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O'Bannon, McIntosh trade jabs

Taxes, education hot topics in second public debate


By TOM COYNE, Associated Press writer
Taxes and education were key issues Tuesday night as the three candidates for Indiana governor squared off in their second public debate.

Democratic Gov. Frank O'Bannon and Republican candidate David McIntosh accused one another of misstating the facts, with each saying they had numbers to back their claims.

Meanwhile, Libertarian candidate Andrew Horning said voters could not count on either major party to cut costs in state government.

O'Bannon said McIntosh had missed the facts, distorted the facts and ignored the facts in his campaign. As examples, he cited McIntosh's statement that his property taxes had not gone down and McIntosh's statement that he would show up for work every day.

The fact is he has not done a full day's work since last June. He has missed over half his votes this year alone. And he has the fourth-worst attendance record in Congress over the last five years.

But McIntosh repeated his claim that property taxes are up in Indiana.

The plain fact is the property tax levy has gone up 20 percent in the last four years, he said.

He also said O'Bannon has not come through on promises from previous campaigns, such as full-day kindergarten and freeing parents from paying for school textbooks.

The most contentious moment occurred during a discussion of property tax reassessment. McIntosh said O'Bannon has no detailed plan to protect against large property tax increases because of reassessment.

O'Bannon said he had such a plan, and said McIntosh's numbers don't add up.

Show me the plan, McIntosh responded.

You want to bully some more? O'Bannon said.

McIntosh interrupted, and O'Bannon said, Courtesy please.

Three times during the debate McIntosh held up a sheet of paper that he said contained a pledge, which stated the average homeowner would not see a property tax increase with the reassessment. He said Libertarian candidate Horning signed the pledge, and he challenged O'Bannon to sign it also.

O'Bannon did not respond.

Horning provided the lighter moments throughout the debate, commenting later: There was a reason they put me in the middle.

McIntosh and O'Bannon also disagreed on education figures, each citing numbers from state Department of Education Superintendent Suellen Reed, a Republican.

McIntosh offered to meet with O'Bannon after the debate and call Reed to see who she agrees with. He said he would pull his education ads if Reed agreed with O'Bannon, as long as O'Bannon would pull his education ads if she agreed with McIntosh.

O'Bannon did not respond.

Horning said he did not think it was time to cut taxes, but time to cut costs. He said that after years of prosperity, harder times are ahead and it is time to prepare.

I'm not talking about gloom and doom. I'm talking about preparedness, he said.

The debate was the second of three scheduled debates. The first debate was in Indianapolis and the final debate is scheduled for Thursday in Evansville.

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