2014 Maryland Gubernatorial Debate Transcript

98550-1 cnv
NBC NEWS WASHINGTON

"MARYLAND GOV DEBATE"
INTERVIEW WITH ANTHONY BROWN, DOUG GANSLER AND
HEATHER MIZEUR
CORRESPONDENT: DAVID GREGORY
PRODUCER: JERMIN
MEDIA ID: NO MEDIA
18:56:01:00 (COMMERCIAL NOT TRANSCRIBED)
DAVID GREGORY:
18:58:39:00 And good evening. I'm David Gregory. Welcome to
the Maryland Gubernatorial Debate among the
Democratic candidates, Lieutenant Government
Anthony Brown, Delegate Heather Mizeur and
Attorney General Doug Gansler by the University
of Maryland, NBC-4 and Bowie State University.

18:58:57:00 This debate is also airing on WAG in Hagerstown,
Maryland, Public-- Maryland Public Television and
streaming live on NBCWashington.com. I wanna
begin by quickly going over the rules of
tonight's debate, their rules, the candidates'
debate. The debate will last one hour. We'll
MEDIA ID: NO MEDIA PG.2
98550-1 cnv
begin with one-minute long opening statements
from each candidate. The order has already been
determined during a random drawing.

18:59:20:00 Then our panelists and I will pose questions
directly to the candidate, (THROAT CLEARING)
these are questions determined by NBC News and--
and NBC-4. The panelists have not reviewed-- the
questions, not has the University of Maryland. I
am also in the role of time-- the role of time
keeper here, I've got so many accouterments to
help me measure the time, so I'll be keeping
everybody to time.

18:59:42:00 Each candidate is going to have one minute to
respond. As moderator, I'll also be allowed to
follow up with questions or-- provide a 30-second
rebuttal to the candidates as necessary.
Finally, the debate will conclude with closing
statements. A time keeper will be located in the
front row of the audience, facing the candidates.
The time keeper will notify candidates of their
98550-1 cnv
remaining time and when time has expired.

19:00:07:00 In the interest of trying to cover as much ground
as possible, we ask the candidates to adhere to
these time limits; politicians always keep to
time, come on. (LAUGH) And-- we also as that
the-- the audience listen quietly-- (THROAT
CLEARING) no applause, please, over the course of
this-- no shouting during the debate.

19:00:24:00 Now I wanna welcome our panelists tonight. Chris
Lawrence, who's a News 4 anchor. He's spent the
last decade covering some of the biggest national
stories for CNN before joining the NBC family.
Chris is an alumnus of the University of Maryland
here at College Park, so a welcome home for him.
Chris, welcome.
CHRIS LAWRENCE:
19:00:41:00 Thank you.
DAVID GREGORY:
19:00:43:00 Jenna Dodson writes about Maryland politics,
including the General Assembly, and the 2014
98550-1 cnv
election for The Washington Post. She has been
with The Post since 2007. Finally, Chris Gordon,
a lawyer; he has been a reporter in this area for
almost three decades and for more than 15 years
he's covered Maryland politics and legal issues
across the state for NBC-4. And now, please
welcome the Democratic candidates for governor.

19:01:08:00 The Attorney General of Maryland, Doug Gansler.
Maryland State Delegate, Heather Mizeur and
Lieutenant Governor, Anthony Brown. Attorney
General Gansler, you will be first with your one-
min-- one-minute, I should say, opening
statement. (MIC NOISE) So the floor is yours.
DOUG GANSLER:
19:01:25:00 Thank you, David. Thank you the University of
Maryland, Bowie State and NBC for hosting us to
date this evening. As your governor, I will
continue to do what I have done for the past 22
years in public service, and that's when I see
something that's unfair or wrong, I will fight
relentlessly to solve the problem and get things
98550-1 cnv
done. Whether it's bringing the Beltway Snipers
to justice, arguing in front of the Supreme Court
of the United States to keep a child molester
behind bars, suing big oil to clean up its spills
or preventing big tobacco for marketing--
cigarettes to our children.

19:01:58:00 As your governor, I will give voice to the
voiceless, making sure that every Marylander has
access to healthcare; creating and strengthening
the middle class by creating jobs; taking on the
pollution lobbyists so we have clean air and a
clean bay, and making sure that in every
classroom, we have skilled teachers for every
student everywhere in Maryland. You see, I grew
up in this state and there's so much good about
this state, but from jobs to healthcare to the
environment, we can do so much more. And that's
my (UNINTEL).
DAVID GREGORY:
19:02:35:00 And next up, thank you, now up, Delegate Mizeur,
your one-minute opening statement.
98550-1 cnv
HEATHER MIZEUR:
19:02:38:00 Thank you, David. When I was nine years old, the
factory where my father was a union welder went
on strike for fair wages. And over the next six
months, my family and I struggled to live on $45
a week strike pay. During that period of time,
my father took me with him to the picket lines,
where I got to see first-hand men and women
standing up for what they believe in with
incredible courage.

19:03:03:00 I have remembered this my entire time in
Annapolis, standing up for Maryland families.
I've expanded health insurance to 50,000 more
children in our state, passed bipartisan
legislation to give thousands of low-income women
access to free family planning services. And
just last month, decriminalized the possession of
marijuana. But for all of our successes, there
are still too many families who are falling
behind in our state. As your governor, I will
create jobs with a living wage, reduce that
98550-1 cnv
income inequality gap, invest in our schools and
drive down violence in our neighbors with a Smart
on Crime strategy. Together, we will deliver
real results for Maryland families.
DAVID GREGORY:
19:03:45:00 All right, thank you, Lieutenant Governor,
please.
ANTHONY BROWN:
19:03:49:00 Thank you, David, and panelists, sponsors and
audience. Good evening. I'm a generation
removed from poverty. My father was raised by
his grandmother, my great-grandmother-- in a one-
bedroom home (THROAT CLEARING) on a dirt floor in
Kingston, Jamaica, a poor neighborhood called
Jonestown.

19:04:06:00 And when my father was a little bit older than my
son Jonathan is today, he wrote a letter to his
mother, my grandmother, already in this country,
he said, "Mom, bring me to America, I wanna be a
doctor, I wanna heal people." She wasn't a
wealthy woman; a woman without an education, but
98550-1 cnv
knew the importance of an education. So she
saved her money, brought me father, her son to
this country, he was the first in our family to
get a college education.

19:04:30:00 My father spent a lifetime as a family doctor,
treating people and serving people, even those
who couldn't pay for his services. When I grew
up, I knew I wanted to be just like my father. I
didn't go to medical school, but I had the
privilege to serve our country in the Army, then
in the House of Delegates, and for the last eight
years as your Lieutenant Governor. Together, we
will build a better Maryland for more Marylanders
and I look forward to doing that with each and
every one of you.
DAVID GREGORY:
19:04:56:00 All right, thank you all very much. Let's talk
about the issues, I'm gonna start. Healthcare is
something that-- Americans are concerned about
across the board, especially with the Affordable
Care Act. I'm gonna ask-- this question to three
98550-1 cnv
of you in the order that it was designed, so I'll
start with you, Attorney General Gansler-- it is
widely-- argued by you and others and believe
that the roll out of the healthcare Exchange here
was a disaster. Who ultimately is accountable
for that? What is the impact of it and how would
you fix it?
DOUG GANSLER:
19:05:23:00 Well, thank you, David. The-- Lieutenant
Governor for a number of years has touted that he
is in charge of the Affordable Care Act roll out;
and in fact, right now, if you look on his
website, it says that Maryland has led the
country in the Affordable Care Act roll out.

