Rivals for governor exchange criticisms Dave Heineman and Dave Hahn trade shots in their third and final debate.

BYLINE: Leslie Reed, WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER

Dave Heineman's performance as governor was a major point of contention Monday as Nebraska's candidates for governor sparred during their third and final debate before the Nov. 7 election.

Democratic challenger Dave Hahn repeatedly chastised Republican Heineman for a "wait and see" approach on everything from irrigation issues to child welfare.

As a result, Hahn said, Nebraska risks losing federal funds for the Thomas Fitzgerald Veterans Home in Omaha and for the Beatrice State Developmental Center, both of which were found deficient in recent federal inspections.

"The question should be: Why do we have a governor who always waits and sees, who acts as a weather vane rather than a compass?" Hahn said.

After the debate, Heineman said he will not tolerate the problems at the Fitzgerald home and the Beatrice center for developmentally disabled people.

"I believe the governor is responsible for all state agency operations," he said. "The buck stops here."

Heineman said he has proved his leadership during his 20 months as governor.

As he has in previous debates, Heineman touted the tax cuts passed during the past two legislative sessions, a tax incentive bill that he said has created 7,000 jobs and $3.1 billion in investment, ethanol incentives that have spurred a construction boom in rural Nebraska and trade missions to Cuba.

"I want to get things done for this state. That's why people respect what we're doing," Heineman said. "The Nebraska Farm Bureau, the State Troopers Association of Nebraska, the Nebraska Chamber of Commerce and the AFL-CIO -- they like the job I'm doing, and I want to keep doing it for the state of Nebraska," he said, referring to organizations that have endorsed his campaign.

The hourlong debate was taped at the University of Nebraska at Omaha television studio and aired statewide by NET television. It was sponsored by KKAR radio of Omaha.

Nebraska Independent Party candidate Barry Richards also participated in the debate.

The questions included whether the candidates would support student groups praying at school -- all three would -- and what issues each candidate would raise if he had a 15-minute session with President Bush.

Hahn began jabbing early, criticizing Heineman for delaying a decision on signing a cooperative agreement with Colorado and Wyoming over the North Platte River.

"We need to get that signed, after 11 years of negotiations," Hahn said. "That's a difference between myself and Governor Heineman. I would get that signed instead of holding yet more hearings. It allows us to move forward with the management of our water."

Hahn also said he would not encourage further litigation with Kansas over the Republican River. He said he would find out what Nebraska owes and have the state pay at least part of the bill.

"We need to get that problem solved and move forward so we can deal with water problems in an affirmative way," Hahn said, "rather than wait and see, wait and see, wait and see."

Heineman, who stressed the importance of irrigation to Nebraska's economy, said the state's water issues cannot be resolved overnight.

He said he expects to sign the North Platte agreement but believes that it's "very, very important that the interested stakeholders first have an opportunity to be heard."

"The state is divided on this," Heineman said. "Western Nebraska seems to favor it (the agreement), but central Nebraska has some concerns."

He said he has worked with Rep. Tom Osborne, R-Neb., on water conservation measures, as well as with irrigators in southwest Nebraska, to improve Republican River flows into Kansas.

Heineman hit back at Hahn, saying that Hahn's proposal to reduce property taxes would increase state spending for school aid and homestead exemptions by $1 billion.

Hahn denied Heineman's charge, saying his proposal would cut state spending.

Although Heineman touted his economic development efforts creating jobs, Hahn said Nebraska has lost 15,000 manufacturing jobs and 7,000 farms and ranches in the past eight years.

"Our current governor has learned the language of leadership but not the reality," Hahn said.