MICHIGAN GOVERNOR CANDIDATES START SWINGING
Joseph Serwach, Special to the TribuneCHICAGO TRIBUNE
Gov. James Blanchard and Republican challenger William Lucas came out fighting in their first debate, each charging the other with lying about the other`s record and distorting the truth.
Blanchard, a Democrat, accused Lucas of mismanagement in his role as Wayne County executive during the past four years and had aides circulate copies of one of the county`s overdue bills to reporters to demonstrate what he said were cash-flow problems under Lucas` leadership.
Lucas made similar claims about Blanchard, displaying a computer printout with the names of 4,000 prisoners he said have escaped from penal institutions since Blanchard has been governor.
''Jim, if you won`t tell the people where you stand, I will,'' Lucas said. ''He increased taxes to make the state solvent and three out of every four dollars of that went for more government spending. He talks about new businesses he has brought. The truth: He has driven hundreds of businesses away. Our business climate is one of the worst in the nation.''
Blanchard countered: ''Bill, you spent the last four minutes distorting the past four years. The state had impending bankruptcy and a deteriorating economy. We confounded the so-called experts and have cut the unemployment rate in half.''
Wednesday`s debate was the first of two planned by the candidates.
Lucas, 59, ran as a Democrat to become the first elected executive of the nation`s fifth most populous county in 1982. In 1985, at the prompting of national GOP leaders, including President Reagan, he switched parties to become the nation`s highest-ranking elected black Republican.
Despite his history of carrying more than 70 percent of the vote in Wayne County elections, Lucas` previous popularity has not materialized in the polls. He now trails by as much as 20 to 25 percentage points.
The usually soft-spoken candidate Reagan calls ''Cool Hand Luke'' broke the relatively mild tone of his campaign last week by calling Blanchard a liar five times in a speech.
Even though he wasn`t in the room, Reagan`s influence was evident in the debating techniques used by each candidate. Like the Ronald Reagan of 1980 who asked Americans if they were better off, Lucas asked: ''Are any of you safer today walking these streets than you were four years ago?''
Incumbent Blanchard, meanwhile, took advantage of the patriotic themes Reagan used while running for reelection in 1984. Responding to Lucas`
attacks, he said: ''I can`t understand how anyone would base a gubernatorial campaign on knocking Michigan.''
Blanchard, 44, narrowly won Michigan`s governership in 1982 and was the center of a recall drive after he spearheaded a 38 percent increase in the state income tax rate in 1983. Since that time, the state`s accumulated $1.7 billion deficit has been eliminated, taxes have been rolled back from 6.35 percent to their previous 4.6 percent level and the governor`s approval rating has been at an all-time high.
As a former sheriff and FBI agent, Lucas` campaign has been his promise to implement the ''toughest anticrime program in the country.''