Candidates discuss state issues at debate

Collin and Denton county candidates on Saturday filled the conference center of the Preston Ridge Campus of Collin College during the Frisco Tea Party's 2012 Frisco Candidate Forum. The event, which was also sponsored by the Frisco Area Republicans and the Frisco Area Republican Women, allowed area residents to mingle and ask questions directly to the candidates.

During the event, Frisco City Councilman Jeff Cheney served as the moderator and asked Collin and Denton county candidates running for both the Texas Senate and the Texas House of Representatives asked a series of questions that included topics from immigration, and water issues to political experience.

Republican Texas Senate 8 candidate Ken Paxton and Democratic Texas Senate 8 candidate Jack Ternan Jr. were asked the first round of questions.

Cheney asked each of the candidates what their long and short term solutions are to the zebra muscles in Lake Texoma, which pose a threat to the area's water supply.

Paxton said the state has never funded water before because until recently, water in the state was not in peril.

"We really haven't funded water. It's been on the books, it's never really been a crisis around the state. It is becoming a crisis," Paxton said. "I think what we've got to do is start building reservoirs. We've got to start making plans for transporting water around the state because we do have water and we have to start making plans to start transporting water across state lines, so there are solutions we just need to start implementing those solutions."

Ternan said the short term solution involves keeping zebra muscles out of Lake Levon.

"The long-term solution, I don't think the water plant is actually going to work," Ternan said. "I don't think digging holes and praying for rain is going to solve our water crisis. Texas actually used to be one of the world leaders in desalinization technology, we have a ground water desalinization plant in El Paso, one of the only in the world."

Ternan also said that a new technology called solar desalinization would "generate both electricity and water by boiling sea water through solar technology."

"It's being built across the world, but we're not doing it here in Texas," Ternan said.

Cheney also asked the candidates what could be implemented to bring Medicaid or Medicare, which the state provides, down to a manageable level.

Paxton said that the state is going to have to look at the "eligibility requirements" for health care.

"With the federal government taking the approach its' taking with healthcare," Paxton said, "none of that is going to matter if Obamacare is implemented, I think you're going to see several states bankrupted by it. We are fortunately in a better situation than many states. We have a rainy day fund; we don't have the debt that states like California do, so we will outlast other states."

Paxton added that while the state is not facing the financial toils of other states, Texas could still be "crushed by federal mandates and federal spending."

Ternan said that it is not simply a Medicaid or Medicare problem, but rather the entire health care system.

"The problem is that you have the same number of doctors or people training to be doctors in medical school today as we did in 1996," Ternan said, "but the population is growing, we have a nurse shortage, we have all sorts of professional shortages and we're not doing anything to train the people we need to meet the demand."

Ternan said he believes the state needs more medical schools to meet the growing demand of medical practioners; he also added that he is going to try to change the license requirements for those interested in medical professions.

Regarding immigration, Cheney asked the candidates what actions they would recommend the legislature take in response to the federal government's approach to federal immigration laws.

Paxton said that immigration is a federal issue and that the states can only enforce so much before the federal government steps in and makes the final decision.

"As you can see what happened in Arizona, they largely argued that what you do at the state level they are going to preempt the federal law," Paxton said. "We've done what we can ... we've spent your money on increasing border patrols and trying to update our technology along the border, so we have the ability to at least slow down the immigration issue."

Ternan said Democrats are complaining that the immigration issues "are being enforced too much."

"Obama has actually been very aggressive in enforcing immigration laws and way beyond anything Bush was doing," Ternan said. "I don't think it's correct to say that the federal government is not enforcing the immigration laws. I don't think the states should be involved in immigration enforcement, I don't think that's our job and I will not be supporting any legislation to get involved in immigration."

At the end of the senate debate, both Paxton and Ternan had an opportunity to close with their final thoughts on the election.

Paxton said he has noticed a "massive intrusion" by the federal government when the state tries to implement health care legislation.

"Every term, it seems like the federal government is stepping in and ignoring the 10th Amendment," Paxton said. "I think it's critical -- and I think I've proven that I'll fight -- that we have people in Austin who are willing to take on the federal government and not let them decide what our policies are going to be in Texas."

Ternan said he is running to help "take the country forward" rather than to "take the country back."

"We need to develop new technologies, new industries and I have a whole bunch of reforms I want to pass to allow new business forms, new forms of banking, new forms of capital for our small businesses," Ternan said.

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