Connecticut State Legislative Election 2014 Political Courage Test

Abortion & Reproductive

1. Do you generally support pro-choice or pro-life legislation?
- No Answer

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

3. Should abortion be legal when the pregnancy resulted from incest or rape?
- No Answer

4. Should abortion be legal when the life of the woman is endangered?
- No Answer

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

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

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

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

9. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer

Budget, Spending, & Tax

1. Education (higher)
- No Answer

2. Education (K-12)
- No Answer

3. Environment
- No Answer

4. Health care
- No Answer

5. Law enforcement/corrections
- No Answer

6. Transportation/infrastructure
- No Answer

7. Welfare
- No Answer

8. Other or expanded categories
- No Answer

1. Alcohol taxes
- No Answer

2. Cigarette taxes
- No Answer

3. Corporate taxes
- No Answer

4. Gas/Oil taxes
- No Answer

5. Property taxes
- No Answer

6. Sales taxes
- No Answer

7. Income taxes (low-income families)
- No Answer

8. Income taxes (mid-income families)
- No Answer

9. Income taxes (high-income families)
- No Answer

10. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer

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

2. Increasing tuition rates at public universities
- No Answer

3. Reducing or eliminating public worker collective bargaining
- No Answer

4. Reducing state employee salaries AND/OR pensions
- No Answer

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

6. Reducing benefits for Medicaid recipients
- No Answer

7. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer

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?
- Yes

9. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer

Crime & Public Safety

1. Do you support capital punishment for certain crimes?
- Yes

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?
- No

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?
- Yes

6. Do you support the enforcement of federal immigration laws by state and local police?
- Yes

7. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer

Economic

1. Do you support reducing government regulations on the private sector?
- Yes

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?
- No

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

5. Do you support government spending as a means of promoting economic growth?
- No

6. Do you support providing direct financial assistance to homeowners facing foreclosure?
- No

7. Do you support an increase of the minimum wage?
- No

8. 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?
- Yes

3. Is the tenure process for public school teachers producing effective teachers?
- No

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?
- No

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

7. Should illegal immigrants who graduate from Connecticut high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities?
- No

8. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer

Environment & Energy

1. Do you support state funding for the development of alternative energy?
- No

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 Connecticut's energy infrastructure?
- No

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

5. Do you support government regulations of greenhouse gas emissions?
- No

6. Other or expanded principles
- Alternative energy should be allowed to develop in a free-market and be competitive without huge subsidies. Encourage innovation and economic sustainability wherever possible but let's not pick winners and losers.

Gun

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

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

5. Other or expanded principles
- Illegal guns are a huge problem in urban areas where gangs, crime and drug deals gone bad pick-off our urban kids one-by-one. Society generally does not take notice or address the root causes. Where horrific mass killings have occurred, like my Newtown, the bigger issue is mental health. The challenges are many. First, all weapons need be kept from the mentally unstable. Second, early recognition & intervention is critical to prevent mentally & emotionally unstable from reaching that anti-social breaking point before they build to their "final statement" of desperation, hatred and mass-murder / suicide.

Health

1. Do you support a universally-accessible, publicly-administered health insurance option?
- No

2. Do you support expanding access to health care through commercial health insurance reform?
- Yes

3. Do you support interstate health insurance compacts?
- Yes

4. Do you support Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act?
- No

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?
- Yes

7. Do you support allowing doctors to prescribe marijuana to their patients for medicinal purposes?
- No

8. Should terminally ill patients be able to legally end their lives?
- No

9. Other or expanded principles
- The Affordable Care Act is neither affordable nor caring. We can do better by building on, expanding access and reforming private sector health insurance programs. With today's massive deductibles, those in the exchanges still cannot afford to see the doctor or have minor surgical procedures. We need to start over.

Social

1. Do you support same-sex marriage?
- No Answer

2. Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in Connecticut's anti-discrimination laws?
- No Answer

3. Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in Connecticut's anti-discrimination laws?
- No Answer

4. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer

Legislative Priorities

In the following area, on an attached page, or via e-mail, 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.
- 1. Cut taxes across the board. Costs of living, working, commuting, owning property, playing, fueling, lighting, eating, drinking and even dying in CT are out of control. 2. Get CT's economy back by stimulating real, sustainable job creation. Time to get more business friendly, less bureaucratic and more welcoming to new & expanding businesses investing in CT. Aggressively redevelop urban centers and brownfield sites. Abate, without picking winners & losers like today's corporate sweetheart programs.3. Balance CT's budget without gimmicks. Deficits today are taxes tomorrow. Stop bonding to pay operational expenses. Don't have it - don't spend it.