mediacom. >> the world changed in an instant but mediacom was ready. internet traffic soared and we never slow down. schools and businesses went virtual and we powered a a new reality because at mediacom we are built to keep you ahead. >> mediacom supports c-span as a public service along with these other television providers giving you a front-row seat to democracy. >> new jersey democratic governor phil murphy faces off against republican challenger jack ciattarelli in the first of two debates in the race for governor. topics include the coronavirus pandemic, tax policy and the state legalization of marijuana. wabc dd new york and w pti host the event at the new jersey performing arts center in

newark, new jersey's largest city. >> lie from the new jersey performing arts center in newark, new jersey, welcome to the 2021 new jersey gubernatorial debate. two nights debate is brought you by the new jersey performing arts center, debbie abc seven in new york, and w pti in philadelphia. our candidates in i alphabetical order, republican jack ciattarelli and democrat phil murphy. our moderators fori, this evenig are w abc anchor sade baderinway and w pti anchor brian taff. >> getting everyone. welcome to this debate tonight between the republican ande democratic candidates for governor of new jersey. i brian taff. >> and i'm sade baderinway. the candidates will be answering

questions posed by brian and myself as well as question from a media partners including amanda hoover from new jersey has mediacom adriana vargas from univision 41 and the candidates will answer questions from rutgers eagleton institute of politics and rutgers school of public affairs and administration as well as several submitted to twitter. we have asked the audience and they've agreed several times to refrain from applause or any other disruption. >> under the debate rules the candidates to the question is posed will get one minute to answer followed by a 40-second rebuttal from the opposing candidate. candidates have agreed to a one minute closing statement at the end of our debate and by prior draw the first question comes from brian to mr. murphy. >> mr. murphy, mr. ciattarelli, thank you for for being a tn a spirited t conversation. mr. murphy the first question is for you. new jersey was hit hard by

hurricane ida. it has thighs death toll of any state. your opponent has made this an issue. accusing your possibly costing lives are responding to slowly come specifically waiting until 10:00 the night at september 1, the very night the storm hit to declare a state of emergency. by contrast pennsylvania's governor declared a a state of emergency 12 hours sooner. should your jeff acted mor? .. moderators, reporters, good to be with you, assemblyman, my wife, three of our four kids and our daughter watching at home. it is a honor to be back. hard for me to believe it has been four years. we have been pound ago way on that stronger, fairer new jersey every day for the past three years and nine months whether it is minimum wage, millionaires tax, affordable health care, affordable college. we have come a long way but we have a long waying to. we convened on that day at

10:00 a.m. all 21 counties, call with the office of emergency management, the national weather service. we, we declared our operations for emergency opened at noon. i was on the phone with countless mayors and obviously visited a lot of places afterwards . i would just say a big g contrast is what we're going to do about the environment en to hopefully prevent this from happening again. my opponent says we are doing too much too fast too soon, i see that differently >> mister ciattarelli if you choose. >> thanks to moderators and all those attending from home. with regards to hurricane ida if we ever needed to get off thebeach moment this was it. the declaration of the state of emergency increases urgency . it was 13 hours i believe, two hours after the tornado, one hour after the flash floods and there are 30 fewer

new jerseyans with us today so it begs the question whether the pennsylvania governor hasavailable to him that our governor did not . 13 hours after the pennsylvania governors don't like declaration of emergency cameour declaration of emergency . >> you have 20 seconds. >> our actions are crystal-clear and not only do we more loss of those 30 folks and mrs. mcgee, who lost her husband james and her daughter shanice, tragic. but to say too much too soon too fast and climate resiliency is not looking at the facts . these storms are coming more frequently with more intensity. >> mister murphy, thank you at this question goes toyou mister ciattarelli . i'd d like to ask you to become about what's been known as ciattarelli's seven words. you disagree with your opponents mask mandate in

schools meanwhile cases in kids have increased 240 percent since july and 30,000 children were hospitalized with covid during the month of august. do you stand by those words? >> with was ,regard to the governor'sresponse ida is not about climate change, it's about saving lives . the delay in the state of emergency is what cost lives in new jersey. i've done hundreds of interviews since i declared for governor january 2020 and you wish you could always take it perfect, maybe i ai could have said it more perfect in that interview but my position is not inconsistent with what the cdc has said all along . children in general are not as susceptible to serious illness and death as adults are from the virus as we know . we need to be vigilant and protect our our most vulnerable .

i national statistics and the news here in new jersey is three out of four adults are vaccinated and we are not seeing as many cases amongst children one is one too many sand i will always preserve and protect the our children . >> i would say tonight we have 21 precious kids in pediatric care, five of them in emergency or the intensive care unit. again, there are going to be many contrast tonight andthis may be among the biggest. it can't be , you can look for more room on vaccines your body your choice. you can't ignore the science as it relates to masking. it is crystal-clear. it's crystal-clear and the tragedy by year and a half ago nobody had a playbook. the tragedy today is we have a playbook, we know it works in the assemblymen and a ebunch of governors in the deep south are choosing to throw thatout the window and it's costing lives . >>.

