Candidates for governor agreed with each other on a number of issues Wednesday during a political forum at Autry Technology Center.
Republican candidates Mary Fallin, Randy Brogdon, Robert Hubbard and Roger Jackson, along with Democrats Jari Askins and Drew Edmondson, answered questions posed by Julie Knutson, CEO of The Oklahoma Academy.
Discussing municipal funding problems, Askins recommended making sure Oklahoma Tax Commission is doing its job of collecting all taxes that are due municipalities. Askins said mayors have complained to her OTC told them they did not have enough people to collect all taxes due.
“That is unacceptable,” she said.
Brogdon, former mayor of Owasso, said city budget problems often are caused by unfunded state mandates, especially from Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality.
“The last thing we need is for the state to be involved in local politics,” he said.
Edmondson said municipalities, counties and the state all are having revenue problems, but he opposed a tax increase.
“Before we look for other tax revenue we need to take advantage of the revenue we have,” he said.
He listed a number of revenue sources for municipalities, including fees for services, hotel/motel tax and a special events tax approved by the Legislature last session.
Fallin called the issue “challenging.” Both of her parents were mayors of Tecumseh. She also opposed unfunded mandates, but recommended looking at the state’s overall tax code, which she thinks is out of date.
“One way to help the state grow its economy is to remove impediments to growth,” she said.
Hubbard said he opposed sales taxes that are too high. He said other measures are available but should be used with caution. Jackson said the state should have experienced leaders and recommended cross training of employees, going paperless and making certain overdue fines are collected.
Discussing Oklahoma’s poor ranking in health categories, Fallin said 40 percent of babies born in the state are to unwed mothers. She said those types of personal tragedies impact the state’s budget, but the state has developed improved health initiatives encouraging Oklahomans to eat healthier, be active and be tobacco-free. She said there are a number of child nutrition programs in schools. She said a major threat to the health of Oklahoma is the federal health care reform plan, which she voted against.
Hubbard remembered physical education classes in school. He said health and wealth go together and proposed passing a law prohibiting people who smoke from being hired because they pose a health hazard to everyone.
Edmondson said Oklahoma is at the bottom of lists it wants to be on top of and on top of those it wants to be at the bottom of. As attorney general, he said he fought abuse against women and children and had women’s abuse shelters transferred from the Department of Mental Health to the Attorney General’s Office.
He also sued tobacco companies and obtained an injunction against marketing to children. Those actions and the increased cost of tobacco products helped reduce youth smoking, he said.
“But we need to do more, like removing junk food from school and adding physical fitness programs,” he said.
Jackson recalled schools having physical education programs, but said it is a function of individual initiative. He also said nutrition is not as good as it once was.
Askins said Oklahoma is a test state for new entrees for fast-food chains. She said the efforts of groups like Fit Kids Coalition have made a difference in some childhood obesity problems. Askins said mothers are the ones who train children and she proposed working with county health departments to train mothers how to teach their children to be healthier.
Brogdon said he believed in “extremely” limited government and personal responsibility.
“There is a litany of government programs and we still have those problems. We subsidize things that make us fat. Another government program is throwing good money after bad,” he said.
Edmondson addressed the state’s positives by saying other states have no image of Oklahoma. The state has not been sold and has no image to other states.
Askins said Oklahoma is recognized as one of the most entrepreneurial states during the last couple of years, because of the people in Oklahoma who have done things during a bad economy. She called for a conference of entreprenurship and said the University of Oklahoma and Oklahoma State University both are realigning programs to highlight entreprenurship.
Fallin said Oklahoma’s strength is its people, who can do great things.
Answering a question about high-speed rail service, Brogdon said he would not consider it during a four-year term as governor. A larger consideration is transportation, namely roads and bridges, which are in poor condition.
“We don’t have enough money and it’s more important to rebuild our roads and bridges,” he said.
Jackson would support high-speed rail, saying the state could get money from the federal government, which is interested in developing high-speed rail.
Askins said Oklahomans must think beyond four to eight years. Oklahoma is well-positioned to acquire high-speed rail, she said and the state needs to start planning for it now.
“It will take long-range planning and it must be part of the future,” he said.
Fallin is a member of the U.S. House Transportation Committee and has helped some Oklahoma communities and supports the goal of high-speed rail, but warned it is an expensive process.
“Our first priority must be improving roads and highways in the state,” she said.
Edmondson said high-speed rail is in the future, but will be expensive. More costly than construction is the $20 million a year to operate it. Right now, the state needs to be spending the money on roads and bridges, he said.
Answering audience questions, Askins said she does not know how accurate the claims of global warming are, but the state must keep its air and water pure.
Brogdon does not believe in global warming, but said residents must be good stewards and protect air and water.
Edmondson said the debate is not whether global warming exists, but how much man has to do with it.
“There are things we can do to make automobiles more economical and have lower emissions,” he said.
Fallin agreed Oklahomans must be good stewards of water and air and told the audience she voted against cap and trade legislation, which she said would be expensive for the state. She also promoted use of compressed natural gas.
The Oklahoma Academy has held a series of forums across the state. The primary election is July 27.