Gubernatorial debate mostly civil

Springmeyer, again, criticized the 5 percent flat-rate personal income tax that Huntsman championed, saying it is costing public education $200 million a year while giving tax breaks to Utah's wealthiest residents.

Huntsman defended it, saying Utah is one of the best-managed states because it has tax reform, which drives a healthy economy while other states are suffering.

The men squabbled over just how much money is going to public education, Human Services and other vital state programs — Huntsman saying state revenue is still growing, just not as much as anticipated, and Springmeyer said GOP leaders have mismanaged Utah's finances.

Springmeyer said it is a "disgrace" that so many Utah children still don't have health insurance. Huntsman said Utah's CHIP program is working, and he's as frustrated as anyone that local insurance firms won't provide affordable health insurance, especially for younger Utahns.

Both men said affordable health care should be "a right, not a privilege."

Huntsman said he signed the controversial private school voucher bill in 2007 because he liked the idea that some troubled children needed options that the public schools couldn't provide. But he will respect Utahns' votes and not support another such measure.

Springmeyer said Huntsman should have vetoed it. "And I will veto any voucher bill, any omnibus education (funding) bill and any bill "passed in a closed (GOP legislative) caucus."

Both men took swipes at the Legislature, saying there should be ethical reform there. Huntsman said he can't tell the Legislature what to do, and that he has adopted ethics reforms in the governor's office.

Springmeyer said it is wrong for the Legislature to draw its own "safe" legislative districts through gerrymandering. He called for an independent redistricting commission, and Huntsman said he would support that, also.

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