By Cheyene Miller
University of Kentucky School of Journalism and
Telecommunications
One candidate’s wonkiness and the other’s confrontational
personality, and their stark differences on some issues, have culminated in a
virtual toss-up in the Nov. 3 election for governor.
Democrat Jack Conway and Republican Matt Bevin differ
greatly in their stances on the race’s hottest issues, including the state’s
crumbling pension system, the Medicaid expansion under federal health reform
and the state’s education system, which makes up more than half the state
budget.
Regarding the underfunded pension system, Bevin touts his
experience as a businessman, managing pensions and making payroll.
He has advocated moving new state workers to a 401(k) style
system and offering current workers the opportunity to join the system, which
the legislature recently changed to save money.
Bevin said during Monday’s KET debate, “We’re not really
solving the problem at all,” partly because the estimated rate of return on
investments is too optimistic.
Conway has said implementing such a system would actually
cost the state $8 billion more in the first 15 years, since new hires are
helping to pay current benefits. He has more or less advocated keeping the
revised system in place, saying the state can meet its immediate obligations
because it has a $219 million surplus.
“I think we can make it. I think that’s manageable,” Conway
said in the debate.
Conway has said that moving teachers to a 401(k) style
system would be “absolutely off the table” because they do not participate in
Social Security, which would be their safety net should the 401(k) investments
fall short. Bevin has said he would apply for a waiver to let teachers
participate in Social Security without the state and schools making the
employer match.
On the Medicaid expansion, which has extended health
coverage to about 400,000 Kentuckians, Conway favors keeping it, as well as
sustaining Kynect, the state’s health-insurance market that has about 100,000
Kentuckians in private plans. Bevin wants to abolish Kynect and use the federal
exchange.
Bevin said in February he would immediately reverse the
Medicaid expansion upon taking office, but later denied saying that. Since July
he has said he would seek a federal waiver to convert to a system like
Indiana’s, where Medicaid beneficiaries pay higher premiums to receive better
benefits, as well as co-payments.
“I don’t care if it’s a dollar or two dollars,” Bevin said
in the KET debate. “People should have skin in the game.” Conway said in the
debate that the Indiana program keeps people from getting coverage.
Bevin says the expansion is not sustainable, but Conway
cites a state-funded study predicting that it will pay for itself by generating
health-care jobs and tax revenue. He acknowledged during the debate that his
administration would be challenged to prove that.
Conway has focused his campaign heavily on education,
especially advocating more funding for early childhood education, citing
research that shows 90 percent of brain development happens by age 5. He has also shown openness to restoring some
of the funding cut from higher education.
Bevin has questioned the effectiveness of Head Start and
called for tax vouchers to support private education, which Conway opposes.
Bevin says he would use “outcomes-based funding” to encourage more graduates in
science, technology, engineering and math. Conway said on Monday’s debate that
he would consider such an approach but wants a “level playing field” for
universities.
Both candidates have touted their ability to improve the
state’s economy, albeit through different methods.
Bevin says that the pension system is the top economic
priority and calls for making Kentucky a right-to-work state because states
that border Kentucky have the law that bans requirements to pay union dues or
fees.
Conway opposes right-to-work and supports raising Kentucky’s
minimum wage to $10.10 an hour over a three year period. Bevin’s opposes raising the minimum wage, now
$7.25 an hour.
“I’m the only one
sitting here who’s ever created a job,” the Louisville businessman said in the
KET debate and on numerous other occasions.
Conway has noted that he is the only candidate who has run a
government agency, and accused Bevin of not knowing how government works.
Television commercials supporting Conway have used many of
the largely disproven attacks on Bevin that U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell used to
beat him in last year’s Senate primary. In debates, Bevin has repeatedly
accused Conway of lying about him.
In the last few days Bevin has increased his effort to
associate Conway with President Obama, who is unpopular in the state. Conway
has noted that he was the only Democratic attorney general to sue the Obama
administration for its anti-coal regulations.
Independent candidate Drew Curtis is also on Tuesday’s
ballot.
