The two candidates for governor in Delaware clashed last night during a debate.
Republican state senator Colin Bonini said that he represented the change that was needed to deal with the state’s challenges – especially when it comes to budgetary issues.
“And the issue here is giving the political freedom to accomplish things. And it means picking fights with people you don’t want to pick fights with. And I think we need a sort of street fighter governor.”
But Democratic congressman John Carney told the audience that the state needed someone who could work with both sides of the aisle to get things done.
He noted that he had done so while serving in a contentious congress.
“I don’t think it’s just about picking fights. Listen, I worked in congress for the last six years. And people were picking fights. The people I represent in Delaware, they expected me to go down there and make friends on both sides of the aisle and get things done.”
Carney is seeking to succeed Governor Jack Markell who is term limited and defeated the Delaware Democrat eight years ago in the race for the state’s top job.
Since then, Carney says, he has learned a great deal and that the state has changed presenting new challenges.
“I’m better prepared today than I was eight years ago to address the economic challenges that the state is facing, the budgetary challenges that the state is facing, the health care challenges that the state is facing. And, I understand better than ever how competitive that we have to be economically.”
But, Bonini countered that what the First State needed was an agent of change.
“I think that Delaware is facing extraordinary challenges and my contention is that simply doing more of the same, voting for more of the same, you’re going to get more of the same.
So, I think, the choice tonight is very, very clear.”
On the death penalty Bonini said he would sign legislation to resume executions while Carney said he would probably not.
When it came to marijuana Bonini said he would support legalization while Carney said he wanted to wait and see how it works out in other states.
Bonini also pushed for some form of a right to work law while Carney said he would oppose such a measure.
House Debate
Meanwhile, the contenders for Delaware’s lone House seat also took to the stage for their one hour debate.
And early on the issue of income inequality arose with the Great Recession seeing many at the top doing better than most during these economic troubled times.
The Democratic candidate former Delaware Labor Secretary Lisa Blunt Rochester said she it was a complicated issue.
“We need to look at our total economy, the investments that we make in our infrastructure, those are good jobs that folks can have. In addition to that, we need to look at our education system, and the investment we make in our education system.”
But, her Republican rival Hans Reigle, an Air Force Veteran, took sharp issue with the idea that there would be more government involvement in the economy.
“A lot of businesses and a lot of jobs are hurt by regulation. I think the government needs to step back and create more jobs. And, I think that would be a big help to get rid of that income inequality.”
The federal government is still facing a budget deficit of $587 billion dollars for 2016 – higher than the $439 billion last year.
Reigle called for simple cut of $2 percent.
“The first thing we need to do is get a handle on spending. We need to cut the federal budget by 2 percent. Well, that doesn’t sound like much. Yeah, it’s symbolic. But it gets our country moving in the right direction.”
But, his Democratic rival opposed such a simple cut.
“We should not just say blanket that we cut 2 percent...that might mean dealing with social security, or child care, or some of the issues that are important to us. It really takes a lot of time and effort to go through a budget.”
The debates were held at Mitchell Hall on the University of Delaware campus in Newark and followed the gubernatorial debate.