>> there are people thatare vulnerable. my mother has lost a number of her fellow residents at the long-term care facility . she works in so as governor i've said it once and i'll say it again and repeat it i when i'm governor. my job is to promote, preserve and protect human health and safety of all new jerseyans and including those most vulnerable like sitting citizens that died in our ik nursing homes. >> you stand by your words that children are not r vulnerable to this virus. >> what i said is if i had the chance to say it again i would say it differently and more perfectly. my position is consistent with the cdc with regard to the virus last year. children are not as susceptible to serious illness and death as adults are . >> you are also saying on many occasions it's up to you if you want to get vaccinated, it's your choice. you wouldn't have masking in school. we know are the number one and two weapons we have that will keep peoplehealthy and alive . vaccinations to keep people alive, i'm vaccinated . i ipromoted my vaccination. i encourage people to be vaccinated.

do i believe governmenthas a right to tell peoplethey have to take the medicine , no i don't . myjob regardless . [applause] my job is to provide the public with all the information they need to make an informed decision and i would encourage people to get vaccinated. but if people who are vaccinated feel comfortable wearing their masks s encourage them wear their masks. do i believe we should have a student maskmandate for mass children up to two years of age , i think that's a choice. >> the next question is for you and follows on this point so you can talk more about that . on march 31 of 2020 you adopted new york state's rather controversial directives which require nursing homes to admit patients regardless of their status. and that policy forbidding nursing homes. several organizations have

disagreed with that plan. what followed as we now know with 8000 deaths in new jersey nursing and the results, a third of the state debts. frankly did you make a mistake that cost some of your states most horrible citizens lives. >> but acknowledge the scale of this tragedy, 27,000 losses of life and and the tragedy was of thetragedy is long-term care and our collective veterans in new jersey . this happened all over the country and all over the world. with all due respect to the premise of your question we were crystal-clear about the terms by which these residents lefttheir homes. these residents would return to their homes. they needed to be separated and this was crystal-clear . i four, by wing, by building and the staff that servedthem had to be separated . we were crystal-clear and we were unequivocal about that. but again it's a tragic loss of life. i have to step back to the bigger picture. saying that it's your call and governments mandate the

vaccine or unmasking is akin to supporting drunk driving. it impacts both the person who's driving drunk but all the rest of us. that's not the way we do this. we can't see it that way. >> that sounds like a terrible contradiction because the policy the governor put in place with teachers is you get vaccinated or you don't, if you don't want to. if you don't want to you have tomeet twice a week. he gave teachers a choice and those teachers will not start being tested until mid-october . seven weeks after school starts. with regard to nursing homes new jersey leads thenation in a nursing home deaths. phil murphy forced nursing homes to take in patients . there's even a public record out there from one of the nursing homes operators to say on the conference call call with the department of health. you realize if you do this people will die and making matters worse he never gave nursing homespes, personal

protective equipment or test kits . in the early stages when he for those nursing homes to take in patients. mister murphy. >> fax matter. what you said in both cases is just not true. we were crystal-clear these are residents returning to their homes . until we said we must separate them and you must separate the staff. and importantly and again, this is not, you make decisions based on the data, the science and facts . you don't put your finger in theair and see which way the wind is blowing . we asked nursing homes to do the impossible. nursing home operators told us this was going to be an impossibility in terms of keeping people safe and that's why we granted immunity to nursing homes. >> if nursing homes didn't do the right thing they were fine and they will pay aprice for that . >> mister murphy i'd like to follow up. if we can ask the audience members to please be nyquiet we want to try to getthrough as

many questions aswe can . i'd like to follow up with your overall response . hindsight is always 20/20 but knowing what you know now what would you do differently and do you have any regretsin the way that you handle this pandemic ? >> the thing that bothered me was when president trump mentioned i think it was to bob woodward in the course of preparing a book that they knew, he knew and his administration knew earlier on a lot more than they were letting on including the airborne nature of this. any information we would have had earlier would have led us to act sooner. there's no question about it. i don't know if it would have led to different steps but it would have led to steps where we would have taken sooner. right now as we stand here tonight we are among if not the most vaccinated states in the country we have the least percentage of icu beds covid

patients in the country so as tough as it continuesto be i cwouldn't trade our hand with any other state . the conversation i here to my left is about late wiggle room onvaccinations and not so sure unmasking. that's like texas, that's what happens in texas, that's not new jersey . the reason new jersey leads the nation in nursing home deaths is because the customer governor forced nursing homes to take in patience and let's nnot forget the greatest number of nursing home deaths took place on veterans homeson and operated by the state . under president trump the department of justice initiated four different investigations in different states on nursing home deaths . only one investigation continues under the department of justice. new jersey and rightfully so and let me say one other thing. we had a scandal in new jersey where no one died on investigations with subpoena a power. here we have an in situation where people died and there's no investigation with subpoena power.

