TN First Lady Andrea Conte, First Lady Series
Student Town Hall

The Student Town Hall is part of Andrea Conte's First Lady's Series, a monthly event hosted in Conservation Hall at the Tennessee Residence. Students from nine public and private Davidson County schools will have the opportunity to ask questions of the two candidates running for Governor, Bill Haslam (R) and Mike McWherter (D).

Update after the jump...

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Summary of Student Town Hall questions and answers.

Six healthcare questions, all given to Haslam.
Six education questions, all given to McWherter.

Question topics for McWherter - death penalty, college debt, rural agriculture development, charter/public schools, mosque controversy, HOPE lottery scholarship, education reform, immigration and employment, immigration reform, education (international baccalaureate program), special education, prison costs, guns and keeping schools safe)

Question topics for Haslam - jobs, environmental disaster prevention (like TVA problem in Roane County), healthcare - childhood diabetes /obesity, connecting to young people in campaign, jobs (STEM network, especially women in the workforce), healthcare (Medicaid funding), universal healthcare, leadership qualities and experiences want for cabinet, gang violence, mandatory purchase of healthcare, infant mortality/healthcare disparities, guns in bars, non-profit funding,

Haslam took credit for metro area low unemployment and new Knox County high school.

• Q? Haslam: How bring more jobs to TN?
• Answer: Use business background, experience as business man and mayor. *** Have lowest unemployment rate of any metro area in the state.

Regional approach. Specific strategy, focusing on assets in region.

• Q? McWherter: Bredesen commuted recently commuted death sentence. Would you do this?
• Answer: I am for the death penalty. Will enforce the death penalty. The process works. Any issues that come up before get to final point.
• Q? Haslam: What actions would you take to prevent large scale disasters like TVA issue in Roane County from happening again?
• Answer: Oversee TN Dept of Environment and Conversation. Want businesses to be welcoming to business. Want to protect environment. Want both. I think we can do both.
• Q? McWherter: Cost of state university rise, how help students manage debt?
• Answer: Bredesen and state legislature did a good job this year. Made credits transferable between community colleges and 4-year university. Encourage on-line credit classes.
• Q? Haslam: Highest rates of childhood diabetes and obesity. How address childhood obesity?
• Answer: Model a healthy lifestyle. Make sure it is built-in to the culture, primarily through schools. Healthy meals in schools.
• Q? McWherter: Why do you think providing subsidies to small farms will be good for the TN economy in the long term? What other specific measures do you advocate to help rural agriculture development?
• Answer: Big proponent of TN agricultural enhancement program, takes tobacco tax money and put into family farms.
• Q? Haslam: How would you connect to young people in your campaign, other than education?
• Answer: Education is the main way to communicate with young people. It is hard to have an other than that, education.

Workforce development, it's not your grandfathers or fathers world. Different requirements.
Define reality.

• Q? McWherter: Why do you think there is a need for charter schools? What is your plan to help our school systems?
• Answer: Supportive of charter schools. They do need to be graded on the same level as public schools.

Member of TN Business Roundtable, major initiative was to pass the TN Diploma project. Bredesen obtained $500 million towards this goal and he wants to implement the program.

• Q? Haslam: High tech skills needed for new industry. TN ranks in the bottom 3rd in the US in percent of women in the labor force, number of business owned by women, annual earnings for full-time employed women, % of women above poverty, and % of college educated women. Bredesen's TN STEM network. What are your ideas for STEM, especially for reaching young women?
• Answer: As mayor of Knoxville, we are opening a new Knox County high school focused on STEM.

Opportunity is about access. Begins at school. We're on the right path. The number of female engineers at Oak Ridge National labs has increased over the years. They'll be role models for people coming after them.

• Q? McWherter: Controversy of building an Islamic mosque in NYC and Murfreesboro. What is your position on this issue? How do you plan, as governor, to balance freedom of religion with concerns about security?
• Answer: Huge proponent of freedom of religion. At the same time understand the constraints and problems when locating an institution like that inside a quiet neighborhood.

As a community, you ought to be able to have some zoning restrictions and make sure the house you bought is something you can continue to re-sell and will not disturb your neighborhood.
I think the people who committed the atrocities down there in burning that equipment should be found and prosecuted to the full extent of the law. That's unacceptable in TN, unacceptable anywhere in the US. We need to find them and we need to prosecute them.

