Republican gubernatorial candidate Jim Gibbons and Democratic candidate Dina Titus participate Tuesday in their last widely televised gubernatorial debate before the general election. They took questions from Nevada residents, as well as past and present governors. Mitch Fox moderated the debate on KLVX-TV Channel 10. Photo by John Locher.

The mood was raucous outside Tuesday night's gubernatorial debate, with hundreds of partisans waving signs for either Republican Jim Gibbons or Democrat Dina Titus.

A couple of University of Nevada, Las Vegas students for Titus wore shirts that read, "Because 'Conservative Rebel' is an oxymoron."

Riffing on the Democrat's "got titus?" T-shirts, a Gibbons supporter held up a sign reading, "Got Titus? GIBBONS is the cure."

Inside the KLVX-Channel 10 studio, however, the atmosphere was civil and relaxed.

With no live audience cheering them on and little chance to respond to each other's points, the candidates never seemed tempted to strangle each other, despite being seated right next to one another.

The debate, which featured discussions of growth, transportation, school violence, education funding, immigration and health care, was the last Nevada gubernatorial debate that will be widely broadcast before the election.

Sponsored by the Nevada Broadcasters Association and broadcast on 56 Nevada television and radio stations, plus the cable network C-SPAN, it was likely the most widely viewed of any Nevada debate this year.

The candidates are scheduled for a fourth and final debate Friday in Elko, but that debate will not be televised anywhere else, according to organizers.

In the debate's quirky format, the candidates answered prerecorded questions posed by Nevada residents and past and present governors.

The candidates also asked each other questions and answered questions from moderator Mitch Fox.

There were no rebuttals, so the candidates frequently backtracked to respond to their opponent's previous statement before addressing the new question.

A Henderson resident asked the candidates what could be done about rampant growth, which she said seemed to be out of control and benefiting builders at the expense of residents.

Gibbons, a congressman from Reno, said questions of planning and infrastructure development should be left to local governments.

"I don't think you want the state making those kinds of decisions about how your local government should be running," he said. "The economy depends on growth. ... If we don't want our children and grandchildren living on top of us, we're going to have to have growth."

Titus, the state Senate minority leader, starkly disagreed, pointing to her unsuccessful "ring around the valley" proposal of a decade ago, which would have imposed more state control on growth and sprawl in the Las Vegas Valley.

"I don't mean to sound immodest, but a lot of people credit me with putting growth on the agenda," she said.

In the Legislature, Titus said, she has worked to curb growth by restricting development around Red Rock and passing a bill requiring developers to do impact studies before they break ground.

As governor, Titus said she would push legislation limiting developers' contributions to local officials' campaigns -- "pay to play" -- and work to put infrastructure such as roads in place before development overwhelms a growth area.

The candidates were in agreement that the Legislature shouldn't raise taxes to pay for the estimated $3.8 billion shortfall in needed transportation project funding.

In a rare deviation from his usual insistence that his opponent ought to be called "Dina Taxes," Gibbons said that on this point at least, "Everything Senator Titus said about taxes is true. There are too many opportunities out there to tax people to death."

Titus attacked Gibbons for voting against a proposal in Congress that included a funding provision for widening Interstate 15.

Gibbons said that wasn't fair, that he had to vote against the bill because it included funding for the proposed nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain.

Titus parried back with the claim that, as a member of the majority party, Gibbons could have offered an amendment that would have kept the highway money but stripped the Yucca funds.

In another prerecorded message, a grandmother told the candidates she was worried about violence in schools.

Gibbons said as a grandparent himself, he was concerned about the issue.

"I propose we reassess those issues I studied (after the 1999 Columbine High School shooting) about how to improve school safety," by bringing administrators, parents and law enforcement to the table to talk about how to address the problem, Gibbons said.

"I'll give you some specifics on how to make schools safer," Titus said.

She said schools need more police and those officers need to be paid better so they don't leave for higher-paying jobs. Penalties should be stiffer for students who bring weapons to school, and tougher laws should be enacted to keep sex offenders away from school sites, she said.

On education funding, Titus said that based on her conversations with Gov. Kenny Guinn, there is money in the state budget for her all-day kindergarten plan.

Titus said vocational education can be improved through apprenticeships that won't cost the state money if they are done in partnership with businesses and unions.

Gibbons emphasized examining whether large school districts should be broken up, which he said studies have shown improves student performance. Titus said studies have not shown that.

Gibbons said he has proposed in Congress to put more money from Southern Nevada public land sales toward education.

On immigration, Gibbons stressed the need to update America's existing guest worker program, which he called "broken" and "dishonest."

Businesses need workers, and states should be calling out to the federal government to create a workable program for immigrants "coming here to take advantage of the American dream," Gibbons said.

Titus countered, "I'm astounded now to hear the congressman talk about a worker program when his vote has been all over the place."

Titus said the hard-line immigration bill that passed the House last year, which Gibbons supported, would have made criminals of priests and teachers who tried to help illegal immigrants.

Titus pointed to her support of a Nevada bill to bar illegals from getting driver's licenses. "It's (immigration) a crisis because Congress failed to act for too long," she said.

Asked what one issue they'd address if they had 90 days in office to spend on a single proposal, Gibbons said health care.

Titus couldn't limit herself to one, saying she'd put all-day kindergarten in the budget and hold a summit on renewable energy.