tl20021031-000 "/hp Tilpililjghb � Baltimore's #1 College Paper - Published Twice-Weekly - www.thetowerlight.com Thursday, 10/31/02 Kirwan appoints tuition task force Halloween treats given by students 5 Baltimore bars plan festivities 12 Actors deliver laughs in 1-Spy' 13 Departments News 5 Campus Briefs 7 Nation/Blotter 8 Arts 12 In A Theater Near You 13 High Road 15 Sports � 20 Punt, Pass & Pick 18 In This Corner 20 Classifieds 15 Opinion 2 Towson draws local politicians Ruppersberger and Bentley pay visit to campus for final debate before election Sarah Breitenbach The Towerlight With Election Day approaching on Tuesday, Nov. 5, Republican Helen Bentley and Democrat C.A. Dutch Ruppersbeger met Monday evening in Stephens Hall Theatre for the third and final debate in Towson's ""Community Forum Series."" Bentley and Ruppersberger are vying for representation of Maryland's 2nd Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives. The district con-sists of 662,060 constituents in parts of Harford and Anne Arundel counties, as well as Baltimore City and County, including Towson. The debate, which was broadcast live by Comcast and WBAL, consist-ed of five rounds of questioning from the three-person panel. The panelists were Deborah Weiner from WBAL, Timothy Silcott, vice presi-dent of the Greater Towson Council of Community Association, and Jill Parlett, a senior political science major at TU. Dr. Martha Kumar of Towson's department of political science moderated the debate and began by reading statements the candidates prepared in advance. Both Ruppersberger and Bentley supporters were in attendance, in addition to students, faculty and staff. Bentley, who served in Congress from 1985 to 1995 and was chair of the Federal Maritime Commission, retired from public office in 1995 but has returned with hopes of win-ning back her original seat. Her pri-orities focus on local industries and creating jobs in Maryland. Ruppersberger was elected Baltimore County Executive in 1995 after a career on County Council and as a prosecutor. He said his top pri-orities, which include education, crime reduction and attracting jobs, have been a main focus of his term in office. During his opening remarks LISS Mumon/The Towerhght Republican Helen Bentley (right) and Democrat C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger share an enthusiastic handshake after Monday's debate in Stephens Hall Theatre. Both discussed their stances on abortion and education. Ruppersberger emphasized that he feels he is in tune with the local needs of the 2nd District. ""For the last 17 years I have been a local elected official,"" he said. ""For the last eight years I have been Baltimore County Executive. I know what it means to make tough deci-sions. I know where the rubber meets the road."" While Ruppersberger concentrat-ed on his roles as County Executive, Bentley emphasized her previous experience in Congress and her feel-ings about the 2nd District during her opening statement. ""I have had the privilege of repre-senting Maryland's 2nd Congressional in Congress from 1985 to 1995. Eight or so months ago, my opponent and Governor Glendening cut a deal and the result of that deal is Maryland's new 2nd Congressional District,"" she said. ""It is a district which splits counties and communities in a desperate bid to gerrymander what the other party has not been able to do at the ballot box for a long time."" However, she explained ""that it is also a district that includes many of the institutions about which I have been passionate about during my entire career,"" citing Aberdeen Proving Ground, BWI Airport, Bethlehem Steel and the Port of Baltimore as those institutions. ""When I served in Congress before, I produced great things for my district. I brought home one fed-eral contract after another and kept thousands of good paying jobs here for our people,"" Bentley said. Ruppersberger continued to cite accomplishments of his administra-tion. ""In the years that I've been County Executive we've had a lot of successes. We've been able to put a See DEBATE, page 6 Today High 49 Low 36 Friday High 54 Low 34 0���������?� Py0.0�10., Saturday High 43 Low 30 Sunday High 45 Low 31 Monday High 51 Low 33 "
