Wisconsin 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
- The government should not be engaged in critical personal medical decisions of this nature, rather it should be discussed in an open and honest way between a person and her doctor.

Budget, Spending, & Tax

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

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
- No Answer

1. Education (higher)
- Greatly Increase

2. Education (K-12)
- Greatly Increase

3. Environment
- Greatly Increase

4. Health care
- Greatly Increase

5. Law enforcement/corrections
- Slightly Increase

6. Transportation/infrastructure
- Slightly Increase

7. Welfare
- Greatly Decrease

8. Other or expanded categories
- When I say greatly decrease welfare, what I mean is that we should be moving away from this model of service for MOST people who are the current recipients. Rather we should have good paying, accessible jobs be made available to all and the Wisconsin State Government should be on the forefront of creating those and making sure that families are able to have all the stability that comes with full-time employment. There should be a substantial jobs program set up here, we could use some of the money Walker sent his buddies at WEDC, if can ever find it...

1. Alcohol taxes
- Maintain Status

2. Cigarette taxes
- Maintain Status

3. Corporate taxes
- Greatly Increase

4. Small business taxes
- Maintain Status

5. Gas/Oil taxes
- Slightly Increase

6. Property taxes
- Maintain Status

7. Sales taxes
- Maintain Status

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

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

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

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

12. Other or expanded principles
- We need to index our gas tax.

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?
- Yes

1. Other or expanded principles
- We need non-partisan redistricting now! Also Citizens United has been terrible for Wisconsin and should be done away with immediately.

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. Other or expanded principles
- We should make marijuana fully legal immediately. We should also be investing in alternatives to incarceration which have been proven to have better outcomes for the individuals involved and for society as a whole.

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?
- No

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?
- Yes

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 use of public funds for the construction of professional sports stadiums?
- No

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

13. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer

Education

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

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?
- No

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

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

8. Other or expanded principles
- Is questions E referring to public or private charters? Instrumentality or non? Either way, we should be reinvesting in our public schools, providing funding equity for all Wisconsin schools (even those in poorer areas) and expanding SAGE.

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)?
- No

3. Do you support state funding for improvements to Wisconsin'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
- No Answer

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?
- No

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 ("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 Wisconsin's anti-discrimination laws?
- Yes

3. Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in Wisconsin'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.
- If I am limited to my "top two or three priorities" this legislative cycle, I would have to go with public education, mental health, and addressing many issues facing the deaf and hard of hearing community in Wisconsin. One way we could afford these and many more important programs would be to take the Badgercare expansion money. One of the bills that I will be introducing that we could fund with that money will be my SAGE expansion legislation: http://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/2015/proposals/ab918