GRAND RAPIDS – Michigan's two major party candidates for governor battled over road repairs, health care, the environment and many other issues Friday in an aggressive and fast-moving debate on live TV. Republican Bill Schuette sought to portray Democrat Gretchen Whitmer and her running mate, Garlin Gilchrist II, as extremists, saying Whitmer favors massive tax hikes and abolishing the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, while Gilchrist sits on dangerously dilapidated Detroit property and has spouted anti-Semitic and pro-Hamas rhetoric on Twitter. Whitmer accused Schuette of making things up in a desperate effort to overcome his trailing position in public opinion polls. "He's the one who hangs out with anti-Semites like (Michigan rock musician) Ted Nugent and (former aide to President Donald Trump) Steve Bannon," Whitmer shot back. And in a dramatic reversal from his debates in the Republican primary in which he repeatedly touted his endorsement from Trump, Schuette did not invoke the president's name once. The closest Schuette came to mentioning Trump — shown by polls to now be highly unpopular in Michigan, a state he won in the 2016 presidential election — was when he said: “My relationship with the White House will bring (federal money) back to Michigan." Also read: Whitmer and Schuette: A brief look Schuette and Whitmer started with a friendly handshake in their first one-on-one encounter since they won their respective primaries on Aug. 7, but the debate quickly turned nasty. Host Rick Albin of WOOD-TV in Grand Rapids quickly set the tone. His first question was about a video from a 1989 TV interview outtake released this week in which Schuette appeared to try to flirt with the female camera operator, telling her: "I will do anything you want," but "some things I may not let you run the camera on." Schuette issued a statement Wednesday saying he was embarrassed by the video, adding that he was apparently trying to be funny before he got married. Asked about the video on Friday, he immediately pivoted onto the attack. He said the video outtake was "a Planned Parenthood Democratic hit job," and the video he is more interested in was one featuring a dilapidated Detroit building owned by Whitmer's running mate, Garlin Gilchrist II, which is facing possible repossession from the Detroit Land Bank Authority. More:Governor's race: History and voter energy favor Whitmer over Schuette More:Schuette and Whitmer headed to November showdown for governor More:AG Bill Schuette 'embarrassed' by outtake from 1989 TV interview Whitmer described the TV interview outtake featuring Schuette as "bizarre," but said: "I don't care about that video. I care about getting to the issues that really matter to people in this state." She then attacked Schuette for taking repeated legal action as attorney general to try to overturn the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. She said that if Schuette had been successful, his actions would have ended health insurance protections for patients with pre-existing conditions. Schuette replied that Obamacare didn't work, He said premiums went up and the insurance exchanges it set up for people to buy coverage didn't work. "So I filed lawsuits," he said. But he added that he has always maintained that he favors protections that would bar insurance companies from refusing to sell policies to people with pre-existing health conditions. The news about Gilchrist's dilapidated Detroit property was first reported Friday by Deadline Detroit. Gilchrist has attempted to walk back his 2009 tweets about Israel and Hamas, saying he supports Israel and was commenting on a complex situation he did not fully understand. Schuette's charge that Whitmer wants to abolish ICE — a position advanced by some on the left wing of the Democratic Party — stems from a TV interview at a June 30 rally in Lansing in which Whitmer nods her head affirmatively as she walks away and says, "Yeah, I think our governor should step up," in response to questions about whether ICE should be abolished following the separation of families at the U.S.-Mexican border. Bridge Magazine's "Truth Squad" has labeled Schuette's charge "misleading," noting that she has explicitly said that while she condemns some of ICE's actions at the border, she does not think the agency should be abolished. Bridge called Whitmer's response to the ICE question "not her finest moment on the campaign trail." Whitmer said after the debate that she was aware of Gilchrist's Detroit building problem before she selected him as her running mate and the two had discussed the issue, but she was not aware of "the imminent need to remedy it" until recently. That will now happen, she said. A 2016 Nugent Facebook post about "who is really behind gun control" was identified as anti-Semitic by the Anti-Defamation League. Bannon, the former head of