Not only are the four major-party candidates for the MSU Board of Trustees holding nearly the same number of supporters in the polls, they seem to hold the same opinion on various university issues.
Democrats incumbent Dorothy Gonzales and Cal Rapson and Republicans incumbent Scott Romney and Connie Binsfeld provided their impressions on enrollment limitations, keeping the tuition guarantee, campus beautification and other issues during a State News-sponsored debate Monday night at the Kellogg Center.
The four candidates vying for two eight-year seats on the board are in a statistical dead heat according to a recent poll by the Lansing-based newsletter Inside Michigan Politics.
Once the foursome completed opening statements in the 90-minute forum, they answered questions posed by a panel of State News campus editor Tony Paul, administration reporter Pamela E. Spencer and academics reporter Vincent Estes.
The first issue addressed was whether MSU should cap enrollment at the current level of about 43,000 students. Like most of the issues discussed Monday night, the candidates all agreed.
“The facilities that you have right now on campus, and those that you are expanding to, I think suit 43- to 44,000 very well,” said Binsfeld, a former lieutenant governor of Michigan. “I believe that right now thinking is that capping the enrollment at this time is a good idea.”
A major discussion point during the candidates’ first and only debate was state funding provided to MSU. The university lags behind research counterparts the University of Michigan and Wayne State University in per-pupil funding.
“This funding issue really bothers me that from the state, Michigan State is badly underfunded compared to U of M and Wayne State,” said Rapson, a Flint-based regional director for the United Auto Workers. “It’s in state legislation and I really think we need to lobby with them.”
Other questions asked by the panel concerned cultural diversity among the student population and faculty as well as partisanship among the trustees. All four supported a board representative of a diverse campus.
“It is important to represent all the citizens of Michigan,” said Gonzales, one of two racial minorities on the current Board of Trustees. “Diversity is healthy for MSU.
“Diversity enhances all of us.”
Romney, who was appointed to the board in August by Gov. John Engler to fill a vacancy left by Democrat Bob Traxler, addressed the role of political parties in trustee decisions. Romney’s appointment eliminated a Democratic majority on the board - now split 4-4 between the two major parties.
“The board should not be partisan,” he said. “There are very few issues divided by parties on the board.”
