New Mexico State Legislative Election 2016 Political Courage Test

Abortion & Reproductive

1. Do you generally support pro-choice or pro-life legislation?
- Pro-choice

2. Should abortions be illegal after the first trimester of pregnancy?
- No

3. Should abortion be legal when the pregnancy resulted from incest or rape?
- Yes

4. Should abortion be legal when the life of the woman is endangered?
- Yes

5. Do you support requiring parental notification before an abortion is performed on a minor?
- No

6. Do you support requiring parental consent before an abortion is performed on a minor?
- No

7. Do you support the prohibition of public funds for abortion procedures?
- No

8. Do you support the prohibition of public funds for organizations that perform abortions?
- No

9. Other or expanded principles
- I oppose all efforts to restrict the ability of women to make their own choices regarding reproduction, in consultation with their health care provider. I favor comprehensive sex education, ready access to contraception and public payment for all reproductive health services.

Budget, Spending, & Tax

1. Tapping into New Mexico's "rainy day" fund
- Yes

2. Decreasing funding for public universities
- No

3. Reducing state employee salaries AND/OR pensions
- No

4. Instituting mandatory furloughs AND/OR layoffs for state employees
- No

5. Reducing benefits for Medicaid recipients
- No

6. Other or expanded principles
- I favor expanding state revenues by a combination of ending some tax breaks for corporations and the wealthy; increasing the personal income tax revenue by adding additional higher tax brackets to what is essentially a two-bracket system now in effect and by taxing the production and distribution of recreational marijuana and industrial hemp. The increased revenues from these sources should obviate the need for drastic cuts in services.

1. Education (higher)
- Slightly Increase

2. Education (K-12)
- Slightly Increase

3. Environment
- Maintain Status

4. Health care
- Greatly Increase

5. Law enforcement/corrections
- Greatly Decrease

6. Transportation/infrastructure
- Slightly Increase

7. Welfare
- Maintain Status

8. Other or expanded categories
- I include in greatly increased health care spending bumping upward our expenditures for behavioral health services outside of medicaid. We need more and more effective addiction treatment (including alcoholism) and expanded, community-based day treatment for our seriously mentally ill. Much of this increased expenditure for treatment can be paid for by closing some of our full-to-capacity privately operated prisons and using that savings for treatment.

1. Alcohol taxes
- Greatly Increase

2. Cigarette taxes
- Greatly Increase

3. Corporate taxes
- Slightly Increase

4. Small business taxes
- Maintain Status

5. Gas/Oil taxes
- Greatly Increase

6. Property taxes
- Maintain Status

7. Sales taxes
- Slightly Decrease

8. Income taxes (low-income families)
- Eliminate

9. Income taxes (mid-income families)
- Maintain Status

10. Income taxes (high-income families)
- Greatly Increase

11. Do you support applying sales taxes to all online purchases?
- Yes

12. Other or expanded principles
- I support a thorough restructuring of our tax system. Now our over-reliance on gross receipts taxes means that low income New Mexicans pay a higher share of their income on tax than wealthier New Mexicans do. The graduated income tax is the fairest revenue stream to use but we have almost eliminated the graduation concept from our current tax system. I also support changing our road tax by making it a percentage of the total cost of gasoline rather than a fixed amount per gallon.

Campaign Finance & Government Reform

1. Individual
- Yes

2. Political Action Committee
- Yes

3. Corporate
- Yes

4. Political Party
- Yes

5. Should candidates for state office be encouraged to meet voluntary spending limits?
- Yes

6. Do you support requiring full and timely disclosure of campaign finance information?
- Yes

7. Do you support the use of an independent AND/OR bipartisan commission for redistricting?
- Yes

8. Do you support requiring a government-issued photo identification in order to vote at the polls?
- No

1. Other or expanded principles
- I would like us to go to "same day registration" as other states have done. With computer technology this is entirely feasible and accountable. I also favor a Constitutional Amendment eliminating the horrible defects in our financing system that Citizens United created.

