Editor’s note: This is the first of four gubernatorial candidate stories that will appear in each issue until the Nov. 5 state election. The four candidates will be featured alphabetically.

Education is one of the top priorities for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jim Doyle in his bid for Wisconsin governorship.

“I want to make sure that the universities are affordable to every student,” Doyle said at an Oct. 16 gubernatorial debate held in Zorn Arena.

Doyle, the state’s attorney general of 12 years, said he would support a 10-percent cap on UW System tuition increases but he would like to make it a lower percentage.

Besides supporting the state’s higher education, Doyle has promised to support K-12 education as well.

Doyle has vowed to get rid of the Qualified Economic Offer, which is legislation enacted in 1993 that limits the collective bargaining rights of K-12 teachers.

Under the QEO law, teachers cannot take a job contract to arbitration if the school board has offered them at least a 3.8 percent combined wage and benefit increase. Due to health insurance costs rising every year, teachers get little or no raise.

“The QEO is fundamentally unfair,” Doyle said during the Oct. 16 debate.

Sophomore Amanda Patterson, an education major, said she supports Doyle because he wants to eliminate the QEO and because he is supported by the Wisconsin Education Association Council.

“(Doyle) has shown the most proof that he will help teachers to have more respect within the state,” she said.

If the QEO is repealed, however, it may cause local property taxes to increase because school districts may have to pay teachers more.

Yet Doyle says he will not raise state taxes to fix the state’s budget deficit.

“We do not and cannot have tax increases. We’ve got no more room to go,” Doyle said at the debate in reference to Wisconsin being one of the highest taxed states in the nation.

Doyle plans to fix the state budget without raising taxes. He plans to conduct a review of every state agency and program to eliminate unnecessary programs and personnel, according to his campaign Web site.

This could lead to the layoff of many state employees. Doyle’s state budget deficit plan specifically states that he plans to reduce the size of the state’s work force by 2 percent each year so that in eight years 12,000 people would be laid off.

The candidates’ negative campaign advertising has had an adverse effect on some students at Eau Claire.

“I don’t know who’s good after watching the ads,” junior Kim Connors said. “You can’t really tell what’s truthful.”

At the Oct. 16 debate Doyle and Republican Gov. Scott McCallum promised to stop running negative campaign ads.

Doyle began airing a new television ad Oct. 18 in which he tells how he wants to focus on issues like education, budget reform and health care. He made no mention of McCallum in the ad.

Senior Caty Micale said she was glad to see the ad because she would like to hear what a candidate will do for the state.

“I guess it all goes back to if you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all.”