i'd advise subpoena power to take hplace. >> mister murphy, 20 seconds to respond. >> again, we're still digging out of the damage from did in terms of masking. come on. this guy has been with him every step of the way speaking at his stop the steel rally. let's focus on doing the right things based on science, data and facts. if i may, if those watching at home are playing that drinking game where you've got to takea shot every time you hear trump i'd suggest you stop soon because they're going to be bombed . >> mister ciattarelli, our next question . eagleton institute of politics i am particularly reminded of the way an undergraduate associate in 20/20 to ask this. mister ciattarelli, members

of your party have passed and signed laws in texas and mississippi aswill eliminate a woman's access to an abortion . as governor would you take aa simple similar course of action. >> i would not. i've never advocated for repeal or teoverturn roe versus wade. and i've never not advocated for a woman's right to choose . what i have advocated for our notification. most parents would feel there 15-year-old daughter was president they want to know. he doesn't support parental notification. so let me be clear i do not support the new law in texas. i consider that a form of extremism but i'll tell you what else i consider a form of extremism, the e ability once on his desk and his own democratic leadership won't vote for. it's a bill that would allow abortion in months of seven, eight and nine as performed by somebody other than an m.d. so no i do not support the bill down in texas but i don't support governor murphy's position on abortion

as well.who does that. abortion among seven, eight and nineas performed by somebody other than an m.d. ? that's not new jersey . >> to comments if i may number one is an assemblyman, my opponent consistently voted to defund planned parenthood . it's sad but true. sad but trueand you know who gets hurt by that , underserved communities. women of color get hurt by that. and a lot of women got sick and a lot of women, some women past and that did not have to happen. a woman's right to choose needs to be protected at all costs, her reproductive freedomneeds to be protected at all costs and that is a decision between a woman and her doctor , period.

as i said, >> i've neveradvocated for overturning roe versus wade . but here in new jersey we do not support abortions being performed in months seven, eight and nine. nor do we approve of them being performed by somebody other than an m.d. . with regard to planned parenthood let me say this. thousands of women depend on planned parenthoodand i support women's health.my position is why do we send all the money to an umagency that advocates for abortion . there are a number of agencies that provide women's health do not advocate for abortion. let's send money to both. >> i hope women are listening. that's a shocking statement. women got sick, and some died as a result of that those votes, six in a row i might add. >> let's move on to our next question we welcome new

jersey advanced media. our question goes to mister murphy. you've spoken of creating diversity in new jersey's government and roles for women working women working there have detailed toxic and abusive behavior by male staffers. a legislative report found your staff failed to volunteer on your campaign in 2017 and you handed them accusations that another staffer had sexually assaulted her. how do you reconcile your outward record fon when the treatment for women work for you? >> apologize to katie publicly and privately and her experience are often experiences that stayed with me and has informed a lot of the steps we've taken in the years since. first of all there's no state government, no administration that has the workplace protections and training we have in new jersey. no campaign by the way and anywhere in this country that la has the same workplace sections and training

including sexual harassment. by the way a campaign that's majority female is run by two women and knows state more broadly in this country that is more supportive of anyone who has to go through something awful like that and industry survive orwhether it's the way law enforcement approaches it for all the way to the helping hands reach out . i'm proud of the fact that the majority women cabinet that we have diversity all over our administration and if we stood for policiesthat have stood for women but those lessons have stayed with me and we turn them into action . >> you ask how he can reconcile that, he can't. it's been the most anti-woman governor we had. [applause] has two women that worked on his campaign, asked the women that played, if the audience would kindly be seated we need to move

through. ask the women that work on his campaign four years ago. the women that played on his professional soccer team, the women that worked in the embassy . ask the young unwomen at work at factories . they paid pennies on the hour in manufacturing. we seen this time and time again. ask the women who are inmates in prisons.. >> wanted to ask sheila oliver whose sitting right there.i a guy who votes to defund planned parenthood is not a governor for women, period. >> you can ask the women in all the scenarios i gave you, ask them about phil murphy . >> gentlemen, for our next few questions we turn to adriana vargas, division 41. she'll begin with a question for mister ciattarelli. >> nearly one of every four

presidents in new jersey, 450,000 of them as amended. governor murphy has allowed drivers licenses and financial aid for dreamers. and after the interim directive the attorney has found local law enforcement agencies siding with ice. do you agree with what has been done or would you take back some of these issues. >> i've said all along we need a national immigration policy. were not going to deport 1315 or 16 million people. that came to this country that are undocumented. we need a passport recognition. we need to do that. governor murphy seems to be familiar with my voting record so you will know i voted for the dream act . i was one of the few republicans that did that . not going to deny young people the opportunity to pursue their american dream. withregard to undocumented , i believe that's a great security measure. they're here, they're not going anywhere.

