambassador for oregon dismisses. -- businesses. we can just focus on washington county. every area of the state has attributes. -- we can't just focus on washington county. it's not enough to have merely great products. you have to be able to sell them. a governor should be the ambassador for the aviation industry in eastern oregon. i have organized 10 trade missions to china. i took legislators and businesses had we went there to help consumers in china understand that oregon is in business and we have things they want to buy. as a result, we brought back contracts for over $1 million that have helped companies to expand and develop. what we have to do is not only deal with our natural resources, but also make sure that our products are expanded and sold internationally. >> governor kitzhaber? >> you have seen one oregon county, you have seen one oregon county. we have a whole host of regional economies, which is why we set up the solutions process. average in every county -- we have roots in every county. we have a four-year institution coming by here as a result of a regional solutions process. the bluemountain timber project on the east side is another example of that. we are producing tangible results right now. need to remember that the commonality is try to build on the natural resource industry structure -- infrastructure. for example, marrying the department of forest three at osu with the department of architecture at u of o two create these probing -- to create these buildings. if we want to bring new money into our economy, we need to be able to sell their products. out of my office, i will establish a position whose focus will be solely on international trade. developing the relationships we need. oregon is a gateway to the universe -- gateway to the world. we can sell our products if we have somebody working to do that and has established offices in our various countries where we have great opportunities for export. i will complement both of you for staying so well on time. we are at our final question. what are the first three things you will accomplish as r that will impact the voters on a personal level? >> first, i will continue to expand the access to the affordable care of care -- affordable health care. lean intontinue to delivery learning system, which will have a huge impact on children and families. implant --ll implement the fuel standards and favors a pirate transportation and opportunities -- diversify our transportation fuel opportunities. andill bring in fossil fuel create jobs and better economic opportunities for people. >> representative richardson? first, i'm going to implement a quality. women deserve to be paid the same as men for the same experience. the governor's office pay $.79 for women for every dollar he pays to men. that is wrong. i will make sure that my office sets an example of equal pay for equal work and he will experience. -- equal experience. the folks on education. we cannot continue to have an -- ouron system graduation rate is second to last in the country. we are losing a generation of our youth. i will focus not just on getting kids to go to college because you have a 100% of your effort focused on that and 25% of the kids go. we have to make sure we have mentors at technical and professional opportunities for kids. we are using unions and trade trainingo help provide for those kids that are not going to go to college. we need mentors. every child deserves a mentor and an education and an opportunity for a future. we are going to restore trust in our state so that the people can trust their state government. i do want to give the governor 30 seconds to respond. >> the charge that my office does not provide equal pay for equal work is categorically untrue. it seems to me a little cynical that you would discover equity after 11 year history in the legislature where a few of you have suggested that. we are going to move on to our closing statements. representative richardson, you will have the first closing statement. >> organization wonderful state. .- oregon is a wonderful state consider you and your family -- take yourself back 170 years ago anyone opportunity and you hear about oregon, a place where there is tall timber and deepest soil and lots of land. a place where you can plan your route and provide a legacy for your kids and grandkids. we call these people pioneers. family and yout put everything you had a wagon and you went in on oregon and you start walking, 2200 miles. you want an opportunity him a legacy of freedom for your family and for generations to come. that is what we inherited. we drink from wells. where are we now? we have high unemployment, we have low achievement in our schools and a distrust in our state and in our government and what is the answer? eligibility and qualification. we have put 300,000 more people onto health care. we want everybody to have good health care, but always seems to be subsidized health care. your doctor can treat you and give you a break on the price because he would be breaking the law. we don't need the government to try to tell us how we should live our lives. if we want a legacy for our children like we received from our parents and those that came before us, we need to change the .ay we do business we need to restore our state and -- reformer education system so our kids aren't next-to-last -- reform our education system so our kids aren't next to last. up to restore confidence in state government. i will be a people's governor. i will reinstitute office hours. i will go to every county, every thee, every year and have opportunity for people all over the state to bring their questions to the governor. i want us to have a governor who will help restore confidence and look to the future and not be focused on trying to defense -- make defenses for what's gone on in the past. you've had three terms. in baseball, it's three strikes and you're out. >> governor kitzhaber? >> let me start by saying this raises two things. values and the ability to deliver. values matter and my opponent and i differ fundamentally about the values that are important to this great state. we differ on the issue of a woman's fundamentally right -- funny metal right to control her own health choices. we differ on the importance of embracing organs growing diversity. we disagree on the importance of maintaining oregon's environmental natural wonders. our state is a vastly better place than it was four years ago . that is due to the fact that we did not allow the great recession to terrorist apart. it reflects a change in the tone at the top and reflects leadership that has delivered for oregonians. -- to tear us apart. you have found common solutions to some very difficult issues. we raced the budget deficit -- he raced the budget deficit and set out to create 25,000 new jobs each year and we have exceeded that goal. we security huge capital investment from our major trade sector industries with intel. we created four-year university here in central oregon. brought to data centers -- two data centers. we have kept timber mills open and we are working together to bring more water for irrigated agriculture. across this state, communities are coming together working on kindergarten readiness and third-grade reading. we have the first tuition raise in 14 years. 95% of all oregonians have health insurance coverage. tens of thousands of them from the first time -- for the first time and they don't have to choose between the utility bill and taking their child to the doctor. they are healthier and happier and more productive on the job. we have delivered forgan, but we ill -- we have delivered for oregon, but we have more to do. it requires leadership based on values and based on the belief that we are all in this together. based on the belief that oregon will be a good place for any of us to live. it requires the ability to bring people together to tackle these problems as a community. we have brought our stay together over the last four years. we have delivered forgan. -- for oregon. we cannot allow ourselves to return to the device -- divisiveness of the past. this is about values, the ability to deliver. and i'm kitzhaber asking for your vote on november 4. >> iq. we actually have a little bit of extra time. -- thank you. i will ask one additional question. one member suggested this to me yesterday. thing thatl us one you like about your opponent in this race? [laughter] -- this islong competition. he wants a fourth term and i think i can do better. we will both be glad. i think john is an affable guy. what is the difference between you and governor kitzhaber and he said, "i like people." it's about the ability to lead and we have different backgrounds and different focus on what the future is of our state. i will not debate anymore. he was one of the first people -- i walked across to his office. we have a divided legislature and i knew we needed to work together. arnie and hannah and peter were largely the reasons we took what appeared to be a toxic environment and made lemonade out of those lemons. appreciate you both ending on a positive note. that concludes our debate this behalf of the organization of broadcasters and voters in this great state, i want to thank both of you for being here and for everyone at home for watching, tuning in and making an informed decision. the last day to register to vote is october 14. election day is tuesday, november 4. your vote does indeed matter. thank you for being with us today. [applause] >> sunday we will have live coverage of the iowa u.s. senate debate. rated as a tossup. the debate is sunday eastern at 6:00 eastern. here's a look at some of the ads. ernst too extreme for iowa? >> i do not support a federal minimum wage. thinki ernst does not there should be a minimum wage. iowans canves survive on $15,000 a year. extreme ideas, wrong for iowa. >> want to know what i care about? i care about protecting social security for seniors, like my mom and dad, about good schools, good-paying jobs, and health care we can afford when we needed. i'm joni ernst and i approve this message is i will go to washington as a mom, soldier, and someone who really cares about the iowa we leave our children, and i cannot think of anything more important than that. >>
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