ATLANTA --- The five Democratic candidates for governor threw a few jabs at the state's Republicans but largely avoided taking shots at each other in their first televised debate Tuesday night.

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Attorney General Thurbert Baker, former Gov. Roy Barnes, House Minority Leader DuBose Porter, former Georgia National Guard Commander David Poythress and Ray City Mayor Carl Camon squared off at the University of Georgia in Athens.

Barnes took a swipe at a Republican front-runner -- state insurance commissioner John Oxendine -- arguing that when it comes to insurance industry regulation the state has had a "more of a fox watching the hen house here than there has been an aggressive enforcement of the laws."

Porter, a Dublin newspaper publisher, said the state needs a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to ethics and said he's a co-sponsor of legislation that would bar legislators who don't pay their taxes from holding office.

Baker touted his work pushing for open government, saying it has been a cornerstone of his career.

Poythress, of Macon, made the most dramatic gesture of the evening. Answering a question on job creation, the former secretary of state brandished a pledge and said he would not take a salary as governor until the state's unemployment rate -- now at 10.3 percent -- fell back below 7 percent.

Camon, a teacher, said he would bring his small-town sensibility to the Capitol.

"You can't run behind a skyscraper in Ray City and hide from citizens," the five-term mayor said.

The Democrats rallied behind education, assailing a plan to have teachers take three more unpaid furlough days. Georgia has had to slash $1.2 billion from the budget for the current fiscal year.

Gov. Sonny Perdue has cut education by 3 percent, far less than the 8 to 9 percent other state agencies are facing. Still, the candidates said they could find additional revenue elsewhere to protect the classroom.

Poythress decried special interest tax breaks.

Porter has said he wants to change the way sales tax is collected and bring in additional funds.

Barnes called his opponents "good folks" who nonetheless lack the experience to get the job done in tough economic times. Barnes argued he does.