Minnesota State Legislative Election 2008 Political Courage Test

Abortion

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding abortion.

1. Abortions should always be illegal.
- No Answer

2. Abortions should always be legal.
- X

3. Abortions should be legal only within the first trimester of pregnancy.
- No Answer

4. Abortions should be legal when the pregnancy resulted from incest or rape.
- No Answer

5. Abortions should be legal when the life of the woman is endangered.
- No Answer

6. Abortions should be subject to a mandatory waiting period.
- No Answer

7. Require clinics to give parental notification before performing abortions on minors.
- No Answer

8. Other or expanded principles
- Per Roe v Wade, certain restrictions are appropriate late in term but health and safety of mother should always be paramount even then.

Budget and Tax

State Budget: Indicate what state funding levels (#1-6) you support for the following general categories. Select one level per category, you can use a number more than once.

1. Education (Higher)
- Slightly Increase

2. Education (K-12)
- Greatly Increase

3. Emergency preparedness
- Slightly Increase

4. Environment
- Slightly Increase

5. Health care
- Slightly Increase

6. Law enforcement
- Maintain Status

7. Transportation and Highway infrastructure
- Maintain Status

8. Welfare
- Greatly Increase

9. Other or expanded categories
- Our state is somewhat progressive on these already, e.g. just passed a substantive gas tax. Increasing funding isn't the only way to achieve better spending, e.g. we could restructure "welfare" (which is better described as "income supports for those in poverty") so that what we save in beaurocracy of redundant elegibility screening can be used for income supports. We can increase K12 funding with new pedagogies and get better results that translate into less resources spent in higher ed remdiation costs (and same with early childhood investments). More funds, but smarter use.

State Taxes: Indicate what state tax levels (#1-6) you support for the following general categories. Select one level per category, you can use a number more than once.

1. Alcohol taxes
- Slightly Increase

2. Cigarette taxes
- Maintain Status

3. Corporate taxes
- Maintain Status

4. Gasoline taxes
- Maintain Status

5. Income taxes (incomes below $75,000)
- Slightly Decrease

6. Income taxes (incomes above $75,000)
- Greatly Increase

7. Property taxes
- Slightly Decrease

8. Sales taxes
- Maintain Status

9. Vehicle taxes
- Maintain Status

10. Other or expanded categories
- The principle is to be fair and progressive: the more wealth generated, the more responsibility to support public investments in people and infrastructure. Some taxes can be increased and reduced for certain sectors (e,g, small business reduction in property taxes and larger increase in certain - not all - corporate activities. The resulting healthy community means profits can be maintained as more people can particpate in economy. Our state has already raised certain regressive taxes, like cigarette taxes only to provide tax cuts to wealth interests. Bad quid pro quo.

11. Should state sales taxes be extended to Internet sales?
- Yes

12. Should accounts such as a "rainy day" fund be used to balance the state budget?
- Yes

13. Should fee increases be used to balance the state budget?
- No

14. Other or expanded principles
- Appropriate to use rainy day funds, but wihtin context of longer term plan to balance budget. Fees should not be the way to balance a budget but rather to recognize that certain citizens derive more use out of certain acitvities; like hunting an dfishing, than others and because of this should be expected to help maintain our ability to keep that experience available for their use. Their fees should not be used to primarily support other parts of the budget.

Campaign Finance and Government Reform

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding campaign finance and government reform.

1. Do you support limiting the number of terms for Minnesota governors?
- Yes

2. Do you support limiting the number of terms for Minnesota state senators and representatives?
- No

Do you support limiting the following types of contributions to state legislative candidates?

1. Individual
- Yes

2. PAC
- Yes

3. Corporate
- Yes

4. Political Parties
- Yes

5. Do you support requiring full and timely disclosure of campaign finance information?
- Yes

6. Do you support imposing spending limits on state-level political campaigns?
- Yes

7. Should Minnesota participate in the federal REAL ID program?
- No

8. Should Minnesota allow homeowners whose mortgage is in foreclosure a one-year deferment on their primary residence?
- Yes

Do you support limiting the following types of contributions to state legislative candidates?

1. Other or expanded principles
- We have a fairly progressive campaign finance design in our state with limitations. Could use more transparency. REAL ID is over reactive and threatening to our civil liberties which hands way too muchpower to central government over our privacy. Homeowners should expect nothing less than the assistance already being doled out to the private (and irresponsible) finance sector which brough us this collapse while profting greatly from it. Our communities are at stake.

Crime

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding crime.

1. Increase state funds for construction of state prisons and hiring of additional prison staff.
- No Answer

2. Establish the death penalty in Minnesota.
- No Answer

3. Support programs to provide prison inmates with vocational and job-related skills and job-placement assistance when released.
- X

4. Implement penalties other than incarceration for certain non-violent offenders.
- X

5. Decriminalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana.
- X

6. Minors accused of a violent crime should be prosecuted as adults.
- No Answer

7. Support state and local law enforcement officials enforcing federal immigration laws.
- No Answer

8. Support hate crime legislation.
- X

9. Other or expanded principles
- We need to focus on prevention first and that means opportunity for our young before they get in trouble (summer interns, community service etc) Prisons have an important role - to keep those whoare a threat from doing more damage - but they also de facto produce more criminals. Those released often find limited opportunitie to re-enter society and get stuck in perpetual poverty. Our immigration laws are unjust and beneath us and need to be fixed by the feds who have created the mess. Our local officials need to focus limited energy on stopping real crimes.

Education

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding education.

