Mayoral Debate: In their own words

AUSTIN (KXAN) - Below are quotes and excerpts from the mayoral debate on Wednesday.

• "I would not support budget cuts that effect the delivery of safety services. It's very important to start looking at structural cuts that are permanent. I don't know what those are now. It's going to require comprehensive announcements." -Lee Leffingwell
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• "We spend money on five things: public safety.parks, road maintenance, public health and libraries. 80% of our money is spent on payroll, I've been saying consistently the best way is for every department to start with a pay freeze, everybody should have to take a pay freeze when we are looking at pay cuts." - Brewster McCracken
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• "I'm going to completely change the way this city does its business. I do not believe in across the board cuts. Hard working Austin families cannot keep pace with the City of Austin budget. And in all due respect, my council members voted to spend $137 million more than what was coming in this year." -Carole Keeton Strayhorn
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• "Well it's not quite as complicated. I would forgo my salary and lead my example. The mayor makes over $70,000, the average mayor in Texas makes $24,000 a year. We need to do more with less and as a business man, I would bring those decisions to Austin." - David Buttross
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• "I would not cut the budget for EMS. People's lives depend on those services. The job of the government is to insure the life of the people. What would I cut first? I would cut the mayor's salary. I would find new management for roads/construction repair. I would promote 100% transparency. If you can't track every cent, how can you keep your government accountable." - Josiah Ingalls
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• "People come from all over the world to play music here, so we have to find a way to nurture our music industry. Some of the solutions are going to be structural. Stubbs is re-modelling their outdoor stage right now so they point the stage another direction. We have to find a way to protect our neighborhoods that are sensitive to loud music." -Leffingwell
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• "We need to have certain parts of town to create venues where musicians can play on a daily/nightly basis." -Buttross
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• "We need to address the quality of life things in Austin. Youth soccer fields, hike and bike trails...When my son was born, I realized we lived in a neighborhood without sidewalks. We need to do those sorts of things in all areas of the city." -McCracken
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• "We need to have single-member districts. There are so many people who are disenfranchised because we have a general city council election. The outlying areas need to have a voice. If everyone gets out there and votes, you'll have your voice." -Buttross
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• "I am going to take meetings out to the streets. You don't have to come to City Hall to talk to the mayor. When we do that, we should look at a strong Mayor-form of government. To have that, we need a strong Mayor. We cannot afford the lack of leadership in this city that's going on right now." -Strayhorn
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• "I don't think we should have a bond election in 2010. When the economy is bad, people are already suffering. To up taxes so the city doesn't have to cut their budget - like it should - that's putting more of a burden on people. We need to represent the people, we need to open the doors. We need to just have a government that helps the people instead of shutting them out." -Ingalls
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• "When I was in the city council for eight months, we had a vote on tollroads. There is an encyclopedia of things I learned. I know TxDOT did. It's the most bitter experience by city government I've seen by a longshot. We have to make sure people are involved on the decision that affect their lives." -McCracken
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• "It's your money that the city council is losing. We just lost 212 solar power jobs because they are getting all their solar panels from China. I don't want the endorsement of big businesses, I want the endorsement of you." -Buttross
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• "Traffic is a crisis in the City of Austin, we need to spend money to improve roads, to improve street lights. We need to get moving on a rail system. We need mass transit really badly in this city. We need to solve these problems." -Leffingwell
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• "You guys need a voice. You need to come to us and tell us what you need. If the citizens wait until the City of Austin solve their problems, they're going to be waiting a long time." -Buttross
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• "We have to think locally and globally." -Strayhorn
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• "I ride the Capitol Metro to work everyday. They can't even give good wages and good health care to their employees." -Ingalls
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• "I think we should be focused on green energy. I think what we have seen in the last two boom and bust cycles is that we are not diverse enough. We have put all of our eggs in one basket. As we begin to look how we rebuild the economy, we do need to emphasize diversity. We need to work with local businesses, especially small businesses. Over 70% of the workers in Austin work for companies that have fewer than 100 people." -Leffingwell
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• "The role of government is not to stifle creativity." -Buttross
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• "I think that what we need to do is ask mayoral candidates 'what are you going to do' to instead ask 'what have you done?" -Strayhorn
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• "The top issue is the economy. Because we are not in a normal recession right now. We are losing the foundation of our economy. It's the semi-conductor industry and the hundreds of smaller companies that supply these companies. This community is not the kind that stands still and pass us by." -McCracken
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• "It is the normal practice of politicians to only give you the brief detail because they don't want you to see the details. I want to be the candidate that will represent you and never put the best interests of the politically connected first. We have done that for years and it has not worked." -Ingalls
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• "It's better to be respected than liked. I want to be endorsed by the people in Austin. I love Austin. On a daily basis, I am solving the problems of Austin, Texas. I am going to lead by example. I'm the one that deals with the real people of Austin, Texas. I care about everyone." -Buttross
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• "I will energize the City of Austin. Austin's a city I believe in. This city has given me a lifetime of joy. This race is about our future. Stop studying traffic problems and start fixing them. There's a gap between our government and our people. I will close that gap." -Strayhorn
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• "All the candidates love Austin, but we are presenting very different choices for Austin's future. This election comes at a critical time in Austin's future. I believe Austin can lead in tomorrow's economy, just as we did a generation ago in the computer chip industry. I believe we can shape our future even as we keep our taxes low." -McCracken
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• "The next mayor of Austin faces a big range of challenges. The biggest is transportation and keeping our community safe and healthy. A good quality of life starts with a good job. I believe the most important thing we can do to help our economy recover is to diversify our businesses. In my view in a time of budget shortfalls, we absolutely need to maintain a strong safety net for our citizens." -Leffingwell

To watch the liveblog that occurred during the debate, click here.