let's know who they are and give them a drivers tslicense, get them on our roadsdriving without a license . so i celebrate new jersey's diverse city. we are the most diverse state in the union and so there's power and duty in that diversity in each one of our groups in this state speaks to our intellectual diversity and economic diversity. >> what would you we your point of view towards economic diversity. >> i want an, i'll sees in a moment, brown and echo on the question of our diversity particularly given this question which has a disproportionate impact on our latino communities . you mentioned the emergent trust directive and that was a huge step. no state in america has taken because when we were running four years ago there will all the folks who want to cross that line between law enforcement and immigration status. those lines have been

uncrossed forever. you have a safer state when you've got folks regardless of status who feel confident to come out of the sun like engage their neighbors, law enforcement and elected officials. that's a safer new jersey and that's what we have today. we're going to oncontinue on all that if we are reelected. >> let me say this about new jersey's americans. they're pursuing their american dream. i want to own their own business. what they don't want is a chosen new jersey as their os home. the governor wants to mchoose new jersey for a reason because they want on their business and they also don't want a governor who says if taxes are your issue this is probably not your state . [applause] >> you say taxes are your issue and you're not a millionaire or a ceo of a corporation n, he's not your guy.

>> let's move on. >> that one gets a wow, let me tell you. >> mister ciattarelli, let's move on. first i like to talk about the continued oracial divide when it comes to policing. according to an abc owned television station equity report, overall new jersey police departments arrest blacks nearly four times more than whites bland are more likely to use physical force against blacks at the traffic stops than they are with white drivers. what would you do as governor to address these issues and to, when it comes to diversey on the police force is not one county in the state that has a police force that euros its population. in fact there were three counties in the state that have a 100 percent white police force. what would you do to change this?

>> we need to come up with programs that do a better job of recruiting people of color e into our police ranks . number two, we need to do a better job of screening those who want to go into law enforcement and make sure they're of the right heart and soul. and three we need to find an easier way, we need to have an easier way to get rid of bad cops. what we're not going to do. were not going to handcuff our cops. we're not going to disarm our cops, demoralize our cops. this governor is supported and attorney general was issued directive after directive that makes it harder for our police to do their job. the job has never been harder. when have we ever had curfews on our new jersey shore? where we had flash mobs on our jersey shore. our cops cannot do their job. they need to know that the cop and attorney general with the support of the governor has their backs. the men and women in blue need to knowthe attorney general and governor have their backs .

>> let me just follow up on that. what else , this goes far beyond just thfinding bad cops and isolating them. what would you actually do to really have an influence here when it comes to blacks being pulled over a lot morethan whites and when it comes to physical force during traffic stops . what policies would you institute to address this issue. >> i'm not a law enforcement expert but everyappearance from the statistics says we need a different type of recruitment effort and a different typeof training effort . we needed a different type of supervision effort and we got to analyze those six . there's no disparity in the enforcement of our laws . >> for quick points, i'm the first governor since tom came to fund not one but two rstate trooper training classes in one fiscal year and i'm proud of that. my opponent is a freeholder in somerset county took actions that led actually to

defunding thepolice . 10 sheriffs officers had to be let off. so to your question, we know what works. transparency, accountability, body worn cameras are a huge step inrethe right direction . there are now almost universally adopted up and down the state. that makes a huge difference. at some point we have to ertalk about guns. i'm proudof our record to make new jersey the strongest gun safety state in america . but again i feel sometimes my opponent is running for governor of texas. he wants concealedcarry and more rounds in magazines . he ruled against banning over magazines against background checks. that's a big part of law enforcement reality and we need to get that out there. >> nothing the governor just said is truthful about me with regard to my voting record position on those various matters but directives like we've seen

for example our local police now cannot take teenagers into custody andcall their parents . it caught with weed or alcohol. we used the goal that community policing and that doesn't happen in new jersey. i think he's been very dangerous to children between what we've seen in public schools and promote learning. recreationalmarijuana . >> everything i said is the fact so i apologize for letting fax interfere here . i did run second state class. >> i never defunded police. >> you took actions, don't take my word for it. they went down 10 sheriffs officers because of actions that he took. >> we will revisit gun violence later on. i want to stick with the issue of police for a moment, also an important topic.

