New Mexico State Legislative Election 2016 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?
- No

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

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
- No Answer

Budget, Spending, & Tax

1. Tapping into New Mexico's "rainy day" fund
- Yes

2. Decreasing funding for 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
- We do not need budget cuts across the board to balance the budget. We can address the budget crisis through our fluctuating tax and income structures.

1. Education (higher)
- Maintain Status

2. Education (K-12)
- Slightly Increase

3. Environment
- Maintain Status

4. Health care
- Maintain Status

5. Law enforcement/corrections
- Maintain Status

6. Transportation/infrastructure
- Greatly Increase

7. Welfare
- Maintain Status

8. Other or expanded categories
- I support investing more state funding into early childhood education, as well as rebuilding our infrastructure that will help create jobs and improve the economy.

1. Alcohol taxes
- Slightly Increase

2. Cigarette taxes
- Slightly Increase

3. Corporate taxes
- Slightly Increase

4. Small business taxes
- Slightly Increase

5. Gas/Oil taxes
- Slightly Increase

6. Property taxes
- Maintain Status

7. Sales taxes
- Maintain Status

8. Income taxes (low-income families)
- Greatly Decrease

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

10. Income taxes (high-income families)
- Greatly Increase

11. Do you support applying sales taxes to all online purchases?
- Yes

12. Other or expanded principles
- - I do not necessarily want to raise corporate taxes, but would like to reduce tax cuts that have been given to the top corporations in New Mexico. - For applying sales taxes to all online purchases, I would like to see the issue studied more in depth regarding how they affect small businesses and how much revenue it would generate for New Mexico, but I want to make sure we have a level playing field for all businesses.

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?
- No

9. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer

Crime & Public Safety

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

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?
- No

5. Do you support the enforcement of federal immigration laws by state and local police?
- No

6. Do you support delaying the seizure of assets by law enforcement officials until after a conviction?
- Yes

7. Do you support additional funding for programs intended to reduce drug addiction in New Mexico?
- Yes

8. Other or expanded principles
- - Sentencing conditions for egregious crimes committed by minors may be increased depending on the facts of a case, even though I don't believe that in general, minors should be prosecuted as adults. - I would still like to study the effects of legalized marijuana from other states that have legalized it. We know that it would generate revenue for the state, but need more information on the public safety effect.

Economic

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

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

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

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

5. Do you support expanding access to unemployment benefits?
- Yes

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

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

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

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

10. Should employers be able to ask about applicants' criminal history before interviewing them?
- No

11. Do you support the enactment of right-to-work legislation?
- No

12. Other or expanded principles
- - I support lowering taxes on low wage workers who need better assistance in spending their disposable income. - Although expanding access to unemployment benefits can burden small businesses, we need to make sure that we help those New Mexicans effected by the high unemployment rates. When unemployment rates fall, we will have the opportunity to change this short term policy. - I do not support tax cuts to the private sector for the purpose of job creation, but support certain measures so long as the benefit goes toward the state, and the value is greater than the cost.

Education

1. Do you support the national Common Core State Standards initiative?
- No

2. Do you support a merit pay system for teachers?
- No

3. Is the tenure process for public school teachers producing effective teachers?
- Yes

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?
- Yes

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

7. Should illegal immigrants who graduate from New Mexico high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities?
- Yes

8. Other or expanded principles
- - I do support tenure, and also support raising teacher's salaries in our state in order to attract better qualified teachers. - If Charter Schools are regulated by the public education department, I support funding for them.

Environment & Energy

1. Do you support state funding for the development of renewable energy (e.g. solar, wind, thermal)?
- Yes

2. Do you support state funding for the development of traditional domestic energy sources (e.g. coal, natural gas, oil)?
- Yes

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

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

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

6. Do you support increased regulations of the hydraulic fracturing ("fracking") industry?
- Yes

7. Other or expanded principles
- - I support funding for New Mexico's energy infrastructure as long as that money is used for renewable energy.

Gun

1. Do you generally support gun-control legislation?
- 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
- I generally support gun-control legislation while respecting the 2nd amendment and allowing responsible gun owners to keep their arms. - Concealed carry has a place and time. Concealed carry should be limited depending on circumstances, but should not be allowed in classrooms, government buildings, etc.

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 ("Obamacare")?
- 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
- No Answer

Social

1. Do you support same-sex marriage?
- Yes

2. Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in New Mexico's anti-discrimination laws?
- Yes

3. Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in New Mexico's anti-discrimination laws?
- Yes

4. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer

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 top priorities as state State Representative are to 1). invest in early childhood education and 2). expand our economy and increase economic growth in Southern New Mexico. I will support initiatives for Early Childhood Education, by returning to 2007 percentages provided from the State's Permanent Land Grant Fund to help our children ages 0-5. to be prepared for successful outcomes for K-12. Also, I am excited to use Southern New Mexico's vast natural resources to invest in high value job growing industries such as renewable energy and film.