Breitbart News, was accused of making anti-Semitic remarks by his ex-wife during a 1997 divorce, The Hill reported. Schuette touted his endorsement from Nugent in 2017 and has been photographed at events with both Nugent and Bannon. On education, where Schuette has promised a greater emphasis on reading and creation of a cabinet-level literacy official, Whitmer repeatedly pointed out that in fighting a 2016 lawsuit brought on behalf of metro Detroit students, Schuette's officials had successfully argued that Michigan students have no constitutional right to literacy. The two also sparred on the condition of Michigan roads, with Schuette warning that Whitmer planned a massive tax hike, such as a 20-cent-gallon increase in the price of gas. "Gretchen Whitmer wants to raise your taxes — I'm going to protect your wallet," Schuette said. Whitmer said that, too, was false. If the Legislature wouldn't raise more road revenue through user fees and taxes, she would use $2 billion in government bonding to access another $1 billion in federal money to "fix the damn roads," which she said are already costing Michigan residents hundreds of dollars a year in extra road repair costs. “Bill’s plan (to fix the roads) has two steps," Whitmer said. "Get elected and figure it out. We deserve better.” A small group of anti-Schuette protesters stood on the sidewalk outside the TV studio prior to the debate.<doc-sep>Republican gubernatorial candidate Bill Schuette, left, and Democratic candidate Gretchen Whitmer, right, debate for the first time on Oct. 12. (Courtesy photo, Nick Smith/WOOD TV8) — Michigan voters had their first chance to compare gubernatorial candidates Oct. 12, as Republican Bill Schuette and Democrat Gretchen Whitmer came face-to-face in the first of two televised debates. The candidates faced questions on a wide range of topics, from the candidates' roles in prosecuting Larry Nassar to how each would fix Michigan’s roads. Here are the key points from the debate. Both campaigns entered the debate with controversies looming over their heads. On Thursday, a Democratic group posted a video to Twitter from 1989 in which Schuette tells an unidentified female that he would “do anything” she wanted, saying “some things I may not let you run the camera on.” Schuette was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives at the time. “It was bizarre. I don’t know what else to say about it,” Whitmer said. “I don’t care about that video. I care about getting to the issues that really matter to the people of this state, like healthcare, like protecting women’s rights, moving forward on repealing the retirement tax that Bill Schuette praised.” Schuette called the video a "Planned Parenthood, Democrat hit job,” before pivoting to a report that Whitmer running mate Garlin Gilchrist II purchased a dilapidated rental property in 2016 from the city of Detroit under an agreement that he would restore the property but failed to do so. Gilchrist said in a statement that he has made progress on and remains committed to fixing up the property, but has exhausted his personal resources and has been unable to secure a loan thus far. Healthcare key talking point for Whitmer Whitmer, the former state Senate Minority Leader, brought up healthcare during her opening remarks and frequently revisited the issue throughout the debate. “Because of our bipartisan work, 680,000 people in our state have healthcare today who didn’t before," Whitmer said. "$2.3 billion of economic activity to our state because of that work and 30,000 new jobs. I’m proud of that work. But make no mistake; healthcare is on this ballot for governor.” Schuette said that while he opposed the Affordable Care Act, he always made it clear that he was in favor of protecting coverage for people with pre-existing conditions. “Obamacare didn’t work; taxes went up, the exchanges failed, so I filed lawsuits because of its unconstitutionality. But every time I did that, I said I was in favor of maintaining coverage for pre-existing conditions, covering children until they're 26,” Schuette said. “You have the audacity to go on TV and say that you’re fighting big insurance, but you’ve been captive to big insurance. Even a Democratic colleague says you were bought off.” “If Bill Schuette is our next governor, we should believe what he has done, not what he says,” Whitmer said. “What he has done is file nine lawsuits to repeal the Affordable Care Act.” Schuette slams Whitmer as establishment Throughout the debate, Schuette frequently characterized Whitmer as a return to the policies of former Gov. Jennifer Granholm and as a career politician who represents more of the same in Lansing. “Gretchen Whitmer only passed three bills in 14 years. Now she wants to be governor? That just doesn’t work,” Schuette said. Schuette has been a public official since 1985 when he was first elected to