New York State Legislative Election 2008 Political Courage Test

Abortion

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding abortion.

1. Abortions should always be illegal.
- No Answer

2. Abortions should always be legal.
- No Answer

3. Abortions should be legal only within the first trimester of pregnancy.
- No Answer

4. Abortions should be legal when the pregnancy resulted from incest or rape.
- No Answer

5. Abortions should be legal when the life of the woman is endangered.
- No Answer

6. Abortions should be subject to a mandatory waiting period.
- X

7. Require clinics to give parental notification before performing abortions on minors.
- X

8. Other or expanded principles
- I believe in the preservation of human life in all its forms.

Budget and Tax

State Budget: Indicate what state funding levels (#1-6) you support for the following general categories. Select one level per category, you can use a number more than once.

1. Education (Higher)
- Maintain Status

2. Education (K-12)
- Maintain Status

3. Emergency preparedness
- Maintain Status

4. Environment
- Maintain Status

5. Health care
- Maintain Status

6. Law enforcement
- Maintain Status

7. Transportation and Highway infrastructure
- Maintain Status

8. Welfare
- Maintain Status

9. Other or expanded categories
- In New York State we have to hold the line on spending first, and then see where we may be to decrease or increase spending. The current financial crisis and fluctuating revenue streams does not support the notion that we can continue to tax, spend, and borrow more to get what we want.

State Taxes: Indicate what state tax levels (#1-6) you support for the following general categories. Select one level per category, you can use a number more than once.

1. Alcohol taxes
- Maintain Status

2. Cigarette taxes
- Slightly Increase

3. Corporate taxes
- Slightly Decrease

4. Gasoline taxes
- Eliminate

5. Income taxes (incomes below $75,000)
- Slightly Decrease

6. Income taxes (incomes above $75,000)
- Slightly Decrease

7. Sales taxes
- Slightly Decrease

8. Vehicle taxes
- Slightly Decrease

9. Other or expanded categories
- Families are hurting and have become unable to provide the kind of life they would prefer for their children or themselves. $75,000 for a family of four is truly not enough when you include the cost of higher education, outrageous taxes, energy, and now food. These families cannot bear the burden of increased spending.

10. Should there be a cap on school district property taxes?
- Yes

11. Should state sales taxes be extended to Internet sales?
- No Answer

12. Should accounts such as a "rainy day" fund be used to balance the state budget?
- Undecided

13. Should fee increases be used to balance the state budget?
- No

14. Do you support raising the income tax for those making $1,000,000 or more?
- No

15. Other or expanded principles
- Tapping into a rainy day fund to balance a budget sets a dangerous precedent for future legislative bodies. In the worse case scenario, the rain would come at the moment the ink was drying on the enacted budget. The solution to balance the budget is to restrain our spending and truly look at what our government is able to provide and at what cost to the taxpayer.

Campaign Finance and Government Reform

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding campaign finance and government reform.

1. Do you support limiting the number of terms for New York governors?
- Yes

2. Do you support limiting the number of terms for New York state senators and assemblymembers?
- Yes

Do you support limiting the following types of contributions to state legislative candidates?

1. Individual
- Yes

2. PAC
- Yes

3. Corporate
- Yes

4. Political Parties
- Yes

5. Do you support requiring full and timely disclosure of campaign finance information?
- Yes

6. Do you support imposing spending limits on state-level political campaigns?
- Yes

7. Should New York participate in the federal REAL ID program?
- No Answer

Do you support limiting the following types of contributions to state legislative candidates?

1. Other or expanded principles
- Campaign finance reform is centered around the notion that we must stop the flow of money in order to limit the voice of an individual or entity that can pay to speak louder. My concern is that by placing caps and spending limits, this will only encourage back-door dealings. Sunlight is the best disinfectant and we need greater transparency to keep candidates, individuals, and entities accountable to the people.

Crime

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding crime.

1. Increase state funds for construction of state prisons and hiring of additional prison staff.
- No Answer

2. Establish the death penalty in New York.
- No Answer

3. Support programs to provide prison inmates with vocational and job-related skills and job-placement assistance when released.
- X

4. Implement penalties other than incarceration for certain non-violent offenders.
- X

5. Minors accused of a violent crime should be prosecuted as adults.
- No Answer

6. Support state and local law enforcement officials enforcing federal immigration laws.
- X

7. Support hate crime legislation.
- No Answer

8. Other or expanded principles
- All of these proposals deal with the symptoms of the problem, but not the cause. We need to find ways to bring opportunity to high-risk individuals and communities before a crime occurs. Giving a benefit for businesses to engage in mentoring and vocational programs is one way to encourage such growth in this area. Crime is always going to occur and we must deal with it when it does, but we always have to be proactive in our approach to preventing it. If we can teach, inspire, and bring hope and opportunities, then we have started to win this battle.

Education

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding education.

1. Support state funding of universal pre-K programs.
- No Answer

2. Support federal education standards and testing requirements for K-12 students (No Child Left Behind).
- X

3. Support state education standards and testing requirements for K-12 students.
- X

4. Support requiring public schools to administer high school exit exams.
- No Answer

5. Allow parents to use vouchers to send their children to any public school.
- X

6. Allow parents to use vouchers to send their children to any private or religious school.
- X

7. Provide state funding to increase teacher salaries.
- No Answer

8. Support using a merit pay system for teachers.
- X

9. Provide state funding for tax incentives and financial aid to help make college more affordable.
- X

10. Support allowing illegal immigrant high school graduates of New York to pay in-state tuition at public universities.
- No Answer

11. Other or expanded principles
- Education is one of the most important gifts we can impart to our children and community. It is the core of our competitiveness and the centerpiece of our cultural. However, there are great costs presently associated with education that bog down schools and local municipalities. Unfunded mandates from Federal and State government leads to an increased burden on communities and higher property taxes. We must use the funds that we have more wisely that we have in the past. As in the private sector, teachers should be paid based on merit and not seniority.