Crime & Public Safety

1. Do you support capital punishment for certain crimes?
- No

2. Do you support alternatives to incarceration for certain non-violent offenders, such as mandatory counseling or substance abuse treatment?
- Yes

3. Do you support legalizing the possession of small amounts of marijuana?
- Yes

4. Should a minor accused of a violent crime be prosecuted as an adult?
- No

5. Do you support the enforcement of federal immigration laws by state and local police?
- No

6. Do you support delaying the seizure of assets by law enforcement officials until after a conviction?
- Yes

7. Do you support additional funding for programs intended to reduce drug addiction in New Mexico?
- Yes

8. Other or expanded principles
- Our crime, drug addiction and unemployment problems are all linked to our way-too-high high school dropout rate. We won't make much headway on those three until we address educational retention. I favor expanding industrial and vocational education options in high schools and a state-operated Youth Service Corps that would address badly-needed infrastructure projects, watershed restoration, after school programming and services for seniors and the disabled.

Economic

1. Do you support government spending as a means of promoting economic growth?
- Yes

2. Do you support lowering taxes as a means of promoting economic growth?
- No

3. Do you support reducing government regulations on the private sector?
- No

4. Do you support increased state funding for job-training programs that re-train displaced workers?
- Yes

5. Do you support expanding access to unemployment benefits?
- Yes

6. Do you support requiring welfare applicants to pass a drug test in order to receive benefits?
- No

7. Do you support providing financial incentives to the private sector for the purpose of job creation?
- No

8. Do you support providing direct financial assistance to homeowners facing foreclosure?
- Yes

9. Do you support an increase of the minimum wage?
- Yes

10. Should employers be able to ask about applicants' criminal history before interviewing them?
- No

11. Do you support the enactment of right-to-work legislation?
- No

12. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer

Education

1. Do you support the national Common Core State Standards initiative?
- No

2. Do you support a merit pay system for teachers?
- No

3. Is the tenure process for public school teachers producing effective teachers?
- Yes

4. Should parents be allowed to use vouchers to send their children to any school?
- No

5. Do you support state funding for charter schools?
- Yes

6. Do you support the state government providing college students with financial aid?
- Yes

7. Should illegal immigrants who graduate from New Mexico high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities?
- Yes

8. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer

Environment & Energy

1. Do you support state funding for the development of renewable energy (e.g. solar, wind, thermal)?
- Yes

2. Do you support state funding for the development of traditional domestic energy sources (e.g. coal, natural gas, oil)?
- No

3. Do you support state funding for improvements to New Mexico's energy infrastructure?
- Yes

4. Do you support state funding for open space preservation?
- Yes

5. Do you support government regulations of greenhouse gas emissions?
- Yes

6. Do you support increased regulations of the hydraulic fracturing ("fracking") industry?
- Yes

7. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer

Gun

1. Do you generally support gun-control legislation?
- Yes

2. Should background checks be required on gun sales between private citizens at gun shows?
- Yes

3. Should citizens be allowed to carry concealed guns?
- No

4. Should a license be required for gun possession?
- Yes

5. Other or expanded principles
- I favor a ban on sale and possession of assault weapons.

Health

1. Do you support a universally-accessible, publicly-administered health insurance option?
- Yes

2. Do you support expanding access to health care through commercial health insurance reform?
- No

3. Do you support interstate health insurance compacts?
- No

4. Do you support Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare")?
- Yes

5. Do you support requiring individuals to purchase health care insurance?
- No

6. Do you support monetary limits on damages that can be collected in malpractice lawsuits?
- No

7. Do you support allowing doctors to prescribe marijuana to their patients for medicinal purposes?
- Yes

8. Other or expanded principles
- Essentially I believe we should have, in the US, a single-payer system. Those who want to would be able to buy additional insurance for procedures or facilities that are not part of the national system, but private insurance companies would not be used for our basic health care services. I see no added value that the insurance industry brings to health care--but an incredible amount of additional cost.

Social

1. Do you support same-sex marriage?
- Yes

2. Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in New Mexico's anti-discrimination laws?
- Yes

3. Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in New Mexico's anti-discrimination laws?
- Yes

4. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer

Legislative Priorities

In the following area, please explain in a total of 100 words or less, your top two or three priorities if elected. If they require additional funding for implementation, please explain how you would obtain this funding.
- I will again seek the legalization of cannabis via a constitutional amendment. I will seek additional funding for medicaid services through the institution of a provider fee as other states have done. I will seek to begin a process of restructuring our behavioral health system, moving it away from the Centennial Care Contracts and incorporating our old Community Mental Health Center catchment areas concept.