The candidates wasted little time before attacking each other.
Treasurer Denise Nappier met her Republican challenger on Wednesday night for their first and only debate before the November 4 election.
Nappier and Tim Herbst spent most of the 25 minutes attacking each other in the West Hartford studios of NBC Connecticut.
The candidates wasted little time before attacking each other. "We have an obligation to the tens of thousands of teachers and state workers all across Connecticut," Herbst said, "to turn this ship around, to rebound our pension fund, to make sure that our taxpayers aren't on the hook for this huge unfunded liability. 'Unfunded liability' is code language for future tax increases."
In her rebuttal, Nappier said, "Tim likes to repeat untruths but it doesn't make it true. The fact remains that he wants to blame me for things that I have nothing to do with whatsoever."
The conversation also turned to freedom of information, and in particular, a pledge from the Connecticut Council on Freedom of Information. Herbst signed it, but Nappier did not. When she was asked about the pledge, Nappier voiced her support for transparency in government. When the moderator asked directly if she would sign the pledge to oppose weakening of FOI laws, Nappier said, "I certainly would not."
Listen below to the debate over FOI laws:
The debate continued as the credits rolled. The microphones were off, but both candidates could be seen pointing fingers at each other before the moderators moved in between them.