mister ciattarelli, the fraternal order of police endorse governor murphy in 2017 but declined to do so this time around . knowing it if he didn't endorse you either what does that say about your support for police , their support for you even as you are vocally critical of your opponent on this issue. >> the fact that endorsedit four years ago and didn't endorse me this time says more about him than it does about me . we need reforms and we talked about that a few moments ago . i enumerated what those reforms should be but we can't not have the back of the men and women in blue. we need to order the rule of law in new jersey land i'll tell you under governor were going to let police do their job and that includes when teenagers are caught with weed or with alcohol, taking them into a temporary custody . i haven't found a single parent across the state republican, democrat, unaffiliated doesn't want to

know. that doesn't want to know. if their child was in public smoking weed or drinking alcohol, parents want to know. will get back to observing the rule of law in new jersey supporting our men and women in blue. >> white you lose the endorsement? >> there are two candidates on the stage, one of them has two endorsements from law enforcement, one of them has none . i have the endorsement of the state troopers and the port authority police. and i'm proud of that. and i'm proud of the balance that we struck. not easy by the way, balance that was struck and that evening especially between law enforcement on the one hand and thenfcommunities that they serve on the other hand . georgefloyd was murdered , every state in the nation had hundreds if not thousands of protests. we are one of the very few if not the only state that had very few incidents, very few incidents. why? we spent three years at that point keeping the engagements

between law enforcement and the communities they serve and it's working. we have more progress to make with our quest but it's working . >> if everything the governor was saying was true they would beg the question why didn't they endorse you so maybe youshould answer the question as to why the fob did not endorse you . >> why you have no endorsementsfrom law enforcement, let's start with that . >>. >> governor, you got the endorsements four years ago . >> you have no endorsements from law enforcement. step aside. >> we do not have the endorsement of local police, state police in our local police are two different things . >> let's move on mister murphy , i want to talk about property taxes this is a big issue. you instituted by far the highest iaproperty taxes in

america, an average of$100 per household . this pyear was clearly popular topic on social media when we asked the questions for tonight's debate. just just a fun one on twitter asks it seemseveryone forgot about our taxes . what are either of you going to do about it. property taxes go up every year. so you have said youwill lower property taxes by changing the school funding formula you haven't yet explain how . so how would you do that ? >> that's my opponent who said that here's mister ciattarelli. >> i'll give him credit for that one.>> you heard what he just said,you're going to be crushed and your kids will be crossed . it is unfortunately the truth. >> that's a lie. >> we inherited an affordability crisis. he was in the statehouse long

before i got there. he rubberstamped chris christie's agenda at every step of the way and we inherited an overwhelming affordability crisis. we have made progress on property taxes but we have a long way still to go but i'll tell you, if you're a working class family today you're paying more income tax, less for healthcare. you're paying less childcare. [inaudible] [applause] >> these guys created amess and they left it for guys like me to clean up and we will do just that . >> would you like to respond? >> i've been going up this up and down the state for 21 months and all the things he

says are benefiting people i don't know where those people are because i'm not hearing from them and i'm in black , brown and white communities . it's for him to talk about . an issue you never hear him talk about property taxes, under governor ciattarelli we will have a new school funding formula that provides a more equitable distribution of state agencies . i will not move any student , not in any community behind and not adversely affect the qualityof education . we are not going to send aid to people that own million dollars like hoboken and jersey city and have them pay less inproperty taxes that a $400,000 homeowner . that's what's going on and he knows it. >> i'll tell you, this election is the difference between continuing to move forward or going backward and you just what would happen here . if you are the tragedy and the progress that we've made in black and brown communities especially urban communities with the school that we have put to work has been overwhelmingly but it's a job that is not yetcomplete . there are huge inequities in this pandemic among other

things exposure. that's my funding formula. we worked with hillsboro but to cross black and brown communities, those kids who are already behind the eight ball. you them further back. this is a difference between continuing to move forward or simply back to the bad old days. dit's it's a wild one to suggest my formula is a flat funding formula. it will never pass muster with the state supreme court. >> really quick before we move on, mister murphy i have a follow-up question. you raise taxes in the past including the billionaire stacks . will you pledge right now not to raise any taxes at any time in the next four years? >> iahalready have and the answer is yes . >> yes you will raise taxes? >> we will not. >> you pledge not to raise taxes at anytime in the next four years ?