19:05:36:00 The Washington Post, The Baltimore Sun, Senator
Mikulski and many others have called it a
national disaster. I think the Lieutenant
Governor is the only person that believes it's
been a success. We're actually 45th in the
country in terms of people enrolled, so that's
relatively delusional. We (UNINTEL) $200 million
98550-1 cnv
of taxpayer money and (UNINTEL) on the web-- on
the website was broken and flushed it down the
toilet.

19:05:58:00 And the tragedy is that real people can't get
diabetes screening, healthcare for their
children, heart disease medication. And of
course-- for somebody to-- to co-chair President
Obama's campaign here in Maryland and-- and went
to the United States Supreme Court and had
Maryland as the lead plaintiff in the Affordable
Care Act Constitutionality, it gives the
Republicans a chance to attack our President for
doing something no other President was able to
do, which is-- make the United States like every
other industrial country in the world--
DAVID GREGORY:
19:06:25:00 All right, Attorney-- Attorney General--
DOUG GANSLER:
19:06:26:00 --(UNINTEL) citizens.
DAVID GREGORY:
19:06:27:00 --you're out of time. Who's ultimately
98550-1 cnv
responsible? Who's accountable for this?
DOUG GANSLER:
19:06:31:00 The-- Lieutenant Governor-- under his own-- under
his own recognition. He said, "This is--" the
problem is this is, literally, the one thing he's
been in charge of, that's he's managed or he's
led since he was Lieutenant Governor and it's
been an unmitigated disaster.
DAVID GREGORY:
19:06:43:00 All right, the Lieutenant Governor will have a
moment to respond in full in just a moment when
we come to you, but Delegate Mizeur, same
question to you-- who's ultimately accountable
for this and what would you do to fix this?
HEATHER MIZEUR:
19:06:54:00 David, I'm not about casting blame, I'm about
fixing the problem and making sure that families
get access to the healthcare that they deserve.
I have spent a lifetime making sure that people
have access to affordable, quality healthcare. I
believe that healthcare is a right, no a
privilege. I have been a strong supporter of the
98550-1 cnv
Affordable Care Act from the beginning, because
as a delegate, I have been working in our state
for years to get many of those same provisions
passed in our state.

19:07:19:00 The first piece of legislation that I passed was
a bill that allowed young adults to remain on
their family's health plan until they're 25.
That's now federal law because we showed how it
worked in Maryland first. And I learned in
passing bills to get 50,000 more children health
insurance or getting women access to free family
planning services that what matters most is that
reforms are implemented effectively.

19:07:45:00 Our ideas and our vision matter in this election,
but our records of management matter even more.
You want a governor with a successful track
record of implementing health reforms, then I am
that leader.
DAVID GREGORY:
19:07:57:00 Okay, Lieutenant Governor, are you ultimately
98550-1 cnv
accountable for this?
ANTHONY BROWN:
19:08:00:00 David, as I've said on numerous occasions,
everyone involved with establish (PH) in the
Health Benefit Exchange is responsible, and that
includes me. I'm not new to healthcare; for the
last eight years, we have expanded healthcare to
over 500,000 Marylanders who didn't have access
before.

19:08:17:00 So when we set out to implement the Affordable
Care Act just like the President, with the
difficulties in the federal website and the
difficulties they had on the launch, so too, did
we in Maryland, and I sincerely regret that any
Marylander was inconvenienced, trying to get--
healthcare through the broken website.

19:08:33:00 But nobody was more frustrated than me, and
that's why I took the action that I did. I
reorganized the leadership at The Exchange; the
Executive Director left. We refocused the
98550-1 cnv
vendors, fired those who didn't perform as
promised, including IBM, and after evaluating the
resources and capabilities at The Exchange, we
plussed up (PH) the call centers and the
navigators, and the result, David, 330,000
Marylanders now with access to accordable,
quality health--
DAVID GREGORY:
19:09:01:00 But lemme follow up on this, you heard the
Attorney General say the amount of money that is
going to chase after this mistake-- you're about
50% behind where you'd like to be in getting
people enrolled. On the national level, this was
an issue in terms of getting those young, healthy
people to pay attention, ultimately, and to sign
up for something that they think is broken. How
do ya deal with that?
ANTHONY BROWN:
19:09:19:00 Well, l-- let's give it the bench mark first, the
bench mark is our goal in Maryland was 260,000,
we enrolled 330,000. 260,000 in Medicaid-- now,
Medicaid's important, you know-- for better or
98550-1 cnv
for worse, you like it or not, in America,
Medicaid is the health insurance for the working
poor, so we've expanded health insurance to
Maryland's poor and working families, 260,000,
but a total of 330,000. So today, in order to
ensure that we have a seamless transition for the
Open Enrollment in November, we're adopting
proven technology in Connecticut.
DAVID GREGORY:
19:09:50:00 Lemme give 30 seconds to the Attorney General in-
- in a rebuttal to this.
DOUG GANSLER:
19:09:53:00 Well, there's a couple of things. First of all,
the-- the actual number that we know that was--
able to sign up through the website was through
Jenna Johnson's article and the last we've heard
was four people. And that is because there's
been a cover up from the special interests that
don't-- doesn't want us to know what happens. So
what they then did, they went into a closed room
and they decided they were going to chase good
money after bad and spend another $60 million to
98550-1 cnv
get the Connecticut Exchange to come down here
and try to retro fit it.

19:10:18:00 Even the Connecticut people say it won't work,
but we certainly won't know if it'll work if we
don't find out what happens in the first place to
the $200 million.
DAVID GREGORY:
19:10:23:00 All right, we're gonna keep the conversation
going with Chris Lawrence, moving onto another
topic.
CHRIS LAWRENCE:
19:10:29:00 Yeah, the-- the decriminalization of marijuana
has a lotta people in Maryland wondering, "What's
the next step?" And if that includes legalizing
marijuana. Yet, the governor of one of the most
progressive states in this country has recently
raised some serious concerns about that issue.
California's Jerry Brown, says, quote, "If
there's advertising and legitimacy, how many
people can get stoned and still have a great
state or a great nation?" But my question to all
98550-1 cnv
of you is is the money that the state could get
from taxing this drug worth accepting it in
Maryland? And I'd like to begin with Delegate
Mizeur.
HEATHER MIZEUR:
19:11:10:00 Thank you for the question. (THROAT CLEARING)
Our marijuana prohibition laws have been a
failure; they have been enforced with racial
bias. African-Americans and whites in our state
use marijuana with the exact same frequency, but
African-Americans go to jail three times more
often.

19:11:25:00 That's why I fought for decriminalization in this
session. We're not putting 23,000 people in jail
anymore because of their nonviolent possession of
this drug; we're not spending $280 million a year
on the incarceration, detention and court costs
associated with this. But if we legalize, tax
and regulate marijuana, not only are we bring in
a new revenue source that I dedicate to paying
for a universal pre-k program, but we would also
98550-1 cnv
be sending an importance message about the fact
that this is a substance that is arguably less
harmful to the body than alcohol and tobacco.

