With only one rebuttal the entire night, and then a rebuttal to that rebuttal, candidates vying to succeed U.S. Rep. Michael McNulty, D-Green Island, calmly presented their stances on issues of the economy, energy, health care, the war in Iraq and loan forgiveness at a debate at Albany Law School on Monday, Oct. 12.
The Columbus Day debate was held in the Dean Alexander Moot Courtroom and was moderated by 810WGY talk radio dj Al Roney. It began at 6 p.m. and lasted a little over an hour and a half.
But within that time, Roney questioned the candidates on some of the most hot-button issues that are facing the country at the moment, beginning with the economy.
In one question, Roney asked the candidates, if they were currently representing the 21st District in Congress, would they or would they not have voted for the $700 billion Bailout bill.
Democrat Paul Tonko answered first. In it’s initial stages, I would have denied that package, he said. Tonko went on to say that he would have voted for the final package that was eventually passed, although he would have done so with `great reservations.`
Before declaring whether he would or would not have voted for the bill, Republican Jim Buhrmaster expressed that he thinks the situation on Wall Street was a disaster and `absolutely unacceptable.` Buhrmaster said he would not have voted for the bill in its first stage, because he does not think it is a good idea to give one person so much power, but that on the second stage he would have voted for the bill, `because we needed to do something.`
Buhrmaster also said he would have voted for the bill in its final stages, `but been very, very angry,` because he feels, `we need to hold accountable all the people who got us there.`
Roney asked the candidates what they would do to strengthen the local economy if they were elected.
Buhrmaster, who proclaimed himself a business man, said he would work to change spending habits in the district and try and bring new businesses in by creating energy costs a business would be able to deal with, as well as taxes they would be able to afford. He also said that it is important not only to bring new business in, but to make sure they can survive here.
Taking a somewhat different route, Tonko said he would work on greening up the agriculture and work towards an `innovation economy,` as well as taking preventative measures to make sure the financial crisis on Wall Street never happens again.
When Roney asked the candidates whether they support off-shore drilling, the answers between them were somewhat different.
Buhrmaster first gave a laundry list of things the country can do to ensure we have the resources to keep going. The list included doing renewables, going back and looking at nuclears, and drilling.
Tonko began by stating, `I would suggest that drilling be left as a lower priority.` He talked about how he has experience through his past position, as president of New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, doing clean coal demonstrations.
Next, Roney asked Buhrmaster and Tonko whether global warming was all natural, or all man-made.
In a round about way, Tonko answered that the majority of global warming is due to human-created pollution, while Buhrmaster answered that it is being caused by both.
Next, the topic switched to universal health care.
Buhrmaster said he does not believe universal health care is a good choice for the country, specifically in the 21st district, because he believes it would result in the loss of between 6,000 and 7,000 jobs of those who work for large Capital District health coverage companies.
Instead, Buhrmaster said he would like to focus on doing something with the medical liability physicians are faced with in terms of the insurance they have to pay to keep their practices going, as to ensure more doctors stay in the region.
In his answer, Tonko said, `The fundamental goal has got to be universal health care,` and later proclaimed that he believes health care is a right. He expressed that he believes in the single-payer health plan and that it gets us into a good thinking process.
When the topic switched to war, Buhrmaster said that the surge was working, and still is working and that instead of pulling out based on what members of Congress think, he would rely on the people on the ground. Tonko said that the war was entered into under false pretenses and that he believes we need to begin a plan to withdrawal.
Both candidates seemed to feel that terrorism is the single biggest threat to the country at the time.
In speaking of immigration, Tonko said,` I think we need to look into the disinvestment in those that work with undocumented individuals,` but that we should work to make the process for individuals becoming citizens smoother so that the country can benefit from the skills they can provide. Buhrmaster said that we have solid rules in place, but that they need to be enforced.
The single rebuttal of the night came when the issue of privatized social security came up as Buhrmaster said he thinks there needs to be in a system in place that guarantees senior citizens a form of security if the system should crumble and in Tonko’s rebuttal, he said he fears that the security of that system is risky.
Towards the end of the night, a few questions from the audience were entertained, the main topic being loan forgiveness. In the past, Tonko has pledged he plans to work on a loan forgiveness plan for individuals working to achieve a higher education, as to strengthen the education of people throughout the country, specifically in areas of engineering. When Roney asked if Tonko would continue to pursue that given the current economic hardships, Tonko said he would. Buhrmaster said that he does not think a loan forgiveness plan is entirely feasible given the economic situation, and that he thinks financial forgiveness would be better suitable for doctors and lawyers.
The night ended with the gentlemen shaking hands and gathering in the lobby of the building for a meet-and-greet with constituents.
Tonko, an Amsterdam native, is representing the Democratic party in the race for the 21st Congressional District seat. He is a former New York State Assemblyman and was Chairman of the New York State Assembly Committee on Energy for 15 years. Most recently, Tonko served as President and CEO of NYSERDA.
Buhrmaster, of Schenectady County, is representing the Republican party in the race, and currently serves as vice chairman in the Schenectady County Legislature. Also, he is the president of Buhrmaster Energy Group, a small, family-owned business. In the past he has also served as chairman of the Schenectady County Chamber of Commerce.
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