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Candidates Ken Cornell, left, and John Martin acknowledge the crowd before the Gainesville Tea Party Debate for County Commission District 4 on Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2014 in Gainesville, Fla.

The Gainesville Tea Party held what Vice President Rod Gonzalez called a true debate between Alachua County Commission District 4 candidates Ken Cornell and John Martin on Tuesday evening.

The local Tea Party hosted the debate at Countryside Baptist Church, where Cornell, a Democrat, and Martin, a Republican, fielded questions on the proposed transportation sales tax referendum and other issues.

The debate format gave Cornell and Martin multiple chances for rebuttal on each question, although Cornell often declined his opportunities to do so.

The debate's first question tackled the Moving Alachua County Forward referendum, which would institute an eight-year, one-cent sales tax to fund various transportation projects if voters approve it in November.

Martin said he does not trust the current County Commission and has consistently opposed the sales tax.

The pot hole's probably deeper than what the county can afford with general fund revenue, he said, but that's because the County Commission hasn't put enough funding toward the roads for years.

If the referendum does pass, Martin said they'll need him on the board to make sure the commissioners do what they say they're going to with the money.

Cornell told the audience of about 65 people that it makes sense to ask for permission and support from the public to tax themselves.

The problem with taxes is they're not used the way they're supposed to be used, Cornell said.

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Local Tea Party hosts 'true debate' for District 4 seat