Commitment '17: The June Lincoln Gubernatorial Debate

[Bleach Blonde Bad Built Butch Bodies for Biden]

Commitment '17: The June Gubernatorial Debate

Good evening, and welcome to the first ever gubernatorial debate in our great region of Lincoln, taking place at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana.  I'm Scott, your regional senator and host of tonight's debate.

This evening, we have incumbent Labor governor Mike Wells seeking an unprecedented third time as our region's governor.  He is challenged again by former Vice Presidential candidate Kingpoleon.

First, I will briefly explain the rules.  The candidates will have the opportunity to speak on some of the various issues facing our region today.  After each question, Kingpoleon and the Governor will have three days to respond.  Rebuttals and dialogue between the candidates are encouraged.  I will also be asking follow-up questions as I deem necessary or if I find that a candidate's response deserves clarification.

After this section of the debate, candidates will make their closing remarks and the debate will conclude.

The audience in this hall has promised to remain silent.  No cheers, boos, or other interruptions so we and you can focus on what the candidates have to say.  No noise except right now as we welcome Governor Mike Wells, and Mr. Kingpoleon.


Gentlemen, welcome to you both.  Let's start with an issue that sadly seems to have been neglected by most of the media today, but is still very much on the minds of those affected.  As you both know, the city of Flint, Michigan is in disarray as a result of lead-contaminated pipes, and thousands of lives have been jeopardized - many permanently - from this disaster.  What would you do as governor to address the problems facing the city?

[Bidenworth2020]

let's go KINGPOLEON!!!!!!!!!! THE BEST ATLASIA POLITICIAN!!!!!

[Kingpoleon]

((OOC: I will be basically absent until about 38 hours from now; noon CST))

You must be logged in to read this quote.

[Wells]

First of all, I would like to thank Scott and the University of Notre Dame for hosting us, the people of Lincoln for electing me twice, and Kingpoleon who so far has run a good campaign.

As for your question, what has happened to Flint is a disgrace and a tragedy. I am disappointed to have seen it fall by the wayside. In my opinion, what needs to be done is a program to bring them clean, bottled water and have the city switch to other, much cleaner water sources with better piping. I regret not having done much for them before.

It should also be noted that Flint is not the only city with higher than acceptable levels of lead in their water. This is a problem in many locations around Lincoln and Atlasia. Simply focusing on Flint is not enough, which is why we need to improve our region’s overall infrastructure. Already as governor I have introduced two bills which tackled infrastructure and expanded it greatly. Given another term, we will be able to do even more to improve our infrastructure in Flint and all of Lincoln.

[Bleach Blonde Bad Built Butch Bodies for Biden]

Next question.

Last month, Southern Governor NeverAgain announced a plan in coordination between the three regions for the development of a "high speed rail," otherwise known as AtlasRail.  The current route for the project, which is subject to change to cover more cities and states, may be viewed here.   My question for Governor Wells is what is your plan to help introduce this rail to Lincoln, and how will it be paid for?  Mr. Kingpoleon, my question for you is do you support AtlasRail, and if you do support it, how would you go about overseeing its development in the region?

[Bleach Blonde Bad Built Butch Bodies for Biden]

Bumping this so both candidates see the question.

[Kingpoleon]

I do indeed support it. I intend to help develop it, and I have been wondering if a 1% increase on the sales tax would be enough to help fund it. If a 1-2.5% increase isn't enough, we can look into other methods of funding, such as offering shares of up to 10% of the railroad or a .5% royalty for ten years or until 150% of their investment is paid, whichever comes first. I will say that we can offer free passes to those at or below 150% of the poverty line(and for up to six months after they leave that point), and reduced passed to those between 150% and 225% of the poverty line, with a similar timeline. A local pass would be operatable for within one hundred miles or just the metro area in big cities. We would obviously have more specifics once this is more hammered out.

[Wells]

Thank you for that wonderful question, Scott. I have talked with the other governors of Atlasia, Truman and NeverAgain, numerous times about this project. As of right now, I have suggested another line connecting Lincoln and Fremont, in addition to the other lines NeverAgain proposed in Scott’s link.
 
The construction of AtlasRail in Lincoln would be a great way to increase employment in our region and the speed of the rail would be wonderful for trade between our regions. As soon as we reach a deal on this I would like to immediately begin construction of the rail system in Lincoln. However, there is still planning that needs to take place before this can happen. I am taking every opportunity I can get to discuss this with the other governors.
 
As of the last budget that I signed, Lincoln has a sizeable surplus of eighty-five billion dollars which should hold the cost of a high speed rail system. According to Truman, AtlasRail should cost two million dollars per mile and about seven billion dollars total in his region. Therefore, we can see that it will not be expensive to fund this project in Lincoln. I will not raise taxes in order to fund AtlasRail.

[Bleach Blonde Bad Built Butch Bodies for Biden]

Excellent responses so far.

Moving on to health care.  Currently, members of the Congress from both parties and the President are collaborating on an upcoming health care bill, which is expected to include a strong public component to it.  Until health care reform (which may exist in the form of multiple bills) passes, the Affordable Care Act - better known as 'Obamacare' - remains the law of the land.  What is the role of the regional government in healthcare, and what actions would you do or support as governor to reign in health costs for Lincoln families?