Congress, and Republicans have maintained a majority in the state Senate since 1992. Whitmer says Snyder understands the importance of clean drinking water After discussing the Flint water crisis, Whitmer and Schuette’s conversation turned to PFAS contamination in Michigan's water supplies and the replacement of Enbridge Energy's Line 5 through the Straits of Mackinac. In response, Schuette began discussing various recreational activities, such as line fishing. “This isn’t about recreation, Bill, this is about drinking water; this is about people’s lives,” Whitmer said. “Governor Snyder understands how imperative this is that we move swiftly. He asked you to file a lawsuit back in July, and you still haven’t done it.” Diverging plans on ballot proposal to legalize recreational marijuana Michigan voters will decide the fate of three ballot proposals this year. One would legalize recreational use of marijuana; another would create an independent redistricting committee to draw district lines in an attempt to curb gerrymandering and the last would expand voting rights. Whitmer said that she will vote yes on all three proposals, and will “promulgate rules so that product does not get in the hands of our kids, make sure that we collect the taxes and put the money into infrastructure, education and healthcare — the way that it is supposed to be.” Schuette responded by discussing America’s opioid addiction, concluding that he will vote against the marijuana proposal because he doesn’t think “we should put more drugs in the hands of children.” If the proposal were to pass, however, Schuette said that he would implement it fully. Fix the damn roads; raise the darn taxes Go to any event with Whitmer, and you’re likely to hear chants of “fix the damn roads.” But that’s more than a slogan for Whitmer, she said during the debate – it’s a real plan, which will cost $3 billion. She said she will raise the funds by creating an infrastructure bank. “To say you’re just going to find the dollars and cents in the budget is phony,” Whitmer said. “One economist said you’d have to hope he has magic because he described (Schuette's) plan as BS — and I don’t think he was talking about his initials.” Schuette fired back that when Whitmer promises to fix the damn roads, she means "she’s going to raise your darn taxes.” Dispute over Nassar prosecution continues Last month, Whitmer and Schuette sparred over the other's role in prosecuting former MSU doctor Larry Nassar. That dispute spilled over into the first gubernatorial debate, when the candidates were asked what could be done to make college campuses safer in the future.<doc-sep>Grand Rapids — Republican gubernatorial hopeful Bill Schuette and Democrat Gretchen Whitmer sparred early and often in their first televised debate Friday night. The seasoned political veterans traded jabs over state issues, federal debates and recent campaign controversies. Whitmer, the former state Senate minority leader from East Lansing who has led recent polls, framed herself as a pragmatic problem solver with concrete plans who is willing to work across the aisle. “Bill Schuette’s plan is two steps,” she said. “Get elected and figure it out.” Schuette vowed to be a “paycheck” governor, touting his plan to cut the state's personal income tax rate while arguing that Whitmer would be a sharp deviation from recent Republican rule that has coincided with economic gains. “Gretchen Whitmer wants to raise your taxes; I’m going to protect your wallet,” Schuette said. “That’s the big difference going forward.” But both campaigns entered the debate nursing wounds. Schuette this week was embarrassed by archival footage of an exchange with a woman that critics called “creepy.” Whitmer running mate Garlin Gilchrist III was facing criticism — and a clean-up order by the city — for a blighted duplex apartment he owns in Detroit. Schuette suggested the 1989 video clip was heavily edited and called it a "Planned Parenthood, Democrat hit job on me." He quickly pivoted to Gilchrist, saying he was more interested in a video of a Detroit neighbor demanding the Democratic lieutenant governor candidate fix up his vacant building. Whitmer said after the debate that her campaign had known about Gilchrist's property but was not fully aware that immediate action was needed. "He's doing his best to get it remedied, and I'm confident he will," she said. Schuette’s wife Cynthia, a former WOOD-TV news anchor, downplayed the archival footage of her husband while standing beside him after the debate. Many people have made comments they regret 30 years later, she said, calling his interaction with the woman in the video “silly, flirtatious and stupid.” Schuette came out ahead in the debate, if only marginally, said Bill Ballenger, an analyst and former GOP legislator. But he questioned whether the Friday night forum would be enough to help Schuette