By Stacia Kalinoski

COTTAGE GROVE, Ore. -- The two leading candidates to become Oregon's next governor spoke out Friday at the Mayors Association Conference.

But Democrat John Kitzhaber and Republican Chris Dudley did not go one-on-one, and that was one of the first issues raised by the audience of local mayors.

Both candidates answered questions separately, talking about education, health care, job creation and more. Kitzhaber spoke in the morning. Dudley spoke hours later.

Kitzhaber says there needs to be an open debate.

At the forefront of his concerns is the state's spending habits and jobs. He says Oregon's tax incentives must lead to jobs that pay more than the minimum wage. He also wants to revisit the gas tax and says tax laws need reform.

He counts a retail sales tax among the options to lessen Oregon's income tax, which is the highest in the country. But he wants Oregonians to hear that debate with Dudley.

"So people can compare and contrast the strengths, weaknesses, and opinions and doing that in separate performances isn't the same, people need the face-to-face opportunity," said Kitzhaber.

Another goal of the former two-term Oregon governor is to have local and state governments work closer together. He wants to create extensions of the governor's office at regional levels.

More interaction with local cities is also a high priority of Dudley's, who says each county should get a visit from the governor at least once a year. As for debating with his opponent, Dudley says he's not afraid to confront Kitzhaber.

Kitzhaber said Friday his biggest advantage over Dudley is his experience in the governor's seat, but Dudley says he looks at his outsider status, as an advantage.

"Having people come up to me in restaurants and say, 'I've been a Democrat my whole life and enough's enough. We need to go in a new direction.' But there's a real feeling out there that what we've been doing is not working,"' said Dudley.

As for his top concerns, Dudley lists job growth in the private sector as number one. He says he'll only support tax incentives if they make sense for the state and residents, and says the state doesn't need any more taxes, rather, more taxpayers. He proposes cutting labor costs to help trim the state's $2.5 billion shortfall.

And as for getting their messages out in advertisements, Dudley has raised significantly more than Kitzhaber. Current numbers show Dudley at $2.6 million compared to Kitzhaber's $1.8 million.

But Kitzhaber said he isn't concerned. He says the race won't be decided on who spends the most money.

Recent polls show Dudley is about two percentage points ahead of Kitzhaber.