• Q? Haslam: Earlier this month congress extended increased Medicaid funding to the states that will run out the beginning the fiscal year 2012 leaving an estimated $1 billion budget hole. How would you deal with this problem?
• Answer: We're not going to raise taxes in TN. Our only choice is either to shrink government or take that out of some other pot.

We're going to have to shrink the size of state government and Tenncare is one of those places where that is going to happen.

• Q? McWherter: Continuing concerns of funding of the HOPE lottery scholarship program. As governor will you make this a priority are for you and what will you propose to do concerning the HOPE scholarships?
• Answer: I applaud the use of HOPE funds for pre-k. Pre-k is a model program that we need to continue to expand.

I also think we need to honor the original commitments of the HOPE Scholarships without expanding it to other programs. We need to do that first. This is a program that was voted upon by the people of TN and it was very specific at the time and we knew exactly how those funds were going to be used. Since then the legislature has expanded that program. We need to go back and honor the original program and if there are additional funds I'd like to use it in many other ways. Want to make sure it is used for pre-k and the original intent for the HOPE scholarship.

• Q? Haslam: What will you do to keep art in our schools?
• Answer: A lot of those decisions end up getting made on the local level and I think that is a good thing, local control over schools. The governor needs to talk about the importance. Also, we have several schools that are art magnet schools. Those are good models that can be used elsewhere. The right thing to do is prioritize and arts in the schools have been shown to effective in increasing high school graduation rates and college attendance rates.
• Q? McWherter: Strong need for education standards reform. Teachers are teaching to the tests instead of ensuring students have a complete understanding of the subject. Do you feel that imposing stricter standards for TN students is an effective means by which to ensure that students are prepared to compete nationally? Is so, why? If not, what specific ideas and innovative ideas would you bring as governor to address this issue of national competitiveness?
• Answer: Goes directly to the Race to the Top application we had in TN. We did raise the standards and that was a big cornerstone for the application for those things. I am for maintaining those standards. I do not think we can backup from that direction.

It is important to have the curriculum out there so you can be successful and fill the jobs of today's and tomorrow's workplace without worrying about those jobs getting exported overseas.

• Q? Haslam: What is your stance on universal health care? How would it affect Tennesseans?
• Answer: Assume you are talking about the national health care plan that passed this past year. Here is my concern, the state of TN is already in a big budget hole, over $1 billion that is coming out of our revenue that the next governor is not going to have. So, we're going to have to address that. Gov. Bredesen called it the mother of all unfunded mandates. It's the Federal government telling the states what they have to do. Estimates is it will cost the states anywhere from $200 to $400 million additional. So the question is again, where does that come from. It's like the question we talked about earlier [Medicaid funding], you want to take that out of k-12 education, higher ed, infrastructure? All of that is a problem we are going to have to face.

So, my thought is we have to focus on healthcare in America, we have to begin with personal responsibility. Look at where our cost is at, it has escalated so much. In the end I think it all comes back to the health question someone asked earlier. We're not taking care of ourselves and the government is paying for most of that. Until we introduce more personal responsibility into this system we're going to have problems with healthcare costs.

33: 45 minutes

• Q? McWherter: The US Dept of Citizenship & Immigration services now has the e-verify program to validate I9 status and to confirm eligibility of job applicants for employment. What are your thoughts about sponsoring legislation that creates real consequences for employers who are not validating citizenship prior to hiring new employees?
• Answer: We need to do a much better job of making the e-verification information available to employers. We need them to know there is an undocumented worker in their workforce. If there is and they are caught, we need to prosecute them and find them. That creates an unfair advantage over small business. As governor, I'm going to do that.
• Q? Haslam: What leadership qualities and experiences you would consider when choosing cabinet members?
• Answer: This could be the most important question. In the end, the governor is limited and the most important decisions you make, you make even before you go into office. You decide who is going to come in, who are going to be the people that are going to help you.

Competence (expert in their subject matter, area they are overseeing), someone who realizes the story is not about them (not arrogant), integrity, sees the bigger picture.

• Q? McWherter: Are you in favor of Arizona's immigration policies and would you support similar legislation for TN?
• Answer: I think the responsibility for immigration is a federal issue, not a state issue. I am disappointed we have a federal government that has not secured our borders. If we can secure the border between North and South Korea, I have to believe we can secure our own borders.