19:12:01:00 And for adults, it should be treated the same
way. For youth, we have to step in and make sure
they don't have access. And there are no
campaigns to keep-- marijuana out of the hands of
our youth. What drug dealer cards for an ID? I
have a plan to spend $4 million a year to make
sure that young people don't have access--
DAVID GREGORY:
19:12:19:00 Lieutenant Governor.
ANTHONY BROWN:
19:12:19:00 Thank you, David. Look, Heather and I agree on a
number of issues-- and disagree on-- on probably
a fewer number. I don't agree with-- Delegate
Mizeur's call for legalization at this time. I
think there are two states that are looking at
it. We outta be looking at not just the money,
but the socio-economic effects. But I do agree
with Del-- Delegate Mizeur in the
98550-1 cnv
decriminalization of possession of small amounts
of marijuana.

19:12:44:00 We spend over $100 million in this state
prosecuting possession of small-- amounts, and
that could go to (UNINTEL) and more violent
crime. Also, as just pointed out,
disproportionately, African-American--
particularly, African-American young men are
arrested at higher rates, yet consumption rates
are in the same in this country.

19:13:02:00 But I fundamentally disagree with the values of
the Attorney General when it comes to rooting out
racist practices in the criminal justice system.
I oppose the death penalty and I fought long and
hard to repeal it in Maryland. The-- the
Attorney General supports it, says it's a
wonderful tool, he says it's reliable for
conviction, but studies have shown it's not
reliable. It (UNINTEL) and impacts--
98550-1 cnv
DAVID GREGORY:
19:13:25:00 All right--
ANTHONY BROWN:
19:13:24:00 --African-Americans and it doesn't deter crime.
DAVID GREGORY:
19:13:27:00 Attorney General, take 30 seconds to respond to
that particular point before you answer Chris's
question.
DOUG GANSLER:
19:13:32:00 Well-- it's curious that he says he's fought for
years because every time that a repeal the death
penalty bill came up while he was a delegate in
Annapolis, other delegates signed up to sponsor
the bill and-- the Lieutenant Governor was
nowhere to be found until he was running for
governor.

19:13:45:00 The death penalty is a lot like prohibition;
it's-- it's not-- it's a non-issue in this--
campaign, it-- the General Assembly has repealed
it, the public has spoken on it. When I-- I've
been a prosecutor for 22 years and I never sought
98550-1 cnv
the death penalty once.
DAVID GREGORY:
19:13:57:00 So let's talk about marijuana, then, and it's--
DOUG GANSLER:
19:14:00:00 So as-- as-- as a former Assistant United States
Attorney in the Clinton Administration-- State's
Attorney, Montgomery Attorney, now Attorney
General, I understand the-- the ravages that
drugs do cause families and-- the addictions and
what they do to people.

19:14:13:00 I happen to agree that-- medical marijuana is--
is something we should allow-- to have, as long
as it's being prescribed by real doctors. And
decriminalization is-- is someplace we should
have gone. I don't think, though, and I agree
with the Lieutenant Governor, that we should go
to legalization right now.

19:14:29:00 Former Attorney General-- Brown of California is-
- is right. We have to make sure we allow some
of these states, to see (UNINTEL) how it works.
98550-1 cnv
Marijuana hasn't been legal-- for hundreds of
years, let's see how it works. There's no rush--
iron out any of the problems, but we shouldn't be
motivated by taxes when we do it. We should make
sure that we-- if we are gonna legalize
marijuana, and hopefully, that won't happen for a
long time, we do it in lock step with public
safety officials and public health officials
because-- we shouldn't be motivated by having yet
another tax-- on a product. Now I can say, the
decriminalization is for such small amounts that
very few people are locked up on that at all--
DAVID GREGORY:
19:15:03:00 And Delegate Mizeur, just a final 30 seconds on
this. With legalization in your views, are you
comfortable saying to the children of this state,
"Marijuana's okay"?
HEATHER MIZEUR:
19:15:14:00 We're not saying that to the children of this
state. To the children of this state, we're
saying that it's a very dangerous substance for a
developing mind, and we're gonna spend $4 million
98550-1 cnv
a year to make sure that they understand that.
But what drug dealer is carding for an ID right
now? That's how kids are getting access.

19:15:29:00 And when we legalize, tax and regulate it, the
state's in charge of this. And the same way we
do with alcohol, we improve our chances of
keeping it out of the hands of our youth. The
Institute of Medicine actually said that the--
the gateway drug theory is about the drug-- about
marijuana being prohibited, that the laws against
it are what actually has young people having more
access.
DAVID GREGORY:
19:15:52:00 To Chris Gordon now.
CHRIS GORDON:
19:15:54:00 There is a perception that Maryland is not
business friendly, you may have heard it. I have
on the street. And-- there are four Republican
candidates running for the same job you are who
say that taxes have been raised and created
dozens and dozens of times in the last seven
98550-1 cnv
years of this administration and they're gonna
blame Democratic lawmakers. So my question to--
in fact, they wanna reduce or do away with some
of those taxes. So would you lower or raise
taxes and how do you attract business and new
jobs to the state?
DAVID GREGORY:
19:16:28:00 Lieutenant?
CHRIS GORDON:
19:16:27:00 This-- I'm sorry, we start--
DAVID GREGORY:
19:16:28:00 Lieutenant Governor first--
CHRIS GORDON:
19:16:30:00 Lieutenant Governor Brown.
ANTHONY BROWN:
19:16:30:00 Look, I'm traveled around the-- state-- and
spoken with business leaders from all four
corners, there is concern about the business
climate in Maryland and I rolled out a proposal
to position Maryland to be the most competitive
business climate state in the nation. Part of
it's looking at regulations and licensing, and
98550-1 cnv
part of it is looking at our tax liability.
Look, in the first 100 days of the Brown-Ulman
Campaign, we are going to put together a Blue
Ribbon Commission to look at tax reform.

19:16:57:00 We're gonna make sure that we're giving a
(UNINTEL) to working families, that we're
incentivizing employers to invest in job-creating
activities in Maryland and that we're protecting
our investments in education, public safety, the
environment and healthcare.

19:17:10:00 But my tax plan will not include and it doesn't,
the corporate giveaway under the Gansler
Corporate Tax giveaway. If we're gonna invest in
education, if we're gonna invest in
transportation, we can't afford to give a small
number of the largest corporations in Maryland a
$1.6 billion tax giveaway. It's under that plan
that Doug has said we can't fund pre-k education
for all Maryland four-year-olds. That's not my
thing--
98550-1 cnv
DAVID GREGORY:
19:17:32:00 Time. So the-- so the Attorney General, the--
the same question.
DOUG GANSLER:
19:17:37:00 Thank you, Chris. It's not a perception; it's a
reality. We have had 40 consecutive tax
increases here in Maryland. The people of
Maryland just can't take it anymore. We got 76%
more people unemployed than when Lieutenant
Governor came to power-- when he's been at the
seat of power-- and stood by when all this was
happening to our state.

19:17:55:00 In Baltimore City, 46% of the adult males don't
have work; we've lost over 7,000 small businesses
in the last eight years. We're 43rd in the
country in manufacturing and we only have four
Fortune 500 companies left here in Maryland.
This is one of the richest states and one of the
smartest states in the country in terms of
advanced degrees. So we cannot continue to
mortgage the economic viability of the future of
98550-1 cnv
this state on the backs of casino gambling and
more tax increases. We need to bring life
science companies here, cyber security companies
here.

