DES MOINES – Rivals for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination were split Tuesday night over the direction the state’s economic development efforts should take, but all agreed the growth in the state’s gambling industry should slow.

Secretary of State Chet Culver; Mike Blouin, former director of the Iowa Department of Economic Development; Rep. Ed Fallon, D-Des Moines; and Sal Mohamed, a Sioux City engineer, all took part in the highest profile debate thus far in the battle for their party’s nomination.

Held in Cedar Rapids, the debate was sponsored by The Gazette and KCRG TV and simultaneously aired on television stations in Davenport and Des Moines. It will be broadcast on a delayed basis in Sioux City.

Only Blouin enthusiastically supported the Iowa Values Fund, Gov. Tom Vilsack’s centerpiece economic development program that has doled out millions in incentives to companies that move to or expand in Iowa. Blouin said the state must invest in itself to create jobs that will persuade young people to stay.

“Iowa has to be engaged in creating an economy that will convince them to stay here,” Blouin said. “It is a beginning, it is not a completion.”

Secretary of State Chet Culver said he supports investment in the economy, but is leery of how the fund has been run.

“What we really need is some transparency. We need to know if we are getting our money’s worth,” he said.

Culver said many businesses given state grants haven’t bothered to respond to questions about how they’ve spent the money.

“I’m a little concerned we haven’t had enough of that,” Culver said.

Fallon dismissed the fund as little more than a copy of the failed “trickle-down” economic plan of former President Ronald Reagan.

“It’s never worked before,” said Fallon. “It’s not going to work now.”

Mohamed said it’s time to look at the state’s efforts analytically.

“We have been stagnant,” he said. “We need to take the politics out of it and put the science in.”

Culver said he would focus on rural sections of the state, suggesting that the Iowa Values Fund is a Des Moines-based effort. He said he would focus on creating jobs through his focus on alternative energy resources.

Blouin responded that the fund has launched businesses in rural and urban areas and created at least 25,000 jobs. Those include 22 ethanol plants and five biodiesel facilities, he said.

In the debate, all the major rivals agreed that it’s time to begin slowing the rapid growth in the state’s gambling industry.

“We wager $7 billion annually,” Culver said. “For the time being we certainly have enough.”

“We’re well beyond dependent,” Fallon said. “This state is addicted to gambling. Overall, this is not a good strategy for economic development.”

All agreed that the Iowa Lottery’s TouchPlay machines should be jerked out of stores and bowling alleys across the state, with only Blouin warning that state should move slowly to avoid liability issues. Businesses across the state have invested millions in the electronic games, which resemble slot machines.

“We ought to know what our obligation is and we don’t,” Blouin said.

The race for the nomination began when Vilsack, a Democrat, vowed he would not seek a third term. Rep. Jim Nussle, R-Iowa, is unopposed in the Republican gubernatorial primary.

Of the four candidates, Culver started first and has raised the most money. Blouin, a former congressman, has ties to the Democratic establishment.

Fallon is banking on a network of thousands of volunteers, and Mohamed has raised little money and has a relatively tiny organization.

Fallon sounded his theme that big money is the problem in both parties.

“I’m Ed Fallon,” he said. “I’m not for sale.”