Mississippi State Legislative Election 2011 Political Courage Test

Abortion and Reproductive

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

2. Should abortion be legal 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. Should parental notification be required before an abortion is performed on a minor?
- Yes

6. Should parental consent be required 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

9. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer

Budget, Spending, and Tax

1. Education (higher)
- Greatly Increase

2. Education (K-12)
- Greatly Increase

3. Environment
- Slightly Increase

4. Health care
- Slightly Increase

5. Law enforcement
- Slightly Increase

6. Transportation and highway infrastructure
- Slightly Increase

7. Welfare
- Maintain Status

8. Other or expanded categories
- No Answer

1. Alcohol taxes
- Greatly Increase

2. Cigarette taxes
- Greatly Increase

3. Corporate taxes
- Slightly Increase

4. Gasoline taxes
- Maintain Status

5. Property taxes
- Maintain Status

6. Sales taxes
- Greatly Decrease

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

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

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

10. Other or expanded categories
- No Answer

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

2. Issuing the early release of certain non-violent offenders
- Yes

3. Increasing tuition rates at public universities
- No

4. Instituting mandatory furloughs and layoffs for state employees
- No

5. Reducing benefits for Medicaid recipients
- No

6. Privatizing certain government services
- Yes

7. Reducing public pension benefits
- No

8. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer

Campaign Finance and Government Reform

1. Individual
- Yes

2. Political Action Committee
- Yes

3. Corporate
- Yes

4. Political Party
- No

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?
- 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 decriminalizing the possession of small amounts of marijuana?
- Yes

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
- No Answer

Economic

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

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

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

4. Do you support providing tax incentives to businesses for the purpose of job creation?
- Yes

5. Do you support spending on infrastructure projects for the purpose of job creation?
- Yes

6. Do you support providing direct financial assistance to homeowners facing foreclosure?
- Yes

7. Do you support comprehensive public pension reform that incorporates a defined contribution plan, similar to a 401(k)?
- No

8. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer

Education

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

2. Do you support requiring public schools to administer high school exit exams?
- Yes

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

4. Do you support eliminating the cap on charter schools in Mississippi?
- No

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

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

7. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer

Environment and Energy

1. Do you support state regulation of greenhouse gas emissions?
- Yes

2. Do you believe that human activity is contributing to climate change?
- Yes

3. Do you support state funding for the development of alternative energy?
- Yes

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

5. Do you support providing financial incentives to farms that produce biofuel crops?
- No

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

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

8. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer

Gun

1. Do you support restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns?
- No

2. Do you support requiring background checks on all firearms sales at gun shows, including sales by unlicensed dealers?
- Yes

3. Do you support allowing individuals to carry concealed guns?
- Yes

4. Do you support requiring a license for gun possession?
- No

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 requiring individuals to purchase health care insurance?
- Yes

5. Do you support monetary limits on damages that can be collected in malpractice lawsuits?
- No

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

2. Should Mississippi allow same-sex couples to form civil unions/domestic partnerships?
- No

3. Do you support state funding for stem cell research?
- Yes

4. Do you support state funding for embryonic stem cell research?
- No

5. Do you support affirmative action?
- Yes

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

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

8. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer

Administrative 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.
- My top priorities have been and will continue to be economic development (jobs), full funding of K-12 public education and local mental health facilities and protection for our Public Employees' Retirement System (PERS). While state-wide economic development is adequately funded, two of my other priorities, K-12 education & local mental health facilities, are not so fortunate. If, in order to fully fund K-12 public education and local mental health facilities, additional funding is required, my new funding priorities will be an increase in alcohol and tobacco sales taxes and an increase in income taxes on couples making more than [...]