North Dakota State Legislative Election 2018 Political Courage Test

Abortion & Reproductive

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

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

3. Do you support the prohibition of public funds for organizations that perform abortions?
- Yes

4. Other or expanded principles
- I have voted against most anti-abortion laws in previous sessions as this is an issue that needs to be settled federally and our law changes have just resulted in lawsuits. Public funds don't need to go to abortion services but should go to needed health services. I support comprehensive sex education, access to reproductive healthcare including affordable prenatal and child services, better access to childcare and early childhood education and support for mothers and their families. If we have a comprehensive approach as a society we can eliminate much of the demand for abortion services.

Budget, Spending, & Tax

1. Reducing state employee salaries AND/OR pensions?
- Yes

2. Instituting mandatory furloughs AND/OR layoffs for state employees?
- Yes

3. Reducing benefits for Medicaid recipients?
- No

4. An income tax increase on any tax bracket?
- No

5. Other or expanded principles
- Our budget doesn't require laying off employees or reducing salaries, but should we be in a tight budget situation we must look at all of our spending within state government and see where efficiencies and savings can be had.

Campaign Finance & Government Reform

1. Do you support any limits on campaign contributions to state candidates?
- Yes

2. Do you support the regulation of indirect campaign contributions from corporations and unions?
- Yes

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

4. Do you support requiring a government-issued photo identification in order to vote at the polls?
- Yes

5. Other or expanded principles
- We must make sure that people have confidence in our election system and our political process. Transparency and accountability are important there. Since ND doesn't have voter registration, having ID requirements with protections for students, long term care residents and tribal members is appropriate.

Crime & Public Safety

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

2. Do you support the legalization of marijuana for recreational purposes?
- Yes

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

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

5. Other or expanded principles
- Death penalty has proven to be very costly and life sentences serve as effective punishment. Marijuana should have restrictions similar to alcohol, but recreational will happen in the near future as we've seen elsewhere. Minors who are close to the age of adulthood who commit severe crimes like rape and murder should face strong punishments, but just like in the rest of our criminal system, we should have an expanded focus on on rehabilitation and not just retribution. Local law enforcement can work with federal on crimes, but should not go out of their way, state law takes precedence.

Economic

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

2. Do you support lowering state taxes as a means of promoting economic growth?
- Yes

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

4. Do you support expanding access to unemployment benefits?
- No

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

6. Do you support an increase of the minimum wage of North Dakota?
- No

7. Do you support reducing regulations on industrial livestock farming in North Dakota?
- Yes

8. Other or expanded principles
- State investments in infrastructure and education, as well as incentive programs have proven to be successful in growing our economy. Reducing taxes and burdensome regulations is necessary for us to remain competitive in attracting businesses and workers to our state. Drug testing welfare recipients in ineffective and we should instead promote rehabilitation services and ensure kids aren't punished. Minimum wage in ND is pegged at the federal level. Our economy could support this increasing, but very few are employed at that wage. Our livestock production is down, especially hogs and dairy, and we should try and correct that.

Education

1. Do you support adopting federal education standards in North Dakota?
- Yes

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

3. Should immigrants unlawfully present in the United States who graduate from North Dakota high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities?
- Yes

4. Other or expanded principles
- Our education standards should be established by the state level and should represent a high quality education, but our school boards and state education officials should be understanding of the federal standards in order to ensure that we don't lag behind the rest of the country and are conducive to military families that are stationed here. State funding should go to schools that accept all children and have to follow state standards. We need to attract students from everywhere, and offering in-state tuition to everyone would be a good way of doing that. MiSU already offers Canada instate rates.

Environment & Energy

1. Do you support state funding for the development of renewable energy (e.g. solar, wind, thermal)?
- No

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

3. Do you support increasing state funding for clean drinking water initiatives?
- Yes

4. Other or expanded principles
- State funding is not needed for renewable development, but we must allow appropriate rate adjustments to our energy providers so that they are able to develop more wind and solar in our market. State level greenhouse gas emission restrictions aren't effective in this part of the country, that's a federal discussion. Clean drinking water is critically important for everyone.

Gun

1. Do you generally support gun-control legislation?
- No

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

3. Should teachers be allowed to bring guns into the classroom?
- No

4. Should a license be required for gun ownership?
- No

5. Other or expanded principles
- Anyone with a gun should take safety courses and ideally a hunters certification course, but licensing isn't necessary. School boards can establish policies for guns within their buildings, but it should not be up to a teacher to decide if they are going to bring one or not, that puts too much liability on the school district without their knowledge. Funding for school security and police is paramount. Background checks make sense, felons who haven't had rehabilitation and domestic abusers don't need unlimited/easy access to guns.

Health

1. Should the state government increase funding for treatment facilities to combat opioid abuse?
- Yes

2. Do you support Medicaid expansion through North Dakota's health care programs?
- Yes

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

4. Do you support legislation that grants citizens the right to choose to die through euthanasia?
- Yes

5. Do you support eliminating religious exemptions for vaccinations?
- No

6. Do you support increasing state funding for mental health initiatives?
- Yes

7. Other or expanded principles
- We need to make significant investments in our behavioral health system and mental health treatment system. That includes programs like Recovery Reinvented to help combat opioid abuse. Medicaid expansion has been very good for North Dakota.

Social

1. Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in North Dakota's anti-discrimination laws?
- Yes

2. Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in North Dakota's anti-discrimination laws?
- Yes

3. Do you support greater efforts by North Dakota state government in closing the pay gap between men and women?
- Yes

4. Other or expanded principles
- We shouldn't discriminate against anyone. Men and women should be paid equal pay for equal work. It is tough to enforce requirements on that, but we can help push the conversation statewide by following that practice with our own employees.

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.
- My legislative history shows that I am committed to working on growing our economy, strengthening our education system, and investing in our infrastructure and our people. We need to solve workforce issues by attracting people to our state and educating our students to meet the needs of the market. North Dakota has tremendous potential, and we need to make conscious efforts to promote a robust and diverse economy that has opportunities for everyone to succeed. The Diversion needs to be completed to remove uncertainty help our market continue to thrive. Our best days are still ahead of us in ND!