Georgia State Legislative Election 2014 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?
- Yes

6. Do you support requiring parental consent before an abortion is performed on a minor?
- Yes

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 support using public funds when the pregnancy resulted from rape or incest.

Budget, Spending, & Tax

1. Education (higher)
- Greatly Increase

2. Education (K-12)
- Greatly Increase

3. Environment
- Maintain Status

4. Health care
- Greatly Increase

5. Law enforcement/corrections
- Maintain Status

6. Transportation/infrastructure
- Slightly Increase

7. Welfare
- Maintain Status

8. Other or expanded categories
- More emphasis should be placed on an educated workforce and providing opportunities despite zipcode. If more students are better prepared upon graduation, this will increase their chances of success and their future families.

1. Alcohol taxes
- Maintain Status

2. Cigarette taxes
- Maintain Status

3. Corporate taxes
- Slightly Decrease

4. Gas/Oil taxes
- Maintain Status

5. Property taxes
- Maintain Status

6. Sales taxes
- Maintain Status

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

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

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

10. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer

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

2. Increasing tuition rates at 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
- Creating opportunities for more business owners will create jobs and increase consumer spending.

Campaign Finance & Government Reform

1. Individual
- No

2. Political Action Committee
- No

3. Corporate
- No

4. Political Party
- No

5. Should candidates for state office be encouraged to meet voluntary spending limits?
- No

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
- Government-issued photo identification should be used only if there is a dispute with a previously cast ballot. Once a person is registered, he/she should be allowed to vote without the process being complicated.

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?
- 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?
- Yes

7. Other or expanded principles
- The expense of maintaining jails and enforcing probation for convicted marijuana users has increased state and local spending due to these small amounts of marijuana possessions. These funds could be diverted to other line items in the budget like education. In reference to immigration, first priority for state and local police should be to their perspective communities to eradicate crime and assist on the federal level where able. Immigration enforcement by state and local police could potentially be a burden on state and local agencies with enforcement of still other federal civil violations.

Economic

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

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 government spending as a means of promoting economic growth?
- Yes

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

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

8. Other or expanded principles
- Increasing the minimum wage will initially cause the employer to be leaner in its employment practices, but could yield a better selection of employees. This increase will result in employees spending more which will generate more revenue for the businesses and an increase in taxes collected for local, state and federal governments.

Education

1. Do you support the national Common Core State Standards initiative?
- Yes

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?
- Yes

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 Georgia high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities?
- Yes

8. Other or expanded principles
- The Common Core should be gradually instituted into the school systems so that the students and teachers can better prepare for the rigor. There are students who are performing below level in the core classes and remediation needs to be a major part of the initiative.

Environment & 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 Answer

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

4. Do you support state funding for open space preservation?
- No Answer

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

6. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer

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
- No Answer

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?
- Yes

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

4. Do you support Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act?
- Yes

5. Do you support requiring individuals to purchase health care insurance?
- Yes

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
- I support requiring individuals to purchase health care insurance if it is affordable.

Social

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

2. Should same-sex couples be allowed to form civil unions?
- No

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

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

5. 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.
- My top priorities are education equality and economic development with job creation. Ensuring an educated workforce will stabilize the economy in Georgia. More opportunities should be provided to our students for career exploration starting at middle school.