>> anytime in the next four years, the answer is i pledge nothing. >> if you are .elected governor. >> there will be no new taxes. it's $11 billion in less than four years but more than 30 percent. chris christie's last budget was 35 billion . i plan on winning in november. his last budget is $46 billion. $11 billion more. he's raised every tax and tolls. he has an insatiable appetite for taxes and the reason is because he believes taxes are your issue, it's probably not your state. he said that. >> i hate to let pesky facts get in the way but you know why the budget is up assemblyman? because of the mess you left. we haven't ... [inaudible] we

haven't had a balanced budget in 25 years. $6.2 billion into the tax systemon one day . we funded education by $9.2 billion. [inaudible] >> it's hard to fund the pension when you're paying for and a half billion dollars. [cheering] >> before we move on we are grateful to have a spirited dialogue on the stage tonight but ladies and gentlemen you mademe a promise . if you could please refrain we will get a little more time to discuss the important topics at hand. are going to turn out to amanda kruger with a question for mister ciattarelli . >> mister ciattarelli you

attended a rally in bedminster shortly after the presidential election where people had signs reading stop the steel and your opponent has accused you of pushing president from agenda. would you vote for him if you ran for presidentagain ? >> i said from the beginning joe biden is the legitimate president. i said that before he was sworn in. ithink donald trump's rhetoric is what led to the riot on january 6 . in late november i was invited to a rally personally by the organizer and he told me it was a rally focused on 2021 and as a gubernatorial candidate when i speak on the importance ofthe entire legislature being on the ballot as well as the governorship . i went there,i didn't see people in the kind of apparel that we find offensive , i didn't see any of those signs . let me saythis . if they were there idon't think i should be held responsible . i don't hold the governor responsible for any rallies where people were holding

signs that said the fund the police or no justice no peace . i can't be held responsible for what any person does at the rallies. but i said from the beginning joe biden is our president and i want our president whoever he or she may be to be successful. because it's un-american not to do itfor the president . >> wended no justice no peace become such a touchy one. let's wended that become disqualified. your picture needs work on the association. your pictures were on the invitation. there's your standing there with a stop the steel sign beside you. there was a confederate flag. it's the exact same cocktail that led to january 6 by the way. members of law enforcement

were killed including native nurtures the sunday. >> if you want to start with qualifiers of doctors are your issue where not your state. >> are saying you want to make new jersey california, i consider those disqualified. >> people died assembly.u people died. >> you mean like the people in the nursing homes? >> i think one of the baseline requirements of this job isyou have to tell the truth >> i would agree . >> we returned to adriana vargas from univision 41 for our next question for mister murphy. >> mister murphy climate predictions are dire for new jersey. give us three things you can do at the state level so we

don't see similar ideas for worse. >> these storms are coming with more frequency. and more intensity. i just had a meeting yesterday with the commissioner of the department of environmental protection . to go over pacific plans. it's going to depend on what part of the state you're in. but on the shore it's probably some combination of what the army of engineers have suggested which is a lot of bill back and blocks and whatnot. and a lot of parts of the state crushed by ida. it's going to be a common nation of either hard assets, or permit more natural space for runoff. we embraced from moment one a 100 percent clean energy economy by the year 2050 so you have to do both which is you have to put buildings in place but you've got to de-carbonized the state and again, by the way offshore wind being an emblematic big

deal in south jersey, again when he was asked about our climate plan too much too soon too fast, when you mister mcgee in urban lost her husband and daughter in a house that hadnever flooded before how can you say that ? we have to go as fast as we can and we will. >> climate change is real, human activity is accelerating it and we need to do things and now to keep people out of harm's way. that includes funding for blue acres we get people in the floodplain out of the floodplain and commit those locks to open. the other thing we need to do is dredging. we need to do that for people who live along the rivers and think moreseriously when it comes to developmental setbacks . i believe the governor's energy policy is not atrealistic. it's too much, too soon, too fast and not the right

deployment of public funds right now to get people out of harm's way. >> you put down the list of contrasts. we are as a planet and as a country and state we are late to this already . >> you're not going to solve climate change one state at a time. we need a national energy policy that galvanizesthe american people . >> this next question is for you mister ciattarelli. on september 6 being before a town hall in burbank county you said this about critical race theory.", with regard to critical race theory let me say this. there's a recent study that shows that less than 15 percent of high school students in this country know that slavery was central to the civil war. that would suggest something's wrong with our public school curriculum but at the same time we are not going to say that white

people perpetuate systemic racism. what did you mean by this statement and if white people are perpetuating racism, who is or don't you believe in the stomach racism ? >> i'll be clear on this issue and thank you because you quoted it perfectly . i don't think we should be teaching our kids that white people perpetuate systemic racism. i think we should teach do onto others as you would have them do unto you that's what we should teach our children . >> what do you think is perpetuating systemic racism? >> critical race theory suggests a white person isthe oppressor and the black and brown are the oppressed .i don't think that's what we should be teaching our students. we should be teaching them the golden rule. do unto others as you would have others do unto you. we should teach them what martin luther king taught us, judge people by the content of their character.