19:18:25:00 We need to look at what New York has done in
terms of manufacturing-- having tax-free
incentives to manufacturing, so people can once
again get back to work in the state of Maryland.
Because we can't continue to have half a billion
and do billion-dollar deficits every year in
Annapolis.
DAVID GREGORY:
19:18:38:00 Time. Delegate Mizeur?
HEATHER MIZEUR:
19:18:40:00 I'm the only one on this stage that has owned a
small business and I'm the only one with a plan
to help them grow. I have a different vision
about our economy, one that doesn't pit workers
against businesses. My job creation strategy
includes something for us all. If we were to
bring back the Millionaires' Tax and close one
98550-1 cnv
corporate tax loophole that allows a handful of
companies in our state that operate in other
states, who are avoiding paying their fair share
of Maryland taxes-- just ask them to pay their
fair share.

19:19:08:00 We could generate enough revenue to give 90% of
all Maryland families a tax cut and tax relief
for all of our small businesses. If we put more
money in the hands of middle class families, what
do they do? They spend it in the economy; they
go out to eat at more restaurants; they buy more
shoes for their children and school supplies.
And I have a plan to put people to work,
rebuilding our roads, our transit and building
21st century schools.
DAVID GREGORY:
19:19:35:00 All right. To Jenna Johnson now.
JENNA JOHNSON:
19:19:37:00 All right. Violent crime is down across the
state, except for one category, forcible rape.
In 2012, more than 1200 people reported being
98550-1 cnv
raped in Maryland, and advocates say even more
cases go unreported. The Obama Administration
has launched several initiatives aimed at
reducing and combating sexual violence in the
military and on college campuses. What will you
do here in Maryland to address sexual violence?
And Attorney General, we'll start with you.
DOUG GANSLER:
19:20:10:00 Thank you. We're actually-- the ninth most
violent state in the country, Baltimore City's
the seventh most violent city in the country and
we have the fourth most homicides in the country
here in Maryland, so we have a lot of work to do.
In terms of rape-- let me talk about Hollis
Church (PH) for a moment.

19:20:26:00 She was raped while watching television in
Kensington one night; 13 years later-- I was able
to personally go into court and prosecute the
offender because-- we had a DNA hit from
Virginia. We then went to the Supreme Court of
the United States when I was Attorney General and
98550-1 cnv
made sure we upheld the DNA statues, and law
enforcement could use DNA to solve on-- cold case
rape cases.

19:20:47:00 So we do have an issue here in Maryland, and we
need to do a lot more in terms of our crime
prevention and-- and going forward. We have--
community prosecution-- we need-- to make sure
that we-- a lot of the rapes actually happened in
domestic violence situations, and I started the
first domestic violence court in-- in Montgomery
County and we wanna have domestic violence courts
all over the state when I'm governor.
DAVID GREGORY:
19:21:10:00 Delegate Mizeur.
HEATHER MIZEUR:
19:21:12:00 Any woman who is faced rape or domestic violence
deserves to know that she has a governor and the
law on her side. I have been pushing to erase
the backlog of rape kits that are sitting in our
criminal justice system. I have a plan to make
sure that we remove guns from the scenes of
98550-1 cnv
domestic violence disputes, because we know that
women are five times more likely to be hurt,
harmed, killed, even, when their abuser has a
firearm in the home.

19:21:41:00 And I've been pushing for a paid sick leave that
includes time off for safe time, for women who
need to interact with the criminal justice
system, work to get a restraining order or meet
with an attorney to get the protection that she
needs.

19:21:53:00 We have to make sure that we protect and empower
women, that we bring their abusers to justice and
that we do everything we can to make sure that
this violence isn't repeated again. I'll be the
governor that helps get this done.
DAVID GREGORY:
19:22:06:00 Lieutenant Governor?
ANTHONY BROWN:
19:22:09:00 Now we'll build stronger communities and a
foundation of stronger families when our wives,
98550-1 cnv
our mothers, our sisters and our daughters can
live free of the fear of sexual assault, rape and
domestic violence in the home, in the
neighborhood and in the workplace. No family's
immune from that type of violence. My cousin,
Kathy, was killed at the hands of her estranged
boyfriend.

19:22:31:00 And since that time, and even before, I've worked
with the advocates of domestic violence. We've
increased the number of domestic violence
referral programs and sexual assault (UNINTEL) at
our community hospitals from four to nine, and my
goal is to reach every one of the 43 community
hospitals in the state of Maryland.

19:22:50:00 Together, we've done a lot of work to reduce
domestic violence against women, to make this a
safer state for w-- for women. We've-- given
judges the authority to order domestic abusers to
surrender their firearms. This year, finally,
after 19 years of failed effort, we lowered the
98550-1 cnv
standard and a woman can now get a protective
order on a preponderance of the evidence
standard, instead of the heightened clear and
convincing standard.
DAVID GREGORY:
19:23:11:00 All right.
ANTHONY BROWN:
19:23:13:00 So we're making a lot of progress, we have a lot
more work to do.
DAVID GREGORY:
19:23:15:00 Back to Chris Gordon.
CHRIS GORDON:
19:23:16:00 All right, this question-- deals with character,
leadership and fitness for office. You've all
had public service; we thank you for that. And
I'm gonna ask you each an individual question to
answer here. Attorney General Gansler, your
judgment has been questioned. With the pictures
that we have seen from the party you attended--
your son was at, what may have been underage
drinking and you said you did nothing to stop it,
it was not in Maryland, it was in Delaware. But
98550-1 cnv
with your-- statements-- military service, you
implied, was not-- a real job.

19:23:50:00 And with your use of the state car, a report
being that you asked your state (UNINTEL) to go
through red lights or-- up-- the shoulder of a
road to get to-- to an appointment on time.
Lieutenant Governor Brown, we have heard tonight
that you botched the roll out, and in fact, the
Attorney General used the word "cover up"
tonight.

19:24:08:00 And-- Delegate Mizeur-- critics say that you're
just not experienced enough because you've been a
state delegate since 2007, but you've never had
state-wide elected office or experience as an
executive. How do you all answer these critics?
Delegate Mizeur, we start with you.
HEATHER MIZEUR:
19:24:28:00 Marylanders want a governor who knows how to
bring people together to get big things done.
Lemme tell ya two stories about the way I've done
98550-1 cnv
this, on family planning and marijuana
decriminalization. I reached across the aisle to
work with the head of the Tea Party Caucus to
expand family planning services to low-income
women, by first convincing him that it lowered
the abortion rate and saved the state money.

19:24:48:00 It also happens to be good for maternal and child
health outcomes. Together we put partisanship on
the shelf in order to make progress for our
state. 34,000 more women have access to free
family planning services in our state because of
this.

19:25:02:00 This year in the legislative session, which is 48
hours to go, the press all reported that our
marijuana decriminalization effort was dead, it
had got vote-- voted out of a committee and
turned into a study (PH) bill. I worked with the
legislative Black Caucus and a group of
progressive legislators to come up with a
strategy on the floor to turn that around. We
98550-1 cnv
passed that law, sent it to the Governor's desk,
Maryland is now the 18th state to decriminalize
marijuana. Both of these happened because of
leadership.
DAVID GREGORY:
19:25:30:00 Time.
HEATHER MIZEUR:
19:25:30:00 I'm the governor that this state is ready for.
DAVID GREGORY:
19:25:32:00 Lieutenant-- Lieutenant Governor, what about the-
- the criticism? Your--
ANTHONY BROWN:
19:25:35:00 Sure--
DAVID GREGORY:
19:25:36:00 --leadership-- the-- the fitness question.
ANTHONY BROWN:
19:25:39:00 Sure, as governor, I would bring not only eight
years of experience as Lieutenant Governor, but
eight years in the General Assembly and 30 years
in uniform and service to our country. As
Lieutenant Governor-- during the last eight
years, I led the effort on (UNINTEL) closure--
98550-1 cnv
that is all ready today created or brought to our
state 49,000 jobs and we are well on our way to
meeting the goal of 60,000 jobs by 2022.

