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2001 Virginia Gubernatorial Debate - Articles
Candidates use final debate to set themes for rest of campaign
By Bob Lewis, Larry O'Dell
Associated Press Writers, October 11, 2001
ROANOKE, Va. - The candidates for governor apparently have found messages they believe will resonate, and they're sticking with them.
Republican Mark Earley repeatedly declared during Wednesday night's televised debate that Democrat Mark Warner wants to raise taxes. Warner accused Earley of misrepresenting his position and took every opportunity to link the Republican to the GOP-controlled General Assembly's budget impasse.
"They were announcing themes for the rest of the campaign," Virginia Commonwealth University political analyst Robert Holsworth said after the hourlong debate. "I think both candidates are comfortable with the themes that have developed." The final debate of this year's campaign also touched on rights of gays and gun owners, a high-profile 1998 right-to-die case and preparedness for terrorist attacks, but taxes got most of the attention.
Earley responded bluntly to one questioner who suggested he had accused Warner of being a closet supporter of tax increases.
"I certainly never accused him of being a closet supporter of tax increases. He's been very public about it. He opposed Governor (George) Allen's attempts to cut the ... tax on gross business receipts, he opposed our efforts to cut the car tax from the beginning, and again it's his plan in writing - not a closet plan, a very public plan - that calls for over $900 million in tax increases," Earley said.
Near the end of the debate, Warner looked at Earley and said, "Mark, I think I've counted you now saying 13 times that I'll raise taxes. You've got that one-trick pony. It's just not going to work. The fact is I will not raise taxes. You can say it 20 more times, but the people will know the difference."
At issue was a paragraph in Warner's transportation plan supporting a referendum in which northern Virginia voters would decide whether to impose an extra one-half cent increase in the local sales tax to finance regional road improvements. Tax revenue would be used to retire a $900 million bond issue, an amount that comprises 40 percent of the revenue in Warner's proposed $2.25 billion transportation spending.
The tax is at the heart of ads Earley has aired for three weeks attacking Warner as a high-tax Democrat, and rebuttal ads from Warner that accuse Earley of distorting his position.
Holsworth said Warner did a better job defending himself on the tax issue Wednesday night than he did in last week's debate, which was widely viewed as a victory for Earley. "He wasn't simply on the defensive," Holsworth said.
Warner repeatedly declared that "politics as usual" led to the failure of Republican Gov. Jim Gilmore and the legislature to enact a budget, implying that Virginians could expect more of the same from another GOP administration. "As a businessman, I would clean up the budget mess in Richmond," he said.
Earley, who was attorney general at the time, said he encouraged Republican legislators to reach a budget agreement.
Both candidates expressed support for easing the state law that bars felons from having their voting rights restored, with Earley saying he favored continuing the ban for violent felons.
Warner said he supports expanding the state' hate crimes law to provide harsher punishment for people who assault homosexuals. Earley said he doesn't like singling out certain groups and would prefer a minimum 30-day sentence for all assaults.
Both said they would take similar steps in the event of a terrorist attack in Virginia, including declaring an immediate state of emergency and activating National Guard troops.
Warner took pains to link himself more closely to the National Rifle Association, praising the organization for hunter safety education and promoting the rights of sportsmen. In a debate last week, Earley said the organization was a positive influence on the state while Warner equivocated in his answer. Both men have courted the organization for an endorsement that carries major clout in rural Virginia.
Warner also said he disagreed with Gilmore's opposition to the decision by Michelle Finn to allow her brain-injured husband, Hugh Finn, to die rather than exist in a persistent vegetative condition. Three years ago Earley went into court repeatedly to defend Gilmore's position, which Finn's wife tearfully denounced before a legislative committee.
"That case was very difficult and very unusual, and it really points to the need for families to make decisions ahead of time," Earley said. "This was a case in which you had a family suing each other."
The debate, held jointly by the Virginia Capitol Correspondents Association and the University of Virginia Center for Governmental Studies, was originally scheduled for Sunday night but postponed after U.S. bombing strikes on Taliban targets in Afghanistan.
It aired live over six stations - two in Richmond, two in Charlottesville and one each in Roanoke and Norfolk - and by tape delay over two others, NewsChannel 8 in northern Virginia and C-SPAN.
The debate was held at the studios of WDBJ-TV in Roanoke.
More Information on this Debate
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Copyright © 2002 U.Va. Center for Politics. All rights reserved.
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