Candidates going out for the seat of Governor of the state of Michigan went head to head Wednesday night in the final Gubernatorial debate before the election.
Republican candidate Bill Schuette and Democratic candidate Gretchen Whitmer took plenty of shots at one another while discussing some of the hot button issues facing voters.
One of the topics discussed was the water crisis.
Bill Schuette spent his time on the topic opposing the Nestle deal and praising his work following the Flint water crisis saying, "We have this responsibility, and that's why I'm opposed to any diversion of great lakes water. that's why I support the ballast discharge rules in Michigan that are tougher than federal standards. with respect to flint, I'm the only person on this stage that made sure we provided justice to families in flint. because i know families in flint that only drink water from a plastic bottle and only wash vegetables from water with a plastic bottle."
Gretchen Whitmer tackled the issue with creating a new department dedicated to our states fresh water supply saying, "The fact of the matter is we need to create a department of the great lakes and freshwater that is tasked with overseeing the stewardship of this resource that is all of ours. the drinking water embossment at the cabinet level is something that I'm committed to. because when problems arise, we need to take action. we need to shut down corporate threats to our water. we need to hold polluters accountable and get to work cleaning up the drinking water in the state of Michigan."
Another topic was the high cost of auto insurance in the state.
Both candidates agreed that the rates are too high, but when asked specifically about getting rid of no-fault auto insurance, neither candidate gave a specific answer.
Gretchen Whitmer took aim at the insurance companies saying, "We gotta do it in a really smart way that goes after fraud, that makes insurance companies transparent and accountable to rate pairs. that insures that there's no red-lining and discrimination based on where you live or what your education level is or what your credit level is."
Bill Schuette spent his time discussing similar points that Whitmer talked about, but also touched on the competition of insurance companies saying, "We need to cut auto insurance rates by stopping frivolous lawsuits number one. second, making sure we crack down on insurance fraud, and give people across the state options and choices in terms of insurance coverage."
Michigan's terrible roads was another topic of debate.
Bill Schuette said he will take on M-DOT and the federal government to make sure action is taken saying, "we need to make sure we have a full and complete audit of M-DOT and how they allocate road funding throughout the state. second we need to have guarantees and warranties for our roads and bridges just like any other product you might buy. and we need to have more federal funding coming from Washington."
Whitmer agreed that federal funding is an important piece but also added that local funds would be needed to fix the roads saying, "I will write a budget in the first part of next year that dedicates 2 billion dollars. it draws down a billion from the federal government. that means we get to work right away. if the legislature is not strong enough to take those votes, I'll go straight to the public and pass a bond. we need real solutions."
The election is on November 6th.