>> do you not believe in systemic racism? >> there is systemic racism but i don'tthink we should be teaching our children that white people perpetuate systemic racism . i believe by the way this is your 402 since slavery first came to our shores. i believe with all my heart we need to teach our kids the whole truth, nothing but the truth . regardless of what that means. i'm proud of what my wife has done working with our legislature. where not teaching climate change as part of curriculum. the amistad commission teaches the true reality of slavery and its impact on our country. i'm proud of the fact that lgbtq plus, their real story is being taught. the last thing we need our dog was the words thrown out there. we're in this together . this is something i thought we got away with fffrom when

trump left. let's teach our kids the whole truth and nothing but the .truth. >> let me drill down on this because mister ciattarelli is not alone. we've seen in so many school board meetings throughout the summer and in the fall there are many who say that critical race theory has the opposite effect, that it does teach racism. what do you say to those people ? >> you have to teach the whole truth and nothing but the truth including about slavery , oppression , racism in our country's history. we are the greatest nation on earth but we wake up every day as president obama used to say to try to perfect it even more so . we're not perfect and we have to acknowledge the entire truth of our history. we have to look in the mirror and be straight with yourself . as an individual, as an institution in our cases in the administration and as a state in the country so let's

teach the true history of slavery, oppression and racism. and by the way, with policies that address the carnage. i got to support marijuana not because of the job for the revenues because of social injustices that damage as it did to black men. the second chance agenda where folks are playing a role in our state canal boat. it's the right thing to do to takespecific action . >> you can address social injustice with a decriminalization of marijuana, not approve recreational marijuana. if our fathers gone down from new jersey 400 now past local ordinancesthat have said no dispensary in my town . >> let's talk about sexual orientation. you recently said not teaching gender identity and

sexual orientation in kindergarten and what not teaching sixth grade. why did you choose that inflammatory word and what does that say about your acceptance of the lgbtq community. >> more about inclusivity. i'm more about inclusivity and i'm all about teaching . that bigotry and bullying is wrong. and all about teaching our students that ucvirtues such as tyrants with respect inclusivity are critical but i believe there's certain subject matter for our young students k-8 that are best left to teaching between a mom and dad and their child. i would ask the question this way and answer the question why does phil murphy believe ur that we should be teaching sexual orientation and gender identity to kindergartners western mark why does he believe we should be teaching explicit sex acts to middle school students ? i don't believe that area a. >> mister murphy would you

like to respond. >> a lotgoing on in our kitchen tables . we're going to decide the quality. >> remember what i said about drunk driving, that's what you're supporting is consistent with. >> let's discuss that. >> i'm going to get that believe me. masking now using a word which you well know is a dog whistle word. the word sodomy is not taught and you know it's whnot that word inflaming and is a complete and utter offense to the community and anybody who is alive for support staff community. how can you say ouyour open-minded and you celebrate diversity but you're using words that are deliberately dog whistles to create another environment.

it's us going backwards. >> we're going to have to leavethis topic because we going to have to move on . we are henearing the end of this debate. >> the next question goes to amanda from new jersey. with a question for mister murphy. >> new jersey has now marijuana but right now as your opponent has stated tonight if a child is caught with marijuana for the first time police cannot tell aparent . do you think thatpart of the law endangers children and would you change it ? >> this should be the same format for alcohol and tobacco. this is don't use cannabis. 21 years and over. the industry is being brought together as we speak on and i'm thrilled that we've been able to have an accelerated process. over 360,000 expungement to put lives again especially of young black men back on their feet. i got to this because of socialjustice . and the carnage from the war

on drugs, we have the widest when we came into office the widest nonwhite gap of persons incarcerated of any americans and the biggest reason was drug crime. is it going to create jobs? yes, revenue, compared to, where not inventing marijuana. thekids are far more exposed before legalization of adult use in the ever will be after it . >> wow. we could have achieved social justice with what it is that i fullysupport, decriminalization of marijuana . this did not go on without the devils in the details and now that it was approved by people in new jersey , they don't like what they're seeing. i think that's why 400 or 500 , more than two thirds say they don't want to dispensary in their account. when they learn that our police cannot take the leader

of a teenager and inform the parent that extremism. that's not mainstream, that's extreme and that's phil murphy. >> again amanda, i don't use marijuana as the referendum passed by avery slim margin of 67 to 33 . the devil is in the details. >> people didn't understand. >> we want to move on real quickly. we got about 30 seconds left to answer this question. >> we promised we talk about gun violence homicides by guns are up 15 percent so far this year in new jersey. as a former assemblyman we you did vote against background checks and you want to expand who can carry guns and concealed weapons. those strategies in any way to reduce gun violence? >> second amendment is the second amendment. it wasn't the summer he would repeal the second amendment.

that's a constitutional right to own a firearm. the hospital he demonizes law-abiding gun owners. iywould be top on prime in every way i support the men and women in blue . the jobhas never been harder . there are a number of bills in the legislature on his desk at the democratic majority and leadership will not put on his desk. they know it infringes on the second amendment rights. what he won't tell you is the ndlast time i ran for reelection in his legislature 2014 i was the only public and not to endorse by the nra . >> this is back, he supports concealed carry. he voted this is true. you've actually said for certain professions, you voted against background checks. you voted against banning safety, weapons. you endorse magazines. we have the strongest done loss of any state in america. >> talk to the people that robles atm machines.

