Connecticut State Legislative Election 2010 Political Courage Test

Abortion and Reproductive

1. Do you consider yourself pro-choice or pro-life?
- No Answer

2. Should abortion be legal only within 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?
- 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 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 Answer

9. Other or expanded principles
- I feel this issue is very personal. Personal views aside I will weigh the will of my constituents. The state legislature isn't the body that has authority over Roe vs Wade, the supreme court has jurisdiction. The CT legislature could be asked to make decisions on parental notification and sex ed programs. I believe sex ed is helpful on a age appropriate level and parents should always be given the option to opt out their children. As with any issue, I would want to see all proposals so I could fully understand the implications.

Budget, Spending, and Tax

1. Education (higher)
- Maintain Status

2. Education (K-12)
- Maintain Status

3. Environment
- Maintain Status

4. Health care
- Slightly Decrease

5. Law enforcement
- Maintain Status

6. Transportation and highway infrastructure
- Slightly Increase

7. Welfare
- Slightly Decrease

8. Other or expanded categories
- The state is facing massive deficits. Legislators must show courage in making the tough decisions to restructure government and reduce it's size so the state can fund important initiatives so we can prosper and grow. We can afford to fully fund education, healthcare, law enforcement, transportation and environment initiatives if we find cost savings in other areas, we must prioritize!

1. Alcohol taxes
- Maintain Status

2. Cigarette taxes
- Slightly Decrease

3. Corporate taxes
- Slightly Decrease

4. Gasoline taxes
- Maintain Status

5. Property taxes
- Slightly Decrease

6. Sales taxes
- Maintain Status

7. Income taxes (low-income families)
- Maintain Status

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

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

10. Other or expanded categories
- Id like to work toward attracting business into CT so residents wouldn't have to shoulder so much of the tax burden. We also need to make our tax dollars work better instead of always looking to raise taxes to fix problems.

1. Legalizing Keno gaming
- No Answer

2. Installing toll booths on major state highways
- No

3. Issuing the early release of certain non-violent offenders
- No

4. Increasing tuition rates at public universities
- No

5. Instituting mandatory furloughs and layoffs for state employees
- Yes

6. Offering early retirement to state employees
- Yes

7. Reducing benefits for Medicaid recipients
- Yes

8. Privatizing certain government services
- Yes

9. Other or expanded principles
- I don't have enough information on the Keno gaming issue to give answer. I'd like to learn more and if it comes up during the next budget session. I do think the plan for high tech tolls that work like a speed pass and other initiatives proposed by the Transportation Strategy Board and the Connecticut Citizens Transportation Lobby are interesting. Fairfield County is the economic engine of the state and we need to make transportation solutions a top priority.

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

7. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer

Crime and 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. Should the possession of small amounts of marijuana be decriminalized?
- No

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

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
- Question D- in general, no, but with exceptions.I would support a true "three strikes your out" for repeat violent offenders. The state has the death penalty but it's currently unworkable. We should limit the number of appeals for those sentenced to the death. Connecticut's capital punishment statues need to be reformed.

Economic

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

2. Do you support allowing Sunday sales of alcohol?
- Yes

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

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

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

6. Do you support increased spending on infrastructure projects for the purpose of job creation?
- No

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

8. Other or expanded principles
- All answers depend on the overall budget situation. answer g) I don't support Direct Financial assistance, but I do support programs that encourage banks to work with homeowners who are under water for modifications and refinancing. Current programs are not helping people.

Education

1. Do you support national education standards?
- Yes

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

3. Do you support using a merit pay system for teachers?
- Yes

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

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

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

7. Other or expanded principles
- Merit pay is always a controversial subject, but many of our teachers in Fairfield are of very high quality and I think would benefit from merit pay. I think there could be a way for both sides of this issue to come together on a compromise.

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?
- No

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

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?
- No Answer

7. Other or expanded principles
- CT could benefit greatly from alternative energy development due to our alarmingly high electricity rates. I'm supportive of all of this within the context of a balanced budget.

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?
- Yes

4. Do you support requiring a license for gun possession?
- Yes

5. Other or expanded principles
- I support the current laws in CT. (I've filled out the NRA survey)

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. 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?
- Yes

6. Do you support legalizing physician-assisted suicide in Connecticut?
- No Answer

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

8. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer

Social

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

2. Should Connecticut 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?
- No Answer

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

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

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

8. Other or expanded principles
- I don't have enough information on current funding of some of these. I would need more information to answer. As for question a, the court made a decision that allows for same sex marriage. This is not an issue that will come before the legislature.

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.
- We can no longer let the state legislature spend more while raising taxes and borrowing against our future. We need legislators with common sense and courage to say we can't solve a $3.4 billion deficit without cutting some programs and reducing the size of government.I will make job creation a top priority.Work to reduce the size of governmentLower property taxes by repealing costly mandates on cities and townsEliminate job-killing business regulationsAs a small business owner and long time congressional aide, I have the experience to cut through the red tape and get things done.