19:26:06:00 Reduce violence against women and children and
the work we're doing on domestic violence, that
I've had the opportunity to lead and work with so
many on. We've reduced a number of children in
foster care-- from-- 9,069-- I've led on that
effort, as well as the work we've done to serve
our veterans.

19:26:20:00 Marylanders have a choice; they're gonna look at
experience, they're gonna look at record and
they're gonna look at judgment. Not only, Chris,
the things that you offered up for the Attorney
General, but also the fact that he was the only
State's Attorney in the history of Maryland
reprimanded by the highest court for misconduct,
ethical misconduct in office because he denied a
defendant the right to a fair trial because he,
for political gain, spoke out.
98550-1 cnv
DAVID GREGORY:
19:26:42:00 Time.
ANTHONY BROWN:
19:26:43:00 That's judgment, voters are gonna be (UNINTEL)
that.
DAVID GREGORY:
19:26:46:00 Attorney General, you can respond to that, as
well as the question that Chris originally posed.
DOUG GANSLER:
19:26:49:00 So the-- the reprimand?
DAVID GREGORY:
19:26:50:00 If you'd like, yes, you could just--
DOUG GANSLER:
19:26:51:00 Yeah-- yes, I have the honor of being reprimanded
by the Court of Appeals because I took on a judge
who said to an 11-year-old girl who was raped by
a sexual Internet predator that it takes two to
tango and that it was her fault for responding to
his emails, which is why he went and raped her.
The Court of Appeals then reprimanded me-- for
being a public official publicly reading a public
charging document at a press conference with the
98550-1 cnv
police. I-- I wear it as a badge of honor.

19:27:16:00 As far as character, I think my character stands
for itself. I've been in public office for 22
years representing-- the-- the victims of crime,
I-- I've taken on cases, for example, Garret
Wilson, who murdered both of his babies in the
1980s and they were ruled as SIDS death.

19:27:32:00 Nobody else would prosecute that case, I did, and
he's spending the rest of his life behind bars.
There were children in Baltimore City who didn't
have access to the same things the rest of
Maryland did to be able to play lacrosse. So six
years ago, I started-- I cared about them, so I
started a league called (UNINTEL) Youth Lacrosse.
We have over 400 boys and girls in that league
right now that are all prospering and being able
to go to better schools and-- and being active in
their communities. Lemme talk about the beach
party because--
98550-1 cnv
DAVID GREGORY:
19:27:58:00 Well-- well, you're-- you're over on your time,
but I'm gonna ask you-- you have (UNINTEL) I'm
gonna ask you about that. Did you miss an
opportunity, as the Attorney General of the state
to deal as the Attorney General with underage
drinking? Did you miss an opportunity as a
parent to step into that situation and not put
blinders on, but deal with it more responsibly?
DOUG GANSLER:
19:28:19:00 So my wife and I have been married for 22 years.
We are profoundly proud of our children. That
night, I went to tell my child what time he was
going to leave-- the next morning. Could we--
could I have done something different there that
night? Absolutely.

19:28:30:00 Well, will we say things to our children or do
things in the future that we could do
differently? Absolutely. As a matter of fact, a
few weeks later, I took him to college at-- at
Penn, and is there underage drinking at college?
98550-1 cnv
Absolutely. I'm not gonna not send him to
college, but we worry. We parent on the fly.
And-- and that is-- that was the mistake we made
that night. In terms of Attorney General, I'd--
I'd rather mention to taking caffeinated alcohol
beverages off the shelf.
DAVID GREGORY:
19:28:53:00 All right. All right, we are gonna leave it
there for a moment. We are gonna take a break
here. Take a pause for a brief commercial break.
We'll be right back with many more questions for
the candidates for Governor of Maryland. And
after the debate, join me for a special Google
Hangout on NBCWashington.com. We'll be right
back. (MUSIC)
19:29:23:00 (COMMERCIALS NOT TRANSCRIBED)
DAVID GREGORY:
19:32:08:00 And we are back, live at the Clarice Smith
Performing Arts Center at the University of
Maryland with three Democratic candidates for
Governor of Maryland. Attorney General, Doug
Gansler, Delegate Heather Mizeur and Lieutenant
98550-1 cnv
Governor, Anthony Brown. Before we move back to
the panel, I wanted to stay for a moment,
Lieutenant Governor, on-- on this leadership and
character question. You heard the Attorney
General respond to questions about that beach
party. Firstly, is that a character issue for--
for you in this race? And secondly, how did you
respond to his-- his comment about your military
record?
ANTHONY BROWN:
19:32:38:00 Well, I think it's a judgment issue, and the set
of rules that apply to the public apply to us.
If-- if it was one thing, if it were, perhaps, in
your own living room with your children, but
months earlier, you looked into the camera, you
told parents what we know. We are the role
models to discourage underage drinking. You did
a public service announcement, but then found
yourself in the middle of not one, two or three,
but literally, hundreds of teenagers underage
drinking. And what I would have done as a
parent, (MIC NOISE) and I, too, am a parent, my
98550-1 cnv
19-year-old daughter's sitting (LAUGH) right here
in the audience.
DAVID GREGORY:
19:33:11:00 Okay.
ANTHONY BROWN:
19:33:13:00 I would have stopped the party and made sure that
every child got home safely.
DAVID GREGORY:
19:33:16:00 All right, take 30 seconds, Attorney General.
DOUG GANSLER:
19:33:18:00 Well, as much as I appreciate the Lieutenant
Governor-- (THROAT CLEARING) lecturing me on my
parenting skills, I would like to talk about the
military question that you just asked. To be
clear, I did not say one derogatory syllable to
any one of our veterans.

19:33:28:00 Like everybody watching at home and everybody
here, I have the deepest respect for our-- our
veterans and a profound depth of g-- depth of
gratitude toward them, but we can do so much more
for our veterans in Maryland. In eight years, we
98550-1 cnv
haven't stepped up. We could get them P.T.S.D.
counseling; we have the worst Veterans
Administration office in the country here in
Maryland, and we need to make sure that we don't
tax the-- the retirement income here in Maryland.
DAVID GREGORY:
19:33:51:00 Quickly, Lieutenant Governor, respond to that,
since you were the--
ANTHONY BROWN:
19:33:54:00 You can't build a strong Maryland if you keep
cutting it down. And right now, we have an
honorable veteran community that is well served
by the Maryland Department of Veterans Affairs.
These are veterans that are serving veterans.
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, the work that
we're doing to connecting them to jobs. We're
proud of the work that we do and we're proud of
the service that they perform both here in the
community and wherein-- in service. Whether
you're a cook, a clerk, a lawyer-- a pilot or
anything else in the military, we value your
service to our-- to our nation.
98550-1 cnv
DAVID GREGORY:
19:34:28:00 Delegate, since you're here, lemme give you 30
seconds on this issue.
HEATHER MIZEUR:
19:34:30:00 David, you asked about leadership and character.
I don't think it's about this kind of personal
bickering and attacks. Voters are wanting
candidates to remain positive and stay focused on
the issues. Leadership and character that we
need in Annapolis is a governor that will take on
the special interests and fight for middle class
families. And that is who I am, that's who I've
always been and that's what you can expect me to
do as your governor.
DAVID GREGORY:
19:34:51:00 All right, Jenna, back to you.
JENNA JOHNSON:
19:34:54:00 So we recently heard a recording that was
reportedly the owner of the LA Clippers making
racist comments. The NBA has since banned him
for life, and President Obama responded by
saying, quote, "We constantly have to be on guard
98550-1 cnv
on racial attitudes that divide us, rather than
embracing our div-- diversity as a strength."
Here in Maryland, the owner of the Red Skins has
said that the team name celebrates Native
American culture, while others have said it's an
offensive racial slur. Is it a slur and should
it be changed? And Lieutenant Governor, we'll
start with you.
ANTHONY BROWN:
19:35:32:00 Sure. First of all, let me say that-- what the
NBA-- did-- in response to the comment by the
owner of-- the LA Clippers was-- appropriate--
and it sent a strong signal, that those words,
that action is unacceptable. I no longer refer
to Washington's football team by their nickname.