Employment

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding employment.

1. Increase funding for state job-training programs that re-train displaced workers and teach skills needed in today's job market.
- X

2. Reduce state government regulations on the private sector.
- X

3. Provide low interest loans and tax credits for starting, expanding, or relocating businesses.
- X

4. Provide tax credits for businesses that provide child care for children in low-income working families.
- X

5. Increase state funds to provide child care for children in low-income working families.
- No Answer

6. Include gender identity in New York's anti-discrimination laws.
- No Answer

7. Increase the state minimum wage.
- No Answer

8. Support laws that prevent employers from dismissing employees at will.
- No Answer

9. Support financial punishments for those who knowingly employ illegal immigrants.
- No Answer

10. Support increased work requirements for able-bodied welfare recipients.
- X

11. Increase funding for employment and job training programs for welfare recipients.
- No Answer

12. Other or expanded principles
- New York State has countless programs that provide benefits to people from all walks of life. These programs are funded by the state, private parties, or a combination of the two. Many times, new programs are created long before we full support programs that have a proven track record. I support resources for people looking for employment and retraining, but I would also like to see a smart growth approach so we do not continue to duplicate efforts. If a program is not known to exist, it does little good to the public.

Environment and Energy

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding the environment and energy.

1. Promote increased use of alternative fuel technology.
- X

2. Support increased production of traditional domestic energy sources (e.g. coal, natural gas, oil, etc).
- X

3. Support providing financial incentives to farms that produce biofuel crops.
- X

4. Use state funds to clean up former industrial and commercial sites that are contaminated, unused, or abandoned.
- X

5. Support funding for improvements to New York's power generating and transmission facilities.
- X

6. Support funding for open space preservation.
- X

7. Limit carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases linked to global warming.
- X

8. Enact environmental regulations even if they are stricter than federal law.
- No Answer

9. Other or expanded principles
- I have advocated for the increased use of alternative fuels and incentives for farmer to produce biofuels. It is important that we diversify our energy portfolio and not limit our sources. Many advancements have led to clean coal and other technologies that limit greenhouse gases, and with the cost of energy, these options will continue to rise in popularity. Tourism brings billions of dollars into New York State, so the preservation of this land is vital to this industry.

Gun

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding guns.

1. Should background checks be required on gun sales between private citizens at gun shows?
- No Answer

2. Should citizens be allowed to carry concealed guns?
- Yes

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

4. Do you support current levels of enforcement of existing state restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns?
- Yes

5. Do you support current state restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns?
- Yes

6. Other or expanded principles
- Responsible people who take the time to apply for a license for gun ownership should not be vilified for their decision to do so. We have to make sure that illegal guns do not end up in the hands of criminals or those seeking to commit a crime.

Health

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding health.

1. Ensure that citizens have access to basic health care through managed care, insurance reforms, or state-funded care where necessary.
- X

2. Guaranteed medical care to all citizens is not a responsibility of state government.
- No Answer

3. Limit the amount of damages that can be awarded in medical malpractice lawsuits.
- X

4. Allow patients to sue their HMOs.
- No Answer

5. Require hospitals and labs to release reports on infections that are a risk to public health, while not compromising patient confidentiality.
- No Answer

6. Legalize physician assisted suicide in New York.
- No Answer

7. Support allowing doctors to prescribe marijuana to their patients for medicinal purposes.
- No Answer

8. Other or expanded principles
- Government should help facilitate options for basic health care coverage, but not be the provider of the coverage. Many local, free clinics run on a limit budget because doctors are willing to volunteer their time. Although they have proven to be cost-effective, they rarely receive the support that they need.

Social

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding social issues.

1. Should New York recognize civil unions between same-sex couples?
- No Answer

2. Should same-sex couples be allowed to marry?
- No

3. Should New York provide state-level spousal rights to same-sex couples?
- No Answer

4. Do you support a moment of silence in public schools?
- Yes

5. Do you support voluntary prayer in public schools?
- Yes

6. Do you support sexual education programs that include information on abstinence, contraceptives, and HIV/STD prevention methods?
- No

7. Do you support abstinence-only sexual education programs?
- Yes

8. Should the state government consider race and gender in state government contracting and hiring decisions?
- No Answer

9. Do you support affirmative action in public college admissions?
- No

10. Should New York continue affirmative action programs?
- No

11. Do you support state funding of stem cell research?
- Yes

12. Do you support state funding of embryonic stem cell research?
- No

13. Do you support allowing pharmacists who conscientiously object to emergency contraception to refuse to dispense it?
- Yes

14. Other or expanded principles
- Sex education in schools should be limited to the physiological explanations of the body, of conception and birth, and of STI's from a clinical perspective. It is the responsibility of the parent or guardian to provide additional information about sex based on their values, whether it be abstinence, the use of contraceptives for the prevention of birth or STI's, or abortion. Respecting parental rights is crucially important, usurping authority from parents limiting their ability to properly raise their children as they see fit; this is a violation of parental rights.

Legislative Priorities

1. 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.
- Real property tax reform, responsible state budgeting, and an end to unfunded mandates. All of these have a direct impact on the taxpayer. We have to be diligent to reducing our property taxes, cutting our wasteful spending and not shifting the burden on to local municipalities. Funding the mandates would require additional funding, but I hope that we are able to carefully look at what those mandates are and how we can adapt them to be more fiscally sound.