[Bleach Blonde Bad Built Butch Bodies for Biden]

Don't forget about this - only one question left before closing statements.

EDIT: Actually, this will be the last question.  The last one I had planned is pretty trivial.

[Kingpoleon]

Excellent responses so far.

Moving on to health care.  Currently, members of the Congress from both parties and the President are collaborating on an upcoming health care bill, which is expected to include a strong public component to it.  Until health care reform (which may exist in the form of multiple bills) passes, the Affordable Care Act - better known as 'Obamacare' - remains the law of the land.  What is the role of the regional government in healthcare, and what actions would you do or support as governor to reign in health costs for Lincoln families?

I have a history of sending in healthcare ideas, not of my own work, but of my own research. BaucusCare, the Healthy Americans Act, and the Patient Freedom Act of 2017 all are wonderful starting points. BaucusCare's best ideas are in how to find healthcare, while the other two reduce costs and could help support a self-sustaining regional universal healthcare system. If necessary, we can introduce a public option to foster better competition with other healthcare companies. If the federal plan does not provide for regional flexibility, I would be a bit disappointed, but I understand that centralization of authority can sometimes supersede the desire of the delegation and localization of solving problems.

[Wells]

Healthcare is an issue that is very important to me, which is why I campaigned on the issue, among others, during the last gubernatorial election. However, as the federal government is working on their own healthcare plan, I believe coming up with one for Lincoln would be unnecessary.
 
However, this does not mean that the regional government has no place in health care. I agree with Kingpoleon when it comes to regional authority in healthcare being important. During my time as governor, I have worked on reforms on the healthcare system that affected those in poverty and veterans of our military. I am currently working on a bill that would lower drug prices through an agency which would conduct studies on the quality and necessity of the drugs and negotiate the drug price for the citizens of Lincoln. During my third term, I plan to do much more, including a public option for the citizens of Lincoln.

[Bleach Blonde Bad Built Butch Bodies for Biden]

And I think we'll wrap it up here.  Gentlemen, you may now deliver your closing statements.

[Bleach Blonde Bad Built Butch Bodies for Biden]

Closing statements?

[Wells]

I would again like to thank Scott for being a wonderful moderator here and the University of Notre Dame for hosting this debate. I stand by everything I said in this debate and I hope to receive your vote this weekend.
 
A vote for me will be a vote to continue progress for another four months. As governor these past four months, so much has been accomplished. I wrote and signed an act that tackled homelessness in our region and expanded healthcare to more citizens of our region through two acts. I also wrote a bill that increased environmental standards to protect the clean air and water in our region. And when I saw our unemployment rising, I wrote, passed, and signed an act which expanded infrastructure and created jobs.
 
These are the sort of accomplishments and proactivity that we need in a governor. This is the type of leadership you can expect under my next term as governor as I have already shown it to you for the previous term and even earlier in my career. Your support would be greatly appreciated this weekend.

[Kingpoleon]

The truth of the matter is this: what has Governor Wells accomplished? What has he done to make our region better? If you feel like a great deal has been done, if you feel like Governor Wells has many, major, positive accomplishment, then I encourage you to vote for my opponent. But if you feel what I feel, if you see what I see, if you think what I think: that is, that Governor Wells has not many major accomplishments, then I ask that you vote for me.

I promise you that I will be an active Governor. I will talk to advisors and the Game Moderator, to see what can be done to help our region boom. These are not empty promises: I give you my word that I will oversee the most active administration ever. If you trust me, vote for me. If you have ideas, vote for me and tell me them. I will listen to you.

Please: I have made many a bid for office. Not once have I broken such a promise when I have won. It is true that Governor Wells has a few accomplishments, but the economic changes have come from me as his economic "czar". In a month, I am projected to lower unemployment by at least 0.3%. As a citizen, I gave our region an economic regulations board and created our regional security forces. As a Governor, there is so much more I can do.

It is true that Governor Wells has created government jobs, increased environmental protection, and helped our infrastructure. He has done quite a few things, but not as much as he could. I pledge to, however: (1.) Work to go further than the Paris Agreement faster than the Paris Agreement requires; (2.) Work with the federal government on healthcare, and create an efficient regional healthcare system, if allowed, alongside it; (3.) Lower unemployment by regulatory reform by at least 1.0%; (4.) Work to incorporate as many ideas of Atlasia's citizens as possible; (5.) Create a detailed map for our railway system in Lincoln; (6.) On the regional-federal governmental divide, fight not for either to gain more powers, but, to specify their powers(namely, centralization of authority and localization of solutions), and to give power to citizens rather than any area of government; (7.) One or two times a month discuss with citizens what we have managed to accomplish; (8.) Listen to the voters who elected me.

For too long, the power has risen down from the Governors to the people. The citizens have had to listen to the Governor. I say it should be the other way around. The power should rise up, from the people to the Governors. I will, as your Governor, listen to you, the people. I, as Governor, will be there for the citizens of my region. The issues of Atlasia and of Lincoln are bigger than any one Governor, any one citizen, or any one party. The problems are too big for another term for a Governor who doesn't encourage citizens to PM him and talk to him and give him ideas.