>> you got to be kidding. >> gentlemen, we are nearing the end of this debate. we're running out of time before we go just closing remarks, and with something nice . and you say one nice thing, somethingyou admire about your opponent ? >> i will say that, by all accounts a great husband, great dad. he's got four kids, one of whom served in the u.s. army and we willkeep him in our prayers and i applaud him for that . >> i want to thank governor for his favorite baseball team, thered sox, the most important team playing. my yankees will sweep the series at fenway park . >> i do applaud the governor for his public service. he'sgot a great deal of success. it's something he hasn't had to do what he is doing . >> is there a specific policy issue that you support of your opponent? >> i think i said this earlier, the assemblyman talk about a significant amount about celebrating our diversity.

to disagree on some specifics but i said i half hour ago that we found some common ground we are the most diverse state in america and we want to do everything we can celebrate that diversity. i agree with what he did with teachers. he gave them the choice. you get vaccinated or you get tested twice a week . givepeople a choice . >>. >> we've reached the end of our debate and it's timefor each candidate closing statements . he will have one minute. mister murphy, go ahead. >> there's no state and american like new jersey for far too long we have underachieved. we lag to let our people down. those days are over. we turned the page to a new eraand even in the midst of this overwhelming tragedy of the pandemic , it is unwise in new jersey. tax equity for hundreds of thousands of middle-class families, minimum wage going up for millions and at long

last our kids schools getting fully funded.more childcare to help out oto make college more affordable. women's health, funded and protected and all of this in the context of our extraordinary diversity. we've made so much progress but our work is not done. we have to keep moving forward. we cannot afford to slip backward again. we cannot contemplate extreme leadership in this state. serving as your governor has been the honor of a lifetime. i'm asking for 4 more years to finish the job. [applause] >> mister ciattarelli, one final word for user. >> if you're happy with having the highest property taxes in the nation and the worst business climate in the nation waiting hours online at the department of motor vehicles and your

unemployment benefits or the ability to get anyone onthe phone at any department sin our state government vote for phil murphy. if you don't mind the governor who says he wants to make new jersey the california of the east coast, a governor who says if taxes are an issue where probably not your state vote for film murphy . my focus is simple. all property taxes with the new school funding formula and create more jobs like text fixing our tax code to makenew jersey the most competitive and attractive place to do business and particularly for small business. i'll go down in the trenches and downsize and streamline , modernize our state government to be efficient and corrupted by special interest. the future of our state's estate. so this electionseason on november 2, i ask you to ask yourself are you better off today than you were four years ago . i ask for your vote. [applause]. >> thank you both and that brings us to the end of our debate. we thank the candidates for

taking part . we hope tonight will help was helpful and informative to help you make your decision for. >> thank you to all the partners, new jersey advanced media , univision 41. . and for this beautiful facility tonight, i'm brian in philadelphia. >> i'm with w abc. we encourage you to exercise your right to vote on tuesday november 2,but not .

>> weekends bring you the best in american history nonfiction books. saturday american history tv at 8 am eastern on lectures in history, former charleston south carolina mayor wiley and professor carrie taylor why the new african-american museum is being built in the city. joined by edward wall author of leaves in the family and clan for this class at the citadel military college on the presidency professor christopher leahy on his book presidents without a party. was ejected from his own political party while in office . teachers leading authors discussing their latest nonfiction books. sunday at 10 am eastern on afterwards, syndicated columnist george will and his american happiness and discontent on what he calls the unruly twilight years between 2008 20/20 interview by all work columnist and cnn political intruder amanda

carpenter and at noon eastern on in-depth alive conversation with historian and activist roxanne dunbar ortiz author of several books including outlaw woman and indigenous peoples history of the united states . in her most recent not a nation of immigrants miss dunbar talks about native american culture and history for women's liberation movement and the founding of the united states. join our conversation with your calls, tweets, texts and facebook messages. watch american history book tv every weekend on wfsu tv find a full schedule on your program or visit thefloridachannel.org. >> stay up-to-date on white house events and the supreme court oral ordinance. even our live program

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