Lieutenant governor hopefuls’ debate becomes heated

SALEM -- The candidates for lieutenant governor hurled insults at each other last night in their first and only debate.

"That was a meaningless platitude about nothing," Republican Bill Bolling told Democrat Jody Wagner at one point in the debate at Roanoke College.

"Bill, I don't need a lecture from you about fiscal responsibility," Wagner told Bolling at another point.

The campaign for the No. 2 spot in state government has taken an increasingly negative tone in recent weeks.

Last night Bolling called Wagner a tax-and-spend liberal who, as state secretary of finance, badly miscalculated state revenue.

Wagner accused Bolling, who is seeking re-election, of repeatedly missing meetings of advisory commissions of which he was a member.

"Bill, it's not just about showing up; it's about leadership," Wagner said.

In her closing statement, Wagner drew laughter from the audience by thanking Bolling for showing up.

Bolling has criticized Wagner over state revenue projections that missed the mark. Wagner notes that other states did not envision the magnitude of the national recession and that Forbes.com has recognized Virginia as the best state for business four years in a row.

Wagner says that in the past four years Bolling has attended about 6 percent of the meetings of nine state boards and commissions that he either is required by law to attend or to which he "has a standing invitation."

Bolling said last night that Wagner omitted some commissions and that he actually attended 78 percent of such meetings.

At one point, a dispute over the ground rules for the debate led to confusion in Olin Hall.

The Young Lawyers Division of the Virginia Bar Association, which sponsored the debate, had told Wagner she could not use notes. When Bolling began reading from a news story about Wagner, she accused him of breaking the rules.

But the Bolling campaign handed the moderator a copy of the ground rules, showing that candidates were allowed to use notes.

Bolling spent much of the night linking himself to Bob McDonnell, the Republican candidate for governor. Wagner made scant mention of Democrat R. Creigh Deeds, who trails in polls.

Wagner said she would not raise taxes when "people are hurting." To help transportation, she would emphasize telecommuting, smart growth and mass transit, she said.

Bolling said Wagner has supported every tax increase proposed in the past eight years by the administrations of Govs. Mark R. Warner and Timothy M. Kaine.

Wagner noted that Bolling presided over the state Senate for four years and did nothing to break the deadlock over transportation. That's because the Democrats' solution was to raise taxes, Bolling said.

Wagner said too many students -- about 20 percent -- don't finish high school, so more must be done for education. She said the Bolling-McDonnell transportation plan would drain $5.4 billion from education.

Bolling called that charge "fiction" and accused Wagner of a "dishonest, deceitful, hypocritical campaign."

He said the Republicans would improve education by putting more money into classroom spending rather than administration.

Both agreed on one point: They favor bipartisan redistricting. The General Assembly will redraw the boundaries of legislative and congressional districts in 2011, after the 2010 census.

Contact Tyler Whitley at (804) 649-6780 or .