rise in the polls. “I just find it very hard to believe that the debate is going to change very many minds,” Ballenger said. Healthy Michigan The Midland Republican said he wants to make Michigan “a jobs state, a paycheck state, and a growth state.” Residents already lived through “one lost decade” under former Gov. Jennifer Granholm," he said, calling Whitmer a "disciple" of the Democrat who left office eight years ago. “Massive tax hikes which would crush job creation, more mandates that would stop economic growth and government-run health care,” he said. “We can’t go back.” Whitmer touted her work in the state Senate to help term-limited GOP Gov. Rick Snyder expand Medicaid eligibility under the Affordable Care Act. More than 660,000 residents are now enrolled in the Healthy Michigan plan. “I’m proud of that work, but make no mistake, health care is on this ballot for governor because my opponent field nine lawsuits to repeal the Affordable Care Act,” she said. “He apparently didn’t think eight was enough. He used our taxpayer dollars to try and rip health care away from people.” Schuette said the federal health care law known as Obamacare “didn’t work” and explained that he filed lawsuits because of its “unconstitutionality.” “But every time I did, I said I supported continued protections for people with pre-existing conditions,” Schuette said, accusing Whitmer of being a “captive of big insurance.” She is the daughter of a former Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan chief executive and has accepted political donations organized by the state's largest insurer. The Blue Cross political action committee has also donated to Schuette. Whitmer fired back, telling Schuette “you’ve been in office for 33 years and you’ve never done a darn thing to expand health care access for anyone in this state.” In a separate exchange on education, Schuette accused Whitmer of doing little during her time in the state Legislature, where only three bills she sponsored were signed into law. He accused her of being a “captive” to the education establishment in Lansing. Noting she was a member of the minority party throughout her tenure, Whitmer said Schuette “and Betsy DeVos are the establishment of this state,” referencing the U.S. secretary of education who helped push school choice and charter school policies in Michigan. Clean water, smooth roads With emerging chemical contaminants like PFAS threatening water supplies around the state, Whitmer said she would create a Department of Great Lakes and Fresh Water to focus on clean water efforts. She didn't say what would happen to the Department of Environmental Quality. She said she’d also appoint a water ombudsman “to make sure that when someone complains, they won’t be ignored for two years,” jabbing Schuette over complaints launched by Flint residents dating back a year before he launched a criminal investigation. Schuette said he wouldn’t apologize for his Flint investigation, which has led to charges against 15 local and state officials and some plea deals, and emphasized his dedication to justice for the families there. “Flint is a city where too many people played politics with people who lived there,” Schuette said. Whitmer said she would “expedite the replacement of pipes” and accused Schuette of delaying action in the city early on in the lead contamination crisis. Flint leaders say they expect to replace the lead pipes in the city in the next couple of years with federal money. Schuette said he’d also work to fight water contaminants and praised a proposed tunnel to house the Line 5 oil pipeline in the Straits of Mackinac. But “Whitmer wants to build more government,” he argued. We just need to have government run properly. No more taxes.” On roads, Schuette said Whitmer’s plan to spend $2 billion a year on additional fixes would force a major gas tax increase, calling it an “extreme agenda.” Whitmer called his critique “nonsense” and said Michigan residents want “serious solutions” to a long-running problem.<doc-sep>The much anticipated face-off between Democrat Gretchen Whitmer and Republican Bill Schuette had its share of political fireworks. In the first of two scheduled debates, the two candidates vying to be Michigan’s next governor traded blows at WOOD-TV’s studio in Grand Rapids. Out of the gates, moderator Rick Albin set the tone, asking both candidates about the newly surfaced 1989 video of Schuette, seemingly acting coquettish to a female reporter behind the camera. “This was a planned parenthood Democrat hit job on me,” said Schuette, who characterized his behavior as a poor attempt at humor, adding he is embarrassed by the video. “Bizarre, I don’t know what else to say about,” said Whitmer, who described learning about the video a few days before its release. She dismissed the video, saying, “Fact of the matter is, I don’t care about that video, I care about getting to the issues that really matter to the people of the state.” From there, the two sparred on multiple topics, from Michigan’s education and medicaid expansion efforts, to the flint water crisis, roads, Michigan jobs, no fault insurance, immigration and the Larry Nassar scandal. Schuette and Whitmer will face off once more this month before the November 6th election. The debate is scheduled for October 24th in Detroit.<doc-sep>
