Georgia 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?
- Yes

3. Should abortion be legal when the pregnancy resulted from incest or rape?
- No

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?
- Yes

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
- The Declaration of Independence says we are endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights including life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Our laws should support the right to life for those born as well as the unborn, who cannot speak for themselves.

Budget, Spending, & Tax

1. Tapping into Georgia'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
- Yes

5. Reducing benefits for Medicaid recipients
- No

6. Other or expanded principles
- Georgia has a constitutional requirement to balance it's budget every year, without making up the shortfall through borrowing. Consequently, Georgia's approach to budgeting is conservative which helps us avoid drastic budget cuts, except in times of severe recession such as the 2008 recession.

1. Education (higher)
- Maintain Status

2. Education (K-12)
- Maintain Status

3. Environment
- Maintain Status

4. Health care
- Maintain Status

5. Law enforcement/corrections
- Maintain Status

6. Transportation/infrastructure
- Maintain Status

7. Welfare
- Maintain Status

8. Other or expanded categories
- Georgia has restored many of the budget cuts made during the the 2008 recession. It's time to begin offering tax relief to the citizens of Georgia.

1. Alcohol taxes
- Maintain Status

2. Cigarette taxes
- Maintain Status

3. Corporate taxes
- Slightly Decrease

4. Small business taxes
- Slightly Decrease

5. Gas/Oil taxes
- Maintain Status

6. Property taxes
- Eliminate

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
- Georgia's overall tax burden is low, but we can spur economic and job growth with reforms of our tax code. Georgia's tax code has not seen major reform in decades and it struggles to meet the demands of our modern economy. Reform is needed.

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?
- No

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

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

9. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer

Crime & Public Safety

1. Do you support capital punishment for certain crimes?
- Yes

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?
- Yes

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
- Georgia has gone through major reforms in our judicial system. These reforms have been recognized around the nation for their fairness and innovation. There is still work to do, especially when it comes to seizure of assets by law enforcement. Such seizure should not take place until after conviction. While we want to take aware the "rewards" for a life of crime, protecting the civil liberties of innocent citizens must be considered as well.

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?
- Yes

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

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?
- No

10. Should employers be able to ask about applicants' criminal history before interviewing them?
- Yes

11. Other or expanded principles
- i) We should be focusing of helping adults and heads of households who work in minimum wage jobs learn skills to allow them to find higher paying jobs. Raising the minimum wage harms young people seeking their first job, denying them the ability to learn important job skills that will help them get better paying jobs.j) I support allowing certain people with criminal records not being required to disclose their past. The question is too broad to answer a blanket "no." Certain jobs require higher levels of security where a criminal background check is necessary.

Education

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

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

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

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?
- No

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

8. Other or expanded principles
- g) Congress needs to act on this issue. Children who were brought here by their parents illegally should not be punished for their parents crime. A system to bring those students to legal status should be created by Congress.

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 Georgia'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
- No Answer

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?
- Yes

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

4. Do you support allowing concealed carry on public college campuses in Georgia?
- Yes

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

6. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer

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?
- Yes

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?
- Yes

8. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer

Social

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

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

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

4. Based on the religious beliefs of the owners, should businesses be allowed to refuse services to their employees and/or customers?
- Yes

5. 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.
- 1) Jobs. Georgia is one of the top states to do business in. We need to continue those policies and create an atmosphere where businesses can create more good paying jobs.2) Opportunity. We must work to enhance the opportunities our citizens have to pursue the American dream. Education and workforce skills training are key to creating opportunity for all the people of Georgia.3) Transparency/Accountability. Our politics is broken. It must be made to work for all our citizens. I won't favor the powerful over the weak, nor the insider over the outsider.