Governor Candidates Jari Askins And Mary Fallin Talk Hot Topics At Tulsa Rotary Club

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TULSA, Oklahoma -- The candidates vying for Oklahoma's top job spelled out the reasons why they should be the state's next governor Wednesday.

Lieutenant Governor Jari Askins, Democrat, and Congresswoman Mary Fallin, Republican, addressed a number of topics before the Rotary Club of Tulsa.

Askins and Fallin agree on a number of issues.  They both oppose state question 744, which would increase spending on Oklahoma education. Both also support Oklahoma's push to "opt-out" of the federal health care law.

On Education

"If we don't have a quality educated workforce we can't attract or retain quality jobs in our state, so education is a main pillar of my platform," Fallin said.

"We need to need to make sure we are not handcuffing our teachers," Askins said. "That they have the flexibility to teach the new way and we need to make sure that they have the resources available."

On Arizona's Immigration Policy:

"I do support what Arizona is doing," Fallin said. "I think it's important for our national security, it's important for our economic security as a nation that we secure our borders, I think it's very important that we stand tough against the drug cartels that have come into the United States and wreaked havoc with our citizens."

"There's no question that the United States of America has to control its borders," Askins said. "And if Congress and the federal administrations haven't addressed this issue yet, then I think you're going to see 48 other states do what Oklahoma and Arizona have already done."

Oklahoma's immigration law, House Bill 1804,  was called 'perhaps the most meaningful' piece of immigration reform in the country when it was passed in 2007.  The law prevents illegals from obtaining drivers licenses and benefits.

On The Statistic They Would Most Like To Improve:

"To create jobs and grow the economy, and when we do that Oklahomans will have a better standard of living," Fallin said. "When we create those good paying jobs, our children will stay in the state of Oklahoma; they're going to have a better future here."

"Lowering the number of high school drop outs that we have because they are your future workforce," Askins said. "We can't get those kids into college, or career tech, or to get the kinds of higher education and skill training they need to fill the jobs we want you to create, if we can't get them out of high school first."

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