19:35:50:00 I do find it-- offensive and I would hope that--
the owner, Dan Snyder-- would reach the same
conclusion-- and to change the name. I know, I
believe that the fan base-- is-- wants the same
thing. But-- more importantly-- if we're going
to live up to the kind of Maryland that we can
98550-1 cnv
all be proud of, then we have to synchronize our
words, our actions, okay? And Dan Snyder, if his
football team, particularly, is playing in
Maryland, he outta-- he outta synchronize his
conscience, his actions and do the right thing
and change the name.
DAVID GREGORY:
19:36:26:00 Attorney General?
DOUG GANSLER:
19:36:29:00 Thank you. I started the first civil rights
division in our state's history-- in the Attorney
General's Office. We've taken on the minority
achievement gap and higher education. We're
obviously-- I'm extremely concerned about the
lack of funding for our HBCUs here in Maryland.

19:36:43:00 We've addressed voting rights issues. Some-- I'm
keenly aware of this issue-- involving civil
rights and people that feel discriminated
against. You know, in terms of the Red Skins--
I've been a life-long Red Skins fan, I do a show
every week before the game for the Red Skins, and
98550-1 cnv
I am sympathetic to-- those fans that deeply love
the name and understand that it wasn't intended
as a slur. But it is.

19:37:05:00 And so, we-- we should move towards changing the
name away from the Red Skins because people find
it offensive. We change the name of the
(UNINTEL) when-- when they-- when people found
that offensive, and look at tonight, the Wizards
are playing right up against this debate, and
hopefully, they're winning. And so-- (LAUGHTER)
and-- and so, we can change the name and move on,
and I think that if-- if people are offended by
it, we actually should change the name, and the
Red Skins'-- owners will make a lot more money by
selling-- throwback jerseys and the like.
DAVID GREGORY:
19:37:30:00 If they don't, though, if-- if you were governor
of this state, would you pursue some recourse to
put pressure on the team to do it, pressure on
the NFL to do it?
98550-1 cnv
DOUG GANSLER:
19:37:38:00 No, I think no. I-- I think I would-- I would
meet with-- Mr. Snyder and-- and people from the
Red Skins organization and try and come to an
understanding. I think they're going to change
the name, I think that the-- dye is-- is cast and
I think they're gonna change the name. The
question is when and how.
DAVID GREGORY:
19:37:53:00 Delegate Mizeur?
HEATHER MIZEUR:
19:37:56:00 Words matter, and I am opposed to the name of the
Washington Red Skins, and I've made that clear
over the course of this election. But our
actions matter even more. Let's talk about the
income inequality that exists in our state. We
raised the minimum wage this year, but it was so
watered down by the time we pushed it through,
that the next governor will be running for
reelection before it even gets the tin tin (PH).
And we didn't include provision that indexed it
for inflation or addressed the problem of our
98550-1 cnv
tipped workers, still only earning $3.63 an hour.
Many of those workers are women and people of
color.

19:38:32:00 If you look at our gender pay gap in this state,
women are still making, on average, $.85 on the
dollar to their male counterparts. But if you're
an African-American woman, that's $.67. If
you're a Latina woman, it's $.46. This is an
issue of urgency that demands a governor that
cares about these issues and will fight to
address the income inequality gap that has plans
to provide minimum wage-- relief. I-- I wanna
not just have a minimum wage--
DAVID GREGORY:
19:38:59:00 Time.
HEATHER MIZEUR:
19:39:00:00 --I wanna have a living wage. And I'm the only
candidate up here that has put that policy on the
table.
DAVID GREGORY:
19:39:04:00 To Chris Lawrence.
98550-1 cnv
CHRIS LAWRENCE:
19:39:05:00 As a father of two very young children, I wanna
ask a question about schools, which it's
something that's very, very important to a lotta
Maryland moms and Maryland dads out there. Just
down the road from here, Montgomery County's
enrollment has grown by about 15,000 students
just since the year 2000.

19:39:26:00 The county educates more than 17% of Maryland's
students, and yet, it only received about 11% of
school construction funds. My question is: Will
you work to change the current funding mechanism
for Maryland (MIC NOISE) schools to steer more
money to Montgomery County? And let's start with
Delegate Mizeur.
HEATHER MIZEUR:
19:39:47:00 Thank you for the question, it's a really
critical one. I got involved in this issue three
years ago as Vice Chair of Education and Economic
Development for our Appropriations Committee.
And I was touring schools in Baltimore City. I
98550-1 cnv
was in Holabird Academy and I was devastated by
what I saw. (NOISE) Fountains that the kids
can't drink out of because they're lead piped--
they're too cold in their-- rooms with-- coats
taking their exams because the heat doesn't work.

19:40:13:00 I've seen prison conditions better than these
schools. And I coulda come home to Montgomery
County and said, "That's Baltimore's problem."
But I recognized that Baltimore's problem was the
most acute-- $3 billion problem of what is a $15
billion crisis for the entire state.

19:40:29:00 We had to fix it in Baltimore first before we
could fix it anywhere else, and I was-- (MIC
NOISE) really proud to be involved in getting
that first round of funding put together. It's a
model we can use to bring funding to Montgomery
County, Baltimore County and Prince George's
County, which we fought to get done this
legislative session. And as governor, I'll get
it done. I have a plan in my jobs and economic
98550-1 cnv
development plan that has two more ideas on how
we can get that money. (LAUGHTER) You'll have to
read about it on my website.
DAVID GREGORY:
19:40:59:00 Who's up next on it?
CHRIS LAWRENCE:
19:41:00:00 It should be the-- Attorney General, Mr. Brown,
(UNINTEL). Lieutenant Governor, excuse me.
Yeah.
ANTHONY BROWN:
19:41:06:00 Okay-- time. (LAUGHTER) Look, we-- over the last
seven years, we built, according to Education
Week Magazine, some of the best schools in the
nation. We rank number one. But I think
everyone understands and believes that I'm cert--
certainly committed to ensuring that every child,
whether you're educated in Bethesda, Chevy Chase
or in Baltimore City, has access to a world class
education in a modern technology-ready classroom.
That's why over the last eight years, we've
increased investments in school construction at a
high water mark of $400 million, an average of
98550-1 cnv
$340 million a year. That's not enough. I put
forward a plan in December, so over the next four
years, we will increase that average to $500
million a year.