Democrat Gretchen Whitmer and Republican Bill Schuette traded shots on health care, taxes and other issues in their first head-to-head debate in Michigan's race for governor. Cheyna Roth reports on October 12, 2018 debate between Gretchen Whitmer & Bill Schuette. Republican Bill Schuette on Friday criticized his opponent for governor as an "extreme," tax-raising candidate who accomplished "nothing" as a lawmaker, while Democrat Gretchen Whitmer touted her bipartisan work to expand Medicaid and said the attorney general continually sued to take health coverage away from people. The two also traded shots over the prosecution of sexual abuser Larry Nassar, Flint's water crisis and crumbling roads in their first head-to-head debate. Schuette, who has trailed in polls, said he would eliminate a 2007 income tax increase that was backed by former Gov. Jennifer Granholm and Whitmer, who was a state senator then, to help balance the budget in the recession. "When she says she's going to fix the roads, she's going to raise your darn taxes. She wants to raise gas taxes. It's an extreme agenda that would drive us back," Schuette said. Whitmer said she crossed the aisle to help GOP Gov. Rick Snyder make 680,000 more people eligible for government health insurance under the federal health law, while Schuette has filed lawsuits against it. She accused him of only addressing problems for media attention and said spending at least $2 billion more a year on road and bridge projects would save motorists from hundreds of dollars a year in vehicle repairs caused by potholes. "I put a real plan on the table to fix the damn roads. Bill Schuette's plan is two steps — get elected and then figure it out. We deserve better and can do better," Whitmer said. The two are vying to succeed Snyder, who is term-limited, in what is a top race nationally. After delivering opening statements at WOOD-TV's studio in Grand Rapids, the rivals were first asked about a 1989 video clip — released this week — in which Schuette told a woman who asked him to move closer to a lamp: "I will do anything you want. Some things I may not let you run the camera on." Schuette, who has said he regrets the "embarrassing" and "poor attempt" at humor, said during the debate that the footage was "drastically edited," calling its release a "Planned Parenthood Democrat hit job on me." He said he is focused on cutting taxes and lowering auto insurance premiums. He said it is "shameful" that Whitmer's running mate, Garlin Gilchrist, has not taken better care of his "dilapidated" apartment building in Detroit. Gilchrist acknowledged Friday that he owns the property that has drawn complaints from nearby residents, and he said he has been struggling to find loans to refurbish it. When she says she's going to fix the roads, she's going to raise your darn taxes. She wants to raise gas taxes. It's an extreme agenda that would drive us back - Bill Schuette, Gov. candidate Whitmer called the Schuette video "bizarre" but added: "The fact of the matter is I don't care about that video. I care about getting to the issues that really matter to the people of this state." She pointed to health care, women's reproductive rights and reinstating a tax exemption for retirement income. After the debate, Schuette's wife Cynthia — they got married in 1991 — told reporters he is a "good man" who was being "flirtatious and silly and stupid" in the video. Throughout the debate, Schuette repeatedly said Whitmer only had three bills enacted during her 14-year career in the Legislature. "You've done nothing," he said. Whitmer countered that she was in the minority caucus the entire time and said she cared about legislative "results," not taking credit. "The most stark difference between me and my opponent here is that I do the work when the cameras aren't on," she said, criticizing Schuette for attacking Granholm, who served from 2003 through 2010. I put a real plan on the table to fix the damn roads. Bill Schuette's plan is two steps - get elected and then figure it out - Gretchen Whitmer, Gov. candidate The candidates also continued to lob attacks over the lead contamination in Flint and the Nassar case. Schuette accused Whitmer, who was the interim Lansing-area prosecutor in 2016, of failing to prosecute the former Michigan State University and USA Gymnastics doctor for sexual assaults before his office took the case. She called the allegation "nonsense."