Three candidates for the 122nd District seat in the state House of Representatives squared off Thursday night in a televised debate at Penn's Peak in Jim Thorpe.

Incumbent Doyle Heffley, a Republican, and challengers Neil Makhija, Democrat; and Matt Schutter, Libertarian, fielded questions from a four-person panel and the audience on topics ranging from property taxes to term limits.Panelists were George Roberts, anchor for Blue Ridge Cable TV13; Times News Editor Marta Gouger; Hazleton Standard Speaker Editor Mark Katchur; and Carbon Chamber and Economic Development Corporation board Vice President Patricia Handwerk.Liquor privatizationAll three candidates started off by agreeing that the state should get out of the liquor business. Makhija, however, said he feels for the employees currently working at Wine and Spirits shops and "hopes they aren't left behind in the process.""It's a big government program that the state lost money on," Heffley said. "I think we should take it a step further and allow beer distributors to sell wine."Alcohol sales by anyone is a "sin business," Schutter added. "Let the private sector deal with it."Education fundingOn the topic of education funding, Heffley said he voted for bipartisan legislation that helped bring over $1 million back to Carbon County schools.Makhija, however, said the idea of Heffley as a champion of school funding was a "fraud.""If he really cared, he would have done something in his first four years when there was a Republican majority and Republican governor," he added.Schutter said he would pass House Bill 76, which would effectively end property taxes in Pennsylvania.Term limitsSchutter is against term limits, stating that "replacing one crook with another is not the answer.""We need to equalize our ballot system because it's difficult for third parties to get on the ballot," he said.On the flip side, Makhija is in favor of term limits."Politicians are like dirty diapers, they need to be changed often and for the same reason," Makhija said. "We have the highest paid legislature in the country and their one job is to get re-elected."Gun controlMakhija said he supports the Second Amendment, but favors some common sense rules that "protect our rights and still protect us from those who are dangerous."Meanwhile, Schutter said all residents have the right to bear arms and "that shall not be questioned.""There can be measures in place that allow people to be responsible gun owners and pass that heritage on," Heffley said.Transportation projectsUnder the Ed Rendell administration, Heffley said, funding for the state police was shifted from the general fund to liquid fuels."We need to get a large portion of the state police budget paid out of the general fund again," Heffley said. "I'm confident we can get some movement on that next year."Makhija criticized Heffley for voting against a transportation funding plan in 2013.Heffley said he voted against it because he did not want to increase the gas tax.Unfunded transportation needs should come from a gas tax, Schutter said, while state police funding should come "from fines and the general fund."User fees for state parksFollowing several years of holiday overcrowding at state parks such as Beltzville, all three candidates said they would consider fees for people to use state parks."Our park system is beautiful, but way underfunded," Schutter said. "A user fee by car might help with that and end some of the pollution at Beltzville."Heffley referred to the numerous rescues at Glen Onoko State Park and said the state may want to look at charging user fees to help offset such costs."New Jersey does it, the federal parks do it, so it can be done," he said.While Makhija would consider such fees, he wouldn't support anything that "would lock any residents out of a state park."Property taxesMakhija described himself as one of the only Democrats who would vote for House Bill 76 and the elimination of property taxes."I think a gas severance tax is one of the preferred ways to get there," he said.Heffley, however, noted that property taxes are a $14 billion issue that can't be solved by $200 million in fracking tax proceeds."Pass House Bill 76," Schutter said. "I don't like the income tax part of it but old people are losing their homes over property taxes. It's legalized theft."Rigged electionsThere is no doubt in Heffley's mind that election officials in Carbon County will oversee a fair process, but the legislator would like to see voter identification enforced at the polls."We have to show our identification when we buy a pack of cigars at the store, we should know who is coming to vote," Heffley said.Makhija was critical of the redistricting that cut Summit Hill out of the 122nd District, a move that he said clearly benefited Republicans."We're going to overcome that by getting new people involved in the political process," he said.Medical marijuanaHeffley voted against the bill that legalized medical marijuana, but said he would have voted for amendments that provided it to those who needed it most."I wanted it done through colleges and universities, not some nonelected board," he said.Heffley's vote, Makhija said, was one against treating cancer patients and those with epilepsy."I know people who would have greatly benefited from this legislation a lot earlier and I think of them every day and how my opponent voted against this bill," he added.Schutter favors legalizing all forms of cannabis."It never killed anyone," he said. "Alcohol and tobacco killed millions."The drug epidemicA week after a forum at Panther Valley solely on the subject, Heffley again touted his package of bills, one of which he said would allow for abuse-deterrent opioid formulations."It would only be a $6 difference per prescription," Heffley said.Makhija cited an Associated Press article that said the legislation would merely pad the pockets of pharmaceutical companies."My opponent's drug task force had secret meetings and came out of it with bills written by the pharmaceutical companies," he said.Schutter also criticized Heffley's task force for "not doing much while children are dying in the streets."Heffley responded by saying the state Legislature got naloxone, which reverses the effects of a heroin overdose, into the hands of first responders and pumped $15 million into drug treatment centers.Campaign financingHeffley and Makhija went back and forth on campaign financing.While stating that he opposes a proposed windmill project in Penn Forest Township, Heffley accused Makhija of taking money from the company behind the project, something Makhija vehemently denied."He also held fundraisers in Boston, New York City and Washington, D.C.," Heffley said. "Eighty percent of my funding comes from right here in Carbon County."Makhija said Heffley has taken hundreds of thousands of dollars from lobbyists and his party bosses, who "tell him how to vote.""I was at the zoning hearing where the windmill issue started," Makhija said. "He was nowhere to be found."Drug courtAll three candidates voiced their support for a drug court in Carbon County.Heffley noted he also helped secure a $25,000 grant for the county sheriff's department to institute a re-entry program."When Carbon is ready to pull the trigger on a drug court, we'll be there," Heffley said.Makhija lobbied for drug companies to foot the bill for rehabilitation centers, while Schutter implored Carbon County commissioners to give their stamp of approval to a drug court.Bringing business to the areaOver half of Carbon County residents work in the Lehigh Valley, Heffley said, and part of getting businesses back is easing the regulatory process."I hear from a lot of folks who just can't get a permit," he said. "They can't get a shovel in the ground. We have mandates that go back 30 years."Government doesn't create jobs, Schutter said; the private sector does."We need to get government out of the way so the market can create jobs," he said.Carbon County needs a shot in the arm when it comes to businesses, Makhija said."While my opponent has been in office, we had the Packerton Yards project, and that was bungled," he said. "It could have brought industry here. Keith McCall lined up millions that were wasted."