19:41:52:00 I'm committed to working with the-- local
leadership in Montgomery County to do exactly
what we did in Baltimore County. We authorized a
$1.1 billion school construction program to get
those children out of the second oldest set of
schools in the state. We can do that; we have
the resources in Maryland. It's not gonna be
easy. We have to set our priorities. In a
Brown-Ulman Administration, schools are a top
priority.
DAVID GREGORY:
19:42:17:00 So the Attorney General.
DOUG GANSLER:
19:42:18:00 I grew up in Montgomery County, I-- I'm a proud
graduate of the Chevy Chase Elementary School.
My-- my family lives in Montgomery County, so I
actually know what Montgomery County is like, and
98550-1 cnv
it's not like-- much of what the state believes
it to be like. We're a majority/minority--
county; we have 166 languages spoken in our
schools. And to your question, we are-- woefully
underfunded. Baltimore City needed new schools,
and they got-- they got a billion dollars towards
that.

19:42:43:00 But Montgomery County, Prince George's County and
Baltimore County deserved to have new schools,
too. But not only that, the Lieutenant
Governor's been in office for eight years, at the
s-- at the seat of power, and stood by while
Maryland has the number two-- number two minority
achievement in the country, the second-worst.

19:43:01:00 And that's the moral state of our state. So we
need to address that. I was the first candidate
to come out for expanding pre-k for all people in
Maryland, particularly, starting with people 300%
above the poverty line or below. We want-- but
we also have to make sure we have skilled
98550-1 cnv
teachers, like in any other profession, reward
the-- the people who are more astute (PH), which
is our teachers.
DAVID GREGORY:
19:43:21:00 Time. Lieutenant Governor, take 30 seconds for a
rebuttal.
ANTHONY BROWN:
19:43:22:00 Thank you 30 seconds. Maryland leads the nation
when it comes to reducing the achievement gap by
income and we have work to do. Our students of
color are making the greatest progress in 4th
grade and 8th grade math and reading; we still
have an achievement gap to close, that's why I
have a plan.

19:43:36:00 Doug, you talk about a moral stain in education
achievement gap, if we pass the Gansler Corporate
Tax Giveaway, that moral stain will become an
indelible blemish, as generations of students
will not have access to early childhood
education, which is proven to be one of the best
ways to eliminate the achievement gap in--
98550-1 cnv
DAVID GREGORY:
19:43:54:00 Attorney General, take 30 seconds to--
DOUG GANSLER:
19:43:56:00 President Obama-- Congressman Van-- Van Hollen,
Congressman Hoyer all are for reducing the
corporate tax. The prob-- the-- one of the
reasons why we're losing so many of our companies
to Virginia is because we have an eight and a
quarter-- corporate tax (UNINTEL) at 6%.

19:44:09:00 I was an Economics major Yale, I get that people
operate on the best interests. If we-- reduce
the corporate tax by a quarter of a point each
year, more jobs will come, our tax base will be
en-- enhanced, and we'll be able to do things
like fix the schools, where-- where we have this
minority achievement gap. So I-- you know, we do
need-- and I agree with Heather Mizeur, we need
to close that corporate loophole for the big
companies.
DAVID GREGORY:
19:44:31:00 Let me go back to Chris.
98550-1 cnv
CHRIS GORDON:
19:44:32:00 Call this the legacy question. The current
governor, Martin O'Malley, had a very progressive
list of priorities and passed most of them, if
not all of them. The Green Act, lowering-- and
making in-state tuition for the children of
illegal immigrants. Same-sex marriage,
abolishing the death penalty, tough gun control
laws.

19:44:53:00 And this session, is top priority, raising the
minimum wage. So my question to each of you is,
what's the next big idea that you have? What
would be your legacy, if elected governor of
Maryland? And we start with-- Delegate Mizeur.
DAVID GREGORY:
19:45:07:00 Actually, we're gonna start with the Attorney
General. We're-- we're watching this closely.
So the Attorney General will speak next.
DOUG GANSLER:
19:45:11:00 Thanks for noticing. I was five years ahead of
most people on the issue of marriage equality; I
98550-1 cnv
went down and testified on it before anybody
else-- thought it was a good idea. They
literally tried to impeach me in Annapolis, and--
of course, my wife was hoping they would be
successful so I could get a real job, here I am
again-- Attorney General running for yet a new
job.

19:45:30:00 I then wrote an opinion recognizing out-of-state
same-sex marriages here in Maryland because I
thought it was the right thing to do and I didn't
think people should be discriminated against. I
then was the first person on the stage to come
out for increasing the minimum wage. It's just
not fair.

19:45:45:00 If you're making $7.25 an hour working 40 hours a
week and you're still under the federal poverty
line, that's just not right. So we need to-- I
think the next thing we need to do is bring jobs
back to Maryland. We cannot sustain this.
There's too many poor people. When you have 46%
98550-1 cnv
of the people in-- Baltimore-- going-- men out of
work, that's wrong. And the second is dealing
with re-entry. Taking prisoners-- from behind
bars and making them tax-paying citizens.
DAVID GREGORY:
19:46:10:00 Delegate Mizeur?
HEATHER MIZEUR:
19:46:13:00 Thank you. I have a plan to make sure that we
don't just have a minimum wage in this stage, we
have-- a living wage, 'cause no one should be
working 40 hours a week and still be living in
poverty. I have a plan to make sure that we
address (NOISE) that achievement gap that we
discussed earlier.

19:46:31:00 It still matters in Maryland what your socio-
economic status is and what your race is to
determine whether or not you're gonna be
successful in school. And we know it doesn't
have to be that way. When we invest in early
childhood initiatives from birth to age five, we
eliminate that disparity and give every child a
98550-1 cnv
chance to enter school ready to learn at the same
pace.

19:46:49:00 My plan to address this is comprehensive. It's a
universal pre-k plan, not just for four-year-
olds, not just for four-year-olds from some low-
income families, all of our four-year-olds, and
we'll cover a half day for three-year-olds, as
well.

19:47:01:00 And we'll also provide childcare subsidies, not
just for low-income families, who have a long
waiting list to get access to care, but for
middle class families, as well, because our
children need access to a quality, affordable,
nurturing educational environment before they get
into pre-k.
CHRIS GORDON:
19:47:15:00 L-- Lieutenant Governor.
ANTHONY BROWN:
19:47:17:00 Thank you, Chris. We live in a much more just
society today than we did eight years ago.
98550-1 cnv
Passed marriage equality, and-- and the Dream
Act. We passed some of the most stringent gun
safety measures in the wake of Newtown,
Connecticut and we repealed the death penalty. I
believe that the greatest challenge that we face
as a state and as a nation, is to address the
persistent, debilitating gaps, disparities and
inequities that exist in our economy, in our
society, in our community and yes, in our
classrooms.

