Posted on 10/15/2002 3:49:35 PM PDT by Dan from Michigan
Posthumus, Granholm meet for last debate
By KATHY BARKS HOFFMAN
The Associated Press
10/15/02 5:38 PM
DETROIT (AP) -- Democrat Jennifer Granholm, endorsed in the governor's race by Michigan's two largest teachers unions, can't remember how she voted in 1994 on the ballot proposal that changed the way the state pays for public schools.
Granholm was challenged twice by Republican Dick Posthumus during the pair's second gubernatorial debate Tuesday to say how she voted on the proposal. She did not reply either time.
Afterward, Posthumus said he didn't think she had even voted on the measure, known as Proposal A. Poll books from Huntington Woods, where Granholm was living at the time, show she did not vote in the March 1994 election, Posthumus campaign spokesman Sage Eastman said.
Granholm spokesman Chris De Witt said after the debate that Granholm remembers voting on the ballot proposal, although he has no records to back that up.
Voters in March 1994 had a choice of two proposals to change the way public education was financed in Michigan. One essentially lowered property taxes and raised the sales tax to pay for public schools, while the other lowered property taxes and raised the income tax.
The first measure passed, cutting most property taxes nearly in half and raising the sales tax from 4 cents to 6 cents on the dollar. Other taxes and fees were affected as well.
Granholm said after the debate that she does not know how she voted.
"I don't remember specifically. But I can tell you I support Proposal A," she said. She added that Posthumus, who voted for Proposal A, missed voting in other elections.(Dan: Which ones did he miss?)
"We all know, and I've said it before, that it's a mistake not to vote," she said. "I think everybody should vote, period." (Dan: You made about 7 or 8 mistakes)
Posthumus said it was important to know if Granholm supported Proposal A.
"It indicates what direction she really will go in as governor," he said. He repeatedly has said that Granholm would allow local school districts to ask voters for higher property taxes, a charge Granholm denies. She says she will not raise property taxes if elected governor.
The hourlong debate at Cobo Center was sponsored by the Detroit Economic Club and the Women's Economic Club and will be shown at 10 a.m. Friday on Michigan Government Television's cable channel. It was aired live by WJR radio and was to air Tuesday night on public television stations.
The candidates' first debate, at WOOD-TV in Grand Rapids, took place Oct. 7. No other debates are planned before the Nov. 5 election.
Posthumus stressed the experience of being a state senator for 16 years and lieutenant governor for four in explaining why he was the best choice for governor.
"My opponent talks about rebuilding roads. I've actually done it," he said.
Granholm pointed out several times that her opponent's current stands on the issues didn't always match up with some of his previous legislative votes.
While the former Senate majority leader said he twice held off votes on legislation that would have allowed communities served by the Detroit water board to place representatives on the board, she said, he now says he supports it.
"This is an election year conversion for him," she said, calling it a bid to win support in the voter-rich Detroit suburbs. Granholm supports keeping the water board in Detroit's hands.
She criticized Posthumus and GOP Gov. John Engler for not doing enough to extend health coverage to low-income Michigan residents. "It's clear in this state that we have dropped the ball in a number of areas," she said.
Posthumus said the state has a lower percentage of uninsured than the national average, and has lowered its infant mortality and teen pregnancy rates over the past decade.
He wants to lobby Congress to offer a Medicare prescription drug plan, saying it will move some seniors from Medicaid to Medicare and leave more state dollars for health care for the poor.
"You need a governor who can work with the president of the United States and get it done," Posthumus said.
Granholm, who has the endorsement of the Michigan Education Association and the Michigan Federation of Teachers & School Related Personnel, said she would work closely with teachers to improve education.
Teachers "have felt like they've been kicked in the teeth" by the Engler administration, she said.
Posthumus said he supports public education -- his oldest daughter teaches in a public school -- but used school visits with principals and teachers to find out what educators need rather than talking to unions.
The two candidates differed over how to prosecute hate crimes, with Granholm saying hate crimes deserved a special designation and Posthumus saying they should be prosecuted like any other serious crime.
The economy was never discussed during the forum sponsored by the Detroit Economic Club and the Women's Economic Club.
"The economy is the issue the Republicans have been successful in keeping off the front page," said Mark Gaffney, president of the Michigan AFL-CIO, which backs Granholm. "Let's talk about how to fix the economy. It's stagnant."
Michigan Republican Chairman Rusty Hills also wondered why, in choosing questions from the audience, a panel of journalists never raised the issue.
"I was surprised that the economy in general or the auto industry didn't come up," he said.
Now that's a big surprise.
< /sarcasm>
I missed one ever. ONLY because it was uncontested. I never missed a contested race or a millage.
This bugs me more than her gun stance(which changes every two minutes).
I think Lt. Gov Posthumus is reading my letters to the editor. :)
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