West Virginia State Legislative Election 2016 Political Courage Test

Abortion & Reproductive

1. Do you generally support pro-choice or pro-life legislation?
- Pro-life

2. Should abortions be illegal after 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?
- No

7. Do you support the prohibition of public funds for abortion procedures?
- Yes

8. Do you support the prohibition of public funds for organizations that perform abortions?
- Yes

9. Other or expanded principles
- WV passed the Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act in 2015 which permits abortion until 22 weeks gestation (5 1/2 months pregnant), no matter the cause, but not thereafter unless the mother's life is in danger. Children of this gestation have survived and have also been shown to feel pain. This has given the mother 5 months to make a decision to terminate her pregnancy. In 2016 WV passed the Dismemberment Abortion Act to ban this certain procedure of abortion so that a live child could not be ripped apart in order to terminate its life. I supported both.

Budget, Spending, & Tax

1. Tapping into West Virginia's "rainy day" fund
- Yes

2. Decreasing funding for public universities
- Yes

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
- I do support reducing salaries of state employees in administrative positions in some cases. I also fully support our public universities but they are an entity that has to be considered when budgeting over safety and health of the citizens when funds are sparse.

1. Education (higher)
- Maintain Status

2. Education (K-12)
- Maintain Status

3. Environment
- Slightly Decrease

4. Health care
- Maintain Status

5. Law enforcement/corrections
- Greatly Increase

6. Transportation/infrastructure
- Slightly Increase

7. Welfare
- Slightly Decrease

8. Other or expanded categories
- K-12 education money needs shifted. WV has 10 x the number of administrators as the state of VA. Monies need shifted to increase teacher salaries and decrease the number of state bureaucrats. Corrections and law enforcement salaries are not high enough. Infrastructure money through a 2016 audit shows a lot of mismanagement of funds and the need for program management more so than a lack of funds. Welfare abuse is noted among some residents and is serving as a life style for some and not a safety net. Environmental staff can be decreased with massive reduction in mining sites.

1. Alcohol taxes
- Slightly Increase

2. Cigarette taxes
- Slightly Increase

3. Corporate taxes
- Slightly Decrease

4. Small business taxes
- Slightly Decrease

5. Gas/Oil taxes
- Maintain Status

6. Property taxes
- Maintain Status

7. Sales taxes
- Maintain Status

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

9. Income taxes (mid-income families)
- Slightly Decrease

10. Income taxes (high-income families)
- Slightly Decrease

11. Do you support applying sales taxes to all online purchases?
- No

12. Other or expanded principles
- Tax reform is crucial for the state of WV. I would like a lower tax rate with some exemptions removed. We need to remove the inventory tax as well as it hurts job creation and WV and KY are the only ones who still have it.

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?
- No Answer

8. Do you support requiring a government-issued photo identification in order to vote at the polls?
- Yes

1. Other or expanded principles
- I am not sure about the best means for redistricting and would need to research. WV passed Voter ID in 2016 and I supported it. I do think it is proper to phase in to ensure everyone can obtain an ID.

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?
- No

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?
- Yes

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

7. g Do you support additional funding for programs intended to reduce drug addiction in West Virginia?
- Yes

8. Other or expanded principles
- Item d is too general. I think there is a big difference between a 10 yo committing a crime and a 17 yo so this may have to be considered on a case by case basis.

Economic

1. Do you support government spending as a means of promoting economic growth?
- No

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?
- Yes

4. Do you support increased state funding for job-training programs that re-train displaced workers?
- No Answer

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

6. Do you support requiring welfare applicants to pass a drug test in order to receive benefits?
- Yes

7. Do you support providing financial incentives to the private sector for the purpose of job creation?
- No Answer

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

9. Do you support an increase of the minimum wage?
- No

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

11. Would you support the enactment of statewide 'Right to Work' legislation?
- Yes

12. Other or expanded principles
- I am unable to answer some questions at this time as I have no formulated an exact yes or no response or the question is not as simple as a Yes or No.In 2016 WV passed SB 1: Workplace Freedom Act to not require union fees as a condition of employment. I believe individuals should not be forced to pay fees to an organization they do not want to represent them.

Education

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

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

3. Is the tenure process for public school teachers producing effective teachers?
- No Answer

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 West Virginia high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities?
- No

8. Other or expanded principles
- f) I support the WV PROMISE scholarship program as a means aid.I do not have enough knowledge to answer about tenure and merit pay for teachers. I do have a concern that poor teachers never seem to be fired.

Environment & Energy

1. Do you support state funding for the development of renewable energy (e.g. solar, wind, thermal)?
- No

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 West Virginia's energy infrastructure?
- No

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

5. Do you support government regulations of greenhouse gas emissions?
- No

6. Do you support increased regulations of the hydraulic fracturing ("fracking") industry?
- No

7. Other or expanded principles
- d) I support state funding of our parks which provide open space preservation. I also support economic policies such as tort reforms, tax reforms, education improvements, and regulation reforms that allow job creators the desire to want to locate in WV and put our citizens to work.

Gun

1. Do you generally support gun-control legislation?
- No

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

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

4. Should a license be required for gun possession?
- No

5. Other or expanded principles
- b) I would not be opposed to closing the gun show loophole as it is referred but I would not expect a background check between individuals on sales not at a gun show. I supported the Constitutional Carry bill that passed in WV to remove the conceal carry permit requirement. I do not support a gun owner registry.

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?
- No Answer

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

4. Do you support Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare")?
- No

5. Do you support requiring individuals to purchase health care insurance?
- No

6. Do you support monetary limits on damages that can be collected in malpractice lawsuits?
- Yes

7. Do you support allowing doctors to prescribe marijuana to their patients for medicinal purposes?
- No

8. Other or expanded principles
- The Affordable Care Act has proven to not be affordable at all.

Social

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

2. Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in West Virginia's anti-discrimination laws?
- No

3. Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in West Virginia's anti-discrimination laws?
- No

4. Other or expanded principles
- I do not believe in same sex marriage for me personally and religiously but I do not feel the government should oppose it for those who desire to do so.I believe that all discrimination is wrong not just all the categories we create in legislation.

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.
- 1. Fight for West Virginians to create a place where families and job creators want to be through sound economic policies and improved education.2. Continue to help those with drug addiction.3. Work for better roads and other infrastructure. (Audit of 2016: Project management improvement needed)WV has no ability to expand its spending. Any increase in funding to these areas would be from a reduction in another line item of the budget.