19:47:52:00 And that's why I've got a plan to create more
jobs in Maryland, but not only create more jobs
by investments and infrastructure and renewable
energy, but to educate and train all of
Maryland's workforce so they can compete s--
successfully for that. At the end of my four-
year term, I hope that we can look back in
Maryland and say, "We have career technology
education in every high school or every county,"
so that we're not only preparing students--
98550-1 cnv
DAVID GREGORY:
19:48:17:00 Time.
ANTHONY BROWN:
19:48:19:00 --who want to go to college, but those who don't
so that they are ready to enter the workplace and
support their--
DAVID GREGORY:
19:48:24:00 Final-- final question here from Chris.
CHRIS GORDON:
19:48:27:00 I wanna talk a little bit about something that
you all have brought up. Governor O'Malley has
signed off on about 40 new taxes since he took
office, and yet, the number of Maryland families
who need government help to make ends meet has
reached record levels. And this is a very simple
question: Would you raise taxes to cover the
cost of continuing this level of government
assistance? And I believe we go to the
Lieutenant Governor first.
ANTHONY BROWN:
19:48:56:00 Thank you. So I think the good news is, I-- I
don't see the need in the foreseeable future to
98550-1 cnv
have to raise taxes in Maryland. We've got the
resources and the revenues to take on the tough
challenges ahead, to fully fund education, to
continue to drive down crime in neighborhoods
throughout the state. I do believe that we ought
to engage, as I said earlier, in comprehensive
tax reform.

19:49:20:00 Look, Maryland and America still has a level of
poverty that is higher than it was when Doctor
King when was waging the war against poverty in
the 1960s with Lyndon Johnson, President Johnson.
That's why we've invested in Medicaid; that's why
we've taken on a strategic goal to end childhood
hunger; that's why we've expanded affordable
housing.

19:49:41:00 And I've got a plan to deliver even more
affordable housing. Yeah, there are more
demands, but Maryland's a great state and
Maryland can be better for more Marylanders, if
we apply our resources, effectively wisely in a
98550-1 cnv
socially prudent and fiscally responsible way.
DAVID GREGORY:
19:49:55:00 Attorney General?
DOUG GANSLER:
19:49:57:00 (UNINTEL) 40 straight taxes; people can't take it
anymore. (THROAT CLEARING) There's been a recent
poll by Gallup that says 40% of Marylanders want
to leave this state because of the tax burden and
the economic hardship that we face. We need to
actually bring jobs back.

19:50:11:00 We need to focus on the fact that we are the only
state in the country that has NIH and John's
Hopkins, number one hospital in-- in the country,
as well as the University of Maryland Medical
System. We need to focus on the fact that we
have a Citer (PH) Command Center and the NSA here
and we have the smartest people in the country in
terms of the advanced degrees, yet, we don't
leverage that. And we need to bring
manufacturing back to Maryland and we need to br-
- make sure that Prince George's County's
98550-1 cnv
economic development-- around its (UNINTEL) and
development, because if we don't have jobs, we're
gonna continue to have poor people.

19:50:39:00 There's nowhere to go. And so, one of the things
that we want to do is when you're 16 years old,
there's some people that-- wanna get a job, that
don't wanna stay in school till they're 18 and go
the traditional path. So they'll have-- an
ability to do a career and vocational and career
apprenticeship where they can go-- in the
afternoons and start-- and get certified
(UNINTEL) to get a job.
DAVID GREGORY:
19:50:57:00 Time. Delegate Mizeur.
HEATHER MIZEUR:
19:51:01:00 Being governor is about setting priorities and
building budgets around it. It's about revenues
in and expenditures out. By decriminalizing
marijuana, we've created another $280 million in
savings in our budget. By legalizing and taxing
it, we create another $160 million. When we
98550-1 cnv
close the corporate tax loophole, the-- the
handful of companies that are abusing right now,
$200 million extra in our state.

19:51:25:00 Bring back the Millionaires' Tax, another $112
million, and what do you get for that? A
universal pre-k program, tax cuts for small
businesses and 90% of all Maryland families get
middle class tax relief they have been begging
for in this state. These are my priorities and
this is exactly how I will pay for them as your
governor.
DAVID GREGORY:
19:51:44:00 All right. The closing statements. Delegate
Mizeur, you're gonna begin. You each have a
minute. Please stick to time, we're tight on it.
Go ahead.
HEATHER MIZEUR:
19:51:52:00 I see it in living rooms and community centers
all across this state. Voters want candidates
who remain positive, who are focused on the
policy and not platitudes, who remember that
98550-1 cnv
we're always going to be stronger when we put our
common good ahead of the priorities of special
interests and-- and people who have extra access
in Annapolis.

19:52:17:00 I'm a governor that wants to make sure Maryland
works for all of our-- citizens. I will invest
in infrastructure needs for our state, make sure
that our schools are great in every corner,
reduce crime in our neighborhoods and turn our
minimum wage into a living wage.

19:52:34:00 And for the women watching tonight, I know that
for too long, the inequalities in our schools, in
our pay and in our economy have existed for too
long. It doesn't have to be this way. I know
what it takes to make Maryland work and be fair--
DAVID GREGORY:
19:52:53:00 All right.
HEATHER MIZEUR:
19:52:53:00 --for all of Marylanders, and as your governor, I
will get it done.
98550-1 cnv
DAVID GREGORY:
19:52:56:00 All right, Lieutenant Governor, please.
ANTHONY BROWN:
19:52:58:00 Thank you, David. Over the last eight years, we-
- and I say "we" collectively, have made
tremendous progress as a state. We have built
the best in the nation, public schools, but we
know that not every child's educated in a Blue
Ribbon school today.

19:53:12:00 So our work continues. We've not only driven the
crime down to the lowest levels we've seen in
three decades, but we've reduced recidivism and
our inmate population is smaller today than it
was six years ago. We're one of only a handful
of states that weathered the great recession with
a AAA bond rating, we recovered jobs at a rate
faster than every state in the mid-Atlantic, with
an unemployment rate one full percent below the
national average. But we know that there
continue to be Marylanders who are unemployed and
underemployed. That's why I've gotta plan. And
98550-1 cnv
I ask ya to go to AnthonyBrown.com, because in
this hour, we didn't discuss all of it.

19:53:47:00 I've got a five-point plan to create jobs, I've
got a plan (THROAT CLEARING) to deliver universal
pre-k to every Maryland four-year-old, greater
investments in career technology education and
school construction, but I need you. I need you
to help me and Ken Ulman build a better Maryland
for more Marylanders.
DAVID GREGORY:
19:54:02:00 The Attorney General, closing (UNINTEL).
DOUG GANSLER:
19:54:04:00 You've heard a lot of back and forth this
evening, and I wanna end by sharing what
motivates me. Because during a political
campaign, that does and can get distorted. Like
you, my family motivates and defines me. Laura
and I have been married for 22 years, we're
profoundly proud of our children, we're
incredibly devoted and involved parents, and we--
I want them to be proud of our public service.
98550-1 cnv
And-- and many families out there, you also
motivate me, all the families I see around the
state of Maryland.

19:54:34:00 Because we have taken on judges-- because of
that. We are-- I have mentored inner city kids
when the system was left behind. I've taken on
polluters-- cyber bullying, Internet fraud and
Internet crime. And when I'm governor, we will--
we will deliver the promise of healthcare reform,
because healthcare is a right.

19:54:54:00 So I just wanna leave you with one thought, if--
if there's one thought you can be left with,
which is this: I will always stand up against
the special interests, because your fight is my
fight.
DAVID GREGORY:
19:55:04:00 And we will leave it there. Thank you all very
much. Thank you to our partners, University of
Maryland, NBC-4, Bowie State University
(APPLAUSE). (MUSIC)
98550-1 cnv
* * *END OF TRANSCRIPT* * *

2014 Maryland Gubernatorial Debate Transcript

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

2014 Maryland Gubernatorial Debate Transcript

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

98550-1 cnv

NBC NEWS WASHINGTON

You might also like