The three major candidates for West Virginia Governor squared off Sunday at a debate co-sponsored by the Associated Press and West Virginia Public Broadcasting.
Gov. Manchin defended himself against charges of cronyism and micromanagement. GOP challenger Russ Weeks defended himself against charges of making unsubstantiated charges against Manchin. Mountain Party candidate Jesse Johnson re-iterated his call for a ban on mountaintop removal – as he struggled to name the different cabinet posts he would oversee if elected governor.
You can listen to a shorter version of the debate, or the entire debate by clicking on the links above.
Here is the AP story from the debate:
Gov. hopefuls differ on weathering financial storm
by The Associated Press
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- West Virginia's candidates for governor agree that the state is weathering the global financial crisis, but differ on what to do in the months and years ahead.
Gov. Joe Manchin credits his phased-in tax cuts and emphasis on paying down debts. At Sunday's debate on West Virginia Public Broadcasting, the Democrat said the resulting economic picture makes West Virginia more attractive to businesses than any of its five neighbors or most other states. He pledged to stick with his approach.
"We will not, this year, have to increase any taxes or reduce services,'' Manchin said at the half-hour forum, co-sponsored by The Associated Press. "Other states are increasing their costs, being less competitive, cutting services.''
But Republican Russ Weeks pledged to cut more taxes than Manchin, and more quickly.
"The governor wants to drag it out to 2015, 2020,'' Weeks said. "The bold step has to be taken to eliminate a lot of these taxes now.''
The former Raleigh County state senator also said coal prices, and not Manchin's policies, account for West Virginia's better-than-most showing as financial turmoil threatens economies worldwide.
Jesse Johnson, the Mountain Party candidate, agreed that coal helps the state through hard times. But he said the state's fiscal health allows it to depart from its "business as usual model.''
"The first thing in office, I abolish mountaintop removal (mining),'' said Johnson, an actor, filmmaker and tree farmer. "That enables there to be 51,000 new mining jobs going underground.''
Manchin and Weeks both questioned that jobs figure. Weeks also defended the mining industry's record for either restoring the massive strip mining sites to near their original state or preparing them for future development.
The method blasts vast mountaintop areas to expose coal seams, and requires fewer workers than underground mining. The resulting tons of rocks, debris and other waste are trucked away and then dumped into valley areas, including stream beds.
Manchin said the state and operators could do a better job ensuring that sites are reclaimed as required by law.
"My intentions are basically, that any new permits that are requested have to show that there is going to be a productive method to putting that land back, bringing better value than what it had before it was removed,'' Manchin said.
Weeks and Johnson also each called for replacing taxes on coal and other extracted resources with annual royalty checks issued to every state resident, as is done in Alaska with oil revenues. Manchin said that such a plan could not work in West Virginia, which has different ownership laws governing such resources than western states.
Weeks further called for the state to start dipping into its surplus to aid residents with this winter's heating costs. Manchin said his administration has already dedicated more money toward home heating programs. He also defended the role of severance taxes in erasing a debt left over from the former Workers' Compensation program.