Styles contrast at GOP governor forum

ERLANGER – Very little separated the policy positions staked out by all four Republican gubernatorial candidates at a forum here Friday afternoon, putting the focus squarely on experience and personal style.

And apart from a minor jab here and there, the afternoon was essentially cordial, with candidate and former state Supreme Court justice Will T. Scott joking that the four candidates "have a lot of fun with each other – after y'all leave that is."

But forum attendees did get that contrast in styles between the folksy Scott, the Louisville businessman Matt Bevin, Agriculture Commissioner James Comer and former Louisville city councilman Hal Heiner.

While Scott said he was "a private sector guy who comes into government to fix things," the other three all hyped their small business experience to an audience of Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce members. The chamber sponsored the event.

Even Bevin said that he would vote "for any one of these fine gentlemen over (leading Democratic candidate) Jack Conway ... it all comes down to who you think will have the ability to carry this state forward."

A recent Bluegrass poll found that Heiner led the field with 28 percent, followed by Bevin and Comer tied at 20 percent. Scott trailed at 8 percent. But the poll also showed 25 percent of registered Republican voters were undecided.

The Republican primary is set for May 19, and the winner will likely face Conway, the current state Attorney General who doesn't have serious competition in the Democratic primary.

At the end of 2014, Heiner led the fundraising battle, having infused millions of his own money into the campaign last summer. But Comer had raised triple all the other candidates combined in the fourth quarter of 2014.

All four outlined their plans to better the business climate in the state, a key question for the audience; the forum was moderated by Chamber president Trey Grayson, the former Kentucky secretary of state and U.S. Senate candidate.

Comer, from Tomkinsville, continually referred to his lieutenant governor running mate Sen. Chris McDaniel, R-Taylor Mill, saying McDaniel would give Northern Kentucky "a seat at the table, which is a historic opportunity for this area that has been underrepresented in Frankfort."

As for actual positions, all four candidates argued against tolls for a possible new bridge and reconstructed Brent Spence Bridge, although there was minor disagreement on why and even if the bridge should be replaced or other alternatives considered. The project is estimated to cost $2.6 billion and build a new bridge as well as rehab the existing Brent Spence.

That bridge, which connects downtown Cincinnati and Covington, is considered "functionally obsolete" for not meeting design standards and is a major congestion point on the Interstate 71/75 commercial corridor.

Bevin took a veiled shot at Comer and Heiner over tolls, pointing out without naming names that other candidates had voted in favor of tolls in the past. That includes Comer, who voted for allowing tolls on the Louisville bridges project while serving in the General Assembly, while Heiner sponsored the motion in Louisville that allowed tolling there and created a special commission to oversee the project.

Comer acknowledged that there was a problem with the Brent Spence, but said that other alternatives should be considered. McDaniel floated such ideas earlier this year to The Enquirer at the beginning of the General Assembly session.

Scott said the fix to the bridge problem was a federal one, and called out U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Garrison, for picking fights with House Speaker John Boehner, R-West Chester, saying it was a main reason why the Brent Spence project wasn't getting more federal backing.

Other questions touched upon the area and statewide heroin problem and legislation passed this week to battle the epidemic, as well as health care and education.

All four agreed that Kentucky should move to adopt charter schools, or schools that use public money but are operated privately.

And all four called a new heroin law a good start but that more needed to be done, especially to reduce poverty and put those on Medicaid and welfare back to work.

As for health care, Scott said he was the first to recommend the elimination of the popular and successful state-run Kynect health insurance exchange program, saying it was redundant given the success of the federal program. Bevin made headlines for a similar proposal earlier this year, even drawing direct criticism from Gov. Steve Beshear.