Anthony Brown/Larry Hogan
Yesterday’s gubernatorial debate between Anthony Brown and Larry Hogan centered on topics of business and economy, but the candidates also touched on education and the environment.
The debate, which took place four weeks before the Nov. 4 election, was hosted by WJZ-13 and The Baltimore Sun. It was filmed yesterday morning and broadcast at 7 p.m.
Hogan tried to paint himself as a change from the two terms under Gov. Martin O’Malley with Brown as lieutenant governor. He criticized the administration’s tax increases, saying they forced businesses to leave the state.
“Taxpayers in Maryland are suffering; they just can’t take it anymore,” Hogan said. He later added: “I’m running because I want to get the government off our backs and out of our pockets … so we can turn the economy around. “
In response, Brown promised “there will be no new taxes” in this state if he is elected governor, a claim he repeated several times during the debate.
Student Government Association President Patrick Ronk said Hogan was right to criticize the slow economic growth under O’Malley, but he was looking for more specificity.
“I really do think he’s coming from the right area on that,” Ronk said. “I would just like him to offer up what he would do to change it instead of criticizing it.”
Brown brought up college tuition when attacking Hogan’s position in Robert Ehrlich’s administration, when he says tuition went up 40 percent. Hogan later said he was opposed to the tuition increases while he served as Ehrlich’s cabinet secretary.
This university’s College Republicans President Breyer Hillegas said Hogan should not be judged on the policies put in place during the Ehrlich administration.
“[Hogan’s] an honest guy. I think if he says that he wants to keep higher education affordable, then he’ll do just that,” Hillegas said.
SGA Government Affairs Director Luke Pinton said he thought Brown proved himself to be the better candidate for students.
“As college students, if one candidate is going to make education more affordable between the two of them, it looks like based off his past involvement with the O’Malley admin., it looks like Brown might be the guy to do that,” Pinton said.
The candidates also debated what should be done to protect Chesapeake Bay. Hogan criticized Brown’s “rain tax,” which imposed an annual fee for having surfaces that create excess water runoff, and said the state needs to find other ways to combat the problem.
Brown said this state needs to take the lead on reforming policies to help the environment and save the bay, and accused Hogan of trying to push the responsibility to other states such as Pennsylvania and New York.
Hogan addressed issues Brown has attacked him for in ads, explaining his position on gun laws and women’s health issues. He promised he would not roll back the increased gun safety measures passed last year, and later said he supports a woman’s right to obtain birth control.
“He was able to clear up some of the misconceptions about him,” Hillegas said. “After the debate, people are able to see his true goal, his character, what he wants to do and why he wants to do it.”
Following the debate, Hogan said he was upset that health care was not a topic of discussion.
“It is absolutely shameful that today’s moderators gave Lt. Governor Brown a free pass on his role in the failed rollout of the exchange,” Hogan later said in a news release. “Maryland’s rollout was a national embarrassment and Brown continues to duck all responsibility for his role in its implementation.”
The candidates will participate in two more televised debates, on Oct. 13 and Oct. 18. This university’s chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists will host a debate viewing party Monday at 7 p.m. in Knight Hall.
