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SALT LAKE CITY — Two very different pictures of Utah emerged Friday from the first debate between GOP Gov. Gary Herbert and his Democratic challenger, Peter Cooke.
Members of Utah's League of Cities and towns were in the audience, but political specialist Richard Piatt says the two were really going for all voters in the state.
This is the first major venue where Herbert and Cooke went head to head, and Cooke was on the attack. He even took on one of Governor Herbert's main selling points: The strength of Utah's economy.
"5.7 percent of the labor force in Utah have dropped out of the labor force because they can't find jobs," Cooke said.
Cooke had the Governor on the defensive when it comes to education funding, keeping Hill Air Force Base open, and on his leadership in general.
The Governor's bottom line is that Utah is in much better shape than most of the nation in many areas, mostly due to his leadership, he says.
"We've put ourselves on a road to prosperity, we've got a ways to go but we're on the right road," Herbert said. "In every measurable way, we're doing better. We're like the cream rising to the top. As the Wall Street Journals says 'We're the gold standard. We are the brightest star on the flag.'"
Cooke insists Utah isn't in such a pretty spot when you take a closer look, and that it's time for a change in leadership and to elect a proved leader.
I think it's horrible for you to sit here and lead the state and say that we are on a path of economic recovery when I've give you the facts. We've lost jobs. We need to come up with a new economic game plan.
–Peter Cooke, Democratic candidate
"I think it's horrible for you to sit here and lead the state and say that we are on a path of economic recovery when I've give you the facts," Cooke said. "We've lost jobs. We need to come up with a new economic game plan."
Both Herbert and Cooke, a retired U.S. Army general and small-business owner, agreed that while this was not the right time to raise taxes, changes may need to be made in the gas tax.
Herbert said there needs to be a "healthy discussion" and suggested adjusting the tax collected on the sale of gasoline for inflation. Cooke said all revenue sources should be reviewed, not just gas taxes.
There was little agreement between the candidates about the future of Hill Air Force Base.
"We are in trouble at Hill," Cooke said, accusing the administration of being caught off-guard by an effort to move the base's maintenance mission to Oklahoma.
Herbert said it is in the best interest of the military and taxpayers to keep the base open.
The governor received a round of applause from the downtown hotel ballroom audience for his stand against federal control of public lands in Utah. He said the state would attempt to negotiate with Washington and that there was "no willy-nilly plan" to sue the federal government.
Cooke said the state should look at alternatives to going to court, including reviving the so-called "Sagebrush Rebellion" launched by the state's last Democratic governor, Scott Matheson, more than three decades ago.
The audience also liked Herbert saying that firework and target shooting bans should be left up to local governments rather than "have some micromanagement from a 'godfather' on top telling you how to do it."
This was the most forceful that Cooke has been in the campaign so far, partly because he is fighting an uphill battle against the Republican powerhouse in the state.