1. Support state funding of universal pre-K programs.
- X

2. Support federal education standards and testing requirements for K-12 students (No Child Left Behind).
- No Answer

3. Support state education standards and testing requirements for K-12 students.
- X

4. Support requiring public schools to administer high school exit exams.
- No Answer

5. Allow parents to use vouchers to send their children to any public school.
- X

6. Allow parents to use vouchers to send their children to any private or religious school.
- No Answer

7. Provide state funding to increase teacher salaries.
- X

8. Support using a merit pay system for teachers.
- X

9. Provide state funding for tax incentives and financial aid to help make college more affordable.
- X

10. Support allowing illegal immigrant high school graduates of Minnesota to pay in-state tuition at public universities.
- X

11. Other or expanded principles
- They are "undocumented immigrants" and yes, we should support any person's desire to become educated. Our state already has great choice in public schools and access to hgher ed credentials for htose in high school. Testing is not an end to itself but should be used diagnostically. Teachers are mostly underpaid and we do have an opt in merit pay system. This is the single most important area a state can invest its resources.

Employment

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding employment.

1. Increase funding for state job-training programs that re-train displaced workers and teach skills needed in today's job market.
- X

2. Reduce state government regulations on the private sector.
- No Answer

3. Provide low interest loans and tax credits for starting, expanding, or relocating businesses.
- X

4. Provide tax credits for businesses that provide child care for children in low-income working families.
- No Answer

5. Increase state funds to provide child care for children in low-income working families.
- X

6. Increase the state minimum wage.
- X

7. Support laws that prevent employers from dismissing employees at will.
- No Answer

8. Support financial punishments for those who knowingly employ illegal immigrants.
- No Answer

9. Support increased work requirements for able-bodied welfare recipients.
- No Answer

10. Increase funding for employment and job training programs for welfare recipients.
- X

11. Other or expanded principles
- Our goal for those on public assistance should be to help them attain skills level needed to keep a living wage job - not just get to any job (often temporary). Minimum wage should be at a "living wage" level or one that matches income supports to get to lving wage level. Tax credits should be used sparingly, businesses benefit from well trained workers and need to support public investments that make that possible. Federal immigration laws should be enforced by federal government, state should focus on safety, wage levels and training in workplace.

Environment and Energy

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding the environment and energy.

1. Promote increased use of alternative fuel technology.
- X

2. Support increased production of traditional domestic energy sources (e.g. coal, natural gas, oil, etc).
- No Answer

3. Support providing financial incentives to farms that produce biofuel crops.
- No Answer

4. Use state funds to clean up former industrial and commercial sites that are contaminated, unused, or abandoned.
- X

5. Support funding for improvements to Minnesota's power generating and transmission facilities.
- X

6. Support funding for open space preservation.
- X

7. Limit carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases linked to global warming.
- X

8. Enact environmental regulations even if they are stricter than federal law.
- X

9. Other or expanded principles
- Federal govenrment has been abject failure on this - in support of oil muti-nationals at our expenses - ths means states had to step up efforts to promote new ways to generate energy and incent markets to do this.

Gun

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding guns.

1. Should background checks be required on gun sales between private citizens at gun shows?
- Yes

2. Should citizens be allowed to carry concealed guns?
- No

3. Should a license be required for gun possession?
- Yes

4. Do you support current levels of enforcement of existing state restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns?
- Yes

5. Do you support current state restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns?
- Yes

6. Other or expanded principles
- "D" and "E are confusing questions. I believe guns are dangerous and should be regulated especially handguns as we do have a healthy, legitimate hunting culture in our state which require fair access to hunting rifles. Depending on a gun for safety is admiting we do not believe in our nation or in our communities. Our police officers do not want to see more guns in the public space/

Health

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding health.

1. Ensure that citizens have access to basic health care through managed care, insurance reforms, or state-funded care where necessary.
- X

2. Guaranteed medical care to all citizens is not a responsibility of state government.
- No Answer

3. Limit the amount of damages that can be awarded in medical malpractice lawsuits.
- No Answer

4. Allow patients to sue their HMOs.
- X

5. Require hospitals and labs to release reports on infections that are a risk to public health, while not compromising patient confidentiality.
- X

6. Legalize physician assisted suicide in Minnesota.
- No Answer

7. Support allowing doctors to prescribe marijuana to their patients for medicinal purposes.
- X

8. Other or expanded principles
- If our greatesy calling through governemnt - in addition to public safety - is to develop our human capacity, than meaningful, universal health care is a basic infrastructure we must provide. We must stop pretending that it would be too costly as we already waste phenomenal amounts on the present system of high profit health care that overs only a portion of our people.

Social

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding social issues.

1. Should Minnesota recognize civil unions between same-sex couples?
- Yes

2. Should same-sex couples be allowed to marry?
- Yes

3. Should Minnesota provide state-level spousal rights to same-sex couples?
- Yes

4. Do you support a moment of silence in public schools?
- No

5. Do you support voluntary prayer in public schools?
- Yes

6. Do you support sexual education programs that include information on abstinence, contraceptives, and HIV/STD prevention methods?
- Yes

7. Do you support abstinence-only sexual education programs?
- No

8. Should the state government consider race and gender in state government contracting and hiring decisions?
- Yes

9. Do you support affirmative action in public college admissions?
- Yes

10. Should Minnesota continue affirmative action programs?
- Yes

11. Do you support state funding of stem cell research?
- Yes

12. Do you support state funding of embryonic stem cell research?
- Yes

13. Do you support allowing pharmacists who conscientiously object to emergency contraception to refuse to dispense it?
- No

14. Other or expanded principles
- Our consitution requires us to treat all citizens equally, it doesn't single out GLBT people for different treatment.

Legislative Priorities

1. 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.
- Quality, racially and income equitable K-12 public education opportunities. Ending poverty through a re-fcous on human development of all our residents. Aggressive alterantive energy production. Aggressive proteciton and nurturing of our natural resources. Helping to vreate a racist-free, inclusive and social justice focused society.