Vermont State Legislative Election 2010 Political Courage Test

Abortion and Reproductive

1. Do you consider yourself pro-choice or pro-life?
- Pro-choice

2. Should abortion be legal only within 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 sexual education programs that include information on abstinence, contraceptives, and HIV/STD prevention methods?
- Yes

8. Do you support abstinence-only sexual education programs?
- No

9. Other or expanded principles
- Abstinence only doesn't work...ask Bristol Palin

Budget, Spending, and Tax

1. Education (higher)
- Maintain Status

2. Education (K-12)
- Slightly Increase

3. Environment
- Slightly Increase

4. Health care
- Slightly Increase

5. Law enforcement
- Slightly Increase

6. Transportation and highway infrastructure
- Maintain Status

7. Welfare
- Maintain Status

8. Other or expanded categories
- No Answer

1. Alcohol taxes
- Maintain Status

2. Cigarette taxes
- Slightly Increase

3. Corporate taxes
- Slightly Increase

4. Gasoline taxes
- Maintain Status

5. Property taxes
- Maintain Status

6. Sales taxes
- Maintain Status

7. Income taxes (low-income families)
- Slightly Decrease

8. Income taxes (middle-income families)
- Slightly Decrease

9. Income taxes (high-income families)
- Slightly Increase

10. Other or expanded categories
- Tax on sugar sweetened soda to inhibit use and reduce obesity

1. Tapping into Vermont's "rainy day" fund
- No

2. Issuing the early release of certain non-violent offenders
- Yes

3. Increasing tuition rates at public universities
- Yes

4. Instituting mandatory furloughs and layoffs for state employees
- No

5. Reducing benefits for Medicaid recipients
- No

6. Privatizing certain government services
- No

7. Other or expanded principles
- Vt. does not have a Rainy Day fund like other states ( or an account with funds in it , solely for use in times of economic distress), but a stabilization fund...like an over draft checking...to use this would require borrowing at market rates.

Campaign Finance and 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

1. Other or expanded principles
- Limited spending funded by a government fund, with each candidate receiving equal funding

Crime and 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. Should the possession of small amounts of marijuana be decriminalized?
- Yes

4. Should a minor accused of a violent crime be prosecuted as an adult?
- Yes

5. Should a minor who sends sexually-explicit or nude photos by cell phone face criminal charges?
- No

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

7. Other or expanded principles
- Minors should be charged as adults in rare occasions for violent offenses.

Economic

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

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

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

4. Do you support providing financial incentives to the private sector for the purpose of job creation?
- Yes

5. Do you support increased spending on infrastructure projects for the purpose of job creation?
- Yes

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

7. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer

Education

1. Do you support national education standards?
- No

2. Do you support consolidating Vermont's school districts?
- No

3. Do you support requiring public schools to administer high school exit exams?
- No

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

5. Do you support state funding for charter schools?
- No

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

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

8. Other or expanded principles
- Charter schools could be an option if they are not religious, have open admissions (do not cherry pick students) and use the same standards and accountability as public schools.

Environment and Energy

1. Do you support state funding for the development of alternative energy?
- 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 providing financial incentives to farms that produce biofuel crops?
- Yes

4. Do you support state funding for improvements to Vermont's energy infrastructure?
- No

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

6. Do you support enacting environmental regulations aimed at reducing the effects of climate change?
- Yes

7. Other or expanded principles
- Vermont - and the US- does not need nuclear power.

Gun

1. Do you support restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns?
- Yes

2. Do you support requiring background checks on gun sales between private citizens at gun shows?
- Yes

3. Do you support allowing individuals to carry concealed guns?
- No

4. Do you support requiring a license for gun possession?
- No

5. Other or expanded principles
- Restrictions should be enacted to insure that someone with a history of domestic violence cannot acquire a firearm when a restraining order is in effect.

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. Should individuals be required to purchase health care insurance?
- No

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

6. Do you support legalizing physician-assisted suicide in Vermont?
- Yes

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

8. Other or expanded principles
- g) is current law...I support this law.

Social

1. Should marriage only be between one man and one woman?
- No

2. Should Vermont continue to grant marriage licenses to same-sex couples?
- Yes

3. Do you support state funding for stem cell research?
- Yes

4. Do you support state funding for embryonic stem cell research?
- Yes

5. Do you support the state's use of affirmative action?
- Yes

6. Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in Vermont's anti-discrimination laws?
- Yes

7. Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in Vermont's anti-discrimination laws?
- Yes

8. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer

Legislative Priorities

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.
- Balancing economic growth with our responsibilities to our elders, children, the disabled and the environment.I support Single Payer Health Care & A Green Non-Toxic Renewable Energy Economy.