I don't think there should be a patchwork of immigration laws all across this state. I can guarantee TN will not pass an immigration bill exactly like Arizona. I want to work with Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker to see if we can't get a resolution to that.

• Q? Haslam: With the rising gang violence across the state, how will you work with law enforcement agencies to combat this trend?
• Answer: The answers begins with local law enforcement. The largest department I work with is the police department. Have to go back and what's behind that? One of the things I think that can help the most is a real focus on k-12 education. We used to talk about reading, writing, and arithmetic, now we talk about rigor, raising standards, relevance, and relationships. One of the most effective things we are seeing now is the introduction of adult relationships with folks that are keeping people from dropping out and ending up in gangs.
• Q? McWherter: There are 16 international baccalaureate schools in TN implementing 17 programs. Last spring the education committee changed the resolution of house bill 2947 that provided the candidates of international baccalaureate with 24 hrs of college credit in state universities. This clause was taken out in an amendment which only supported the international baccalaureate program through donations not state funds. Would you sign a bill supporting this college credit for international baccalaureate students since it would decrease costs for students and families and use less money from lottery scholarships, and encourage students to pursue a more rigorous education path in high school?
• Answer: Since I went over in my last question, the answer to that is Yes.
• Q? Haslam: In the wake of the new health care plan, several states are trying to nullify the mandatory purchase of healthcare. There are similar efforts going on in TN. As governor of TN, would you support these efforts?
• Answer: I do wonder about a law that forces you to purchase something. I don't think we've ever done that in this country before. That is a concern. Bigger picture, concerned about cost of healthcare plan.
• Q? McWherter: How would you address the issue of the shortage of special education teachers and educational materials in TN?
• Answer: Going to have to look at new out-of-the-box, innovative ways to provide the curriculum that is going to be required to graduate and get the education needed. Use of the Internet. Will need an education commissioner that can think out-of-the-box.
• Q? Haslam: TN ranked 41 in infant mortality. What are your plans for reducing healthcare disparities among TN children and improving their access to healthcare?
• Answer: Make certain we provide access to healthcare, particularly in low income areas. Make sure resources are appropriately funded. Ultimately, we come back to personal responsibility.
• Q? McWherter: Our jails sometimes provide an escape for people. Our prisoners get shelter, food, recreation, and money while costing taxpayers a fortune. Do you have any ideas for alternative corrective punishment that would take this burden from taxpayers?
• Answer: The legislature may have already addressed this this year. They passed legislation to lengthen sentences for very violent criminals and provided alternative sentences for non-violent criminals. We need to let that legislation get in place and work. I'm all for what they did.
• Q? Haslam: Considering the override to allow guns in bars, it seems TN legislature is taking an ever more unrestrictive stance in regards to guns. Do you support the guns in bars legislature and how can you balance such measures with concerns for public safety?
• Answer: I do [support the legislature], with the important caveat that lets the owner of the establishment decide if they will allow guns.
• Q? McWherter: You're a proud member of the NRA and supporter of the 2nd amendment. Two years ago, a student at OVerton High School brought in a gun and used it to threaten a teacher. How are your positions on guns and keeping schools safe?
• Answer: Schools are not an appropriate place for guns. legislature does not deter someone who wants to bring a gun to school from bringing a gun to school. What might deter them, if they know they are going to be prosecuted. I would absolutely would make sure we enforce our laws.

47:21 minutes

• Q? Haslam: As a youth in the community and an avid volunteer, I'm especially concerned with non-profit organizations in TN. Do you have any plans to set aside grant money or any other funding for these institutions in the budget?
• Answer: I fully understand that, but I also understand we face real budget challenges in the state. I would love to tell you, oh yeah, we'd love to fund all of the non-profits. The truth is we are probably not going to have in the next few years more money to dispense out than we've been doing the last couple of years.

I do think one of the things a governor can do is really model that out to show concern. I think that investing your own dollars and your own time is one of the best things that a leader can do.

50:00 minutes

Closing - McWherter

Want to move TN forward. Want to create jobs, bring jobs to the state, help you get through your education process, and want affordable healthcare. We want TN to be a place you want to live in and come back to.

Closing - Haslam

Can sell TN because of no income tax and right to work state.

John Seigenthaler - Guest speaker