Posted on 11/04/2002 11:18:26 AM PST by BlackRazor
District 1 debate marked by ad slogans
By Iliana Limon
Tribune Reporter
The only 1st Congressional District debate featured familiar one-line messages from negative television campaign advertisements.
Republican Rep. Heather Wilson and Democratic challenger Richard Romero faced off at the KiMo Theatre in Downtown Albuquerque for a debate televised by KOB-Channel 4.
During the debate, Romero drew from the script of advertisements accusing Wilson of saying one thing to New Mexico constituents while voting differently in Washington, D.C.
"Richard, I am the person here as I am in Washington," Wilson responded. "What you see is what you get."
Wilson went on the attack, too.
She accused Romero, a veteran state legislator and Senate president, of failing to show up for work and voting 90 percent of the time with embattled Democratic legislator Manny Aragon.
"Manny Aragon is a Democrat and even though I may have voted with him 90 percent of the time, I voted against him when it came to leadership of the Senate," Romero said.
Romero, with the help of Senate Republicans, ousted the long-time Senate president about two years ago.
When asked to say one nice thing about their opponent, Wilson complimented Romero's smile. Romero said Wilson was a nice person.
But the pleasant exchanges ended early.
The candidates sought decisive responses, jabbing at each other to the delight of a boisterous crowd peppered with a mix of vocal Romero and Wilson supporters.
The race, once seen as a sure victory for Wilson, has tightened with Election Day looming Tuesday.
Romero trails Wilson 50 percent to 44 percent, with 6 percent of voters undecided, according to a poll by Research & Polling Inc. commissioned by the Albuquerque Journal.
The margin of error for the survey of 317 registered voters conducted last week is plus or minus 5.5 percent.
The debate, which included questions posed by moderators and the candidates, focused on prescription drugs and Social Security.
Romero insisted that Wilson had said she favored privatizing Social Security, which the Republican denied.
The challenger said he pledged to protect the fund and admonished Republicans for using it to pay for spending, including tax cuts, that had caused budget deficits.
Romero said he would not invest the fund in the stock market and would support applying future budget surpluses to the fund to help secure its long-term strength.
"I would never raid it," he said of the fund. "Right now, it's structured to be good until 2038, but if we raid it to pay for budgets and war, it will not last."
Wilson said she also opposed investing the fund into the stock market because the sizable investment would allow the federal government to buy control of most U.S. companies.
She also opposes raising payroll taxes to protect Social Security benefits, but said she plans to work with fellow members of Congress on a plan to protect the fund.
When the candidates were instructed to pose four questions to each other, Wilson asked Romero how he would fund a prescription drug plan that would cost between $800 billion and $1 trillion.
"Well, I sure wouldn't give another $250 million to Enron," he responded. "I would go build surpluses and go back to fiscal responsibility."
Romero asked Wilson why she supported a prescription drug plan that included insurance companies.
He added that Wilson received contributions from pharmaceutical companies that would benefit from her drug plan.
Wilson said she is supported by more than 6,000 contributors who are mostly from New Mexico.
She said insurance providers play a role in her plan because she wants to give people at least two choices and allow the large groups to negotiate lower drug prices.
"Pharmaceutical companies do favor the plan because more people will be able to buy their drugs," she said.
Both candidates closed the debate by pledging to invest in the state and urging New Mexicans to vote on Tuesday.
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