North Dakota 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?
- No

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
- When is it every right to terminate life? When is there a case where the mother's life is at risk?

Budget, Spending, & Tax

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

2. Decreasing funding for public universities
- Yes

3. Reducing state employee salaries AND/OR pensions
- Yes

4. Instituting mandatory furloughs AND/OR layoffs for state employees
- Yes

5. Reducing benefits for Medicaid recipients
- No

6. Other or expanded principles
- Higher Education funding should be carefully examined.

1. Education (higher)
- Slightly Decrease

2. Education (K-12)
- Maintain Status

3. Environment
- Slightly Decrease

4. Health care
- Slightly Increase

5. Law enforcement/corrections
- Slightly Increase

6. Transportation/infrastructure
- Slightly Increase

7. Welfare
- Maintain Status

8. Other or expanded categories
- All departments should be examined for wasteful spending.

1. Alcohol taxes
- Maintain Status

2. Cigarette taxes
- Slightly Increase

3. Corporate taxes
- Maintain Status

4. Small business taxes
- Maintain Status

5. Gas/Oil taxes
- Maintain Status

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
- Job creation needs to be the focus rather than increasing taxes.

Campaign Finance & Government Reform

1. Individual
- No

2. Political Action Committee
- No

3. Corporate
- No

4. Political Party
- No

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?
- Yes

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

1. Other or expanded principles
- To prevent voter fraud, presenting an ID should not be too much to ask.

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?
- Yes

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

7. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer

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?
- 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?
- Yes

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?
- 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?
- Yes

11. Do you support continuing the ban on corporate farming in North Dakota?
- Yes

12. Other or expanded principles
- North Dakota already has Corporate Farming if they are related. The Corporate bill proposed by the Legislature was an effort to save our failing Dairy Industry, it would have allowed Corporate involvement with one section (640) acres of land, basically the Milking and holding facilities. They would have to purchase all their feed from local farmers. Needless to say, not providing this option will be the end of North Dakota's dairy industry. We will be looking for out of state providers in the near future for our milk and dairy products.

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?
- Yes

7. Should illegal immigrants who graduate from North Dakota high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities?
- No

8. Other or expanded principles
- The key work here is illegal, if they are illegal why should they get taxpayer funding?

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 North Dakota's energy infrastructure?
- No

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

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
- Our energy providers would be just fine if we were to get EPA off their backs. By increasing regulations such as unattainable carbon emission standards only drive up the cost of our electricity.

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

5. Other or expanded principles
- Restricting the use or ownership of firearms by law abiding citizens does not make us safer. It is already illegal for criminals to possess firearms. Why do we want to limit the protection law abiding citizens can provide for themselves?

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?
- No

8. Other or expanded principles
- The pharmaceutical industry already has three medicines derived from marijuana. Why do we want to override the proven process of the FDA's present system of testing new drugs and their development and approval?

Social

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

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

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

4. Other or expanded principles
- I haven't seen any proof of an individual being discriminated against in ND because of their gender identity. None was presented in the Legislation presented to the State demonstrating a need for such protections.

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.
- Education is one of our top priorities in ND. Being educated in an area where there is a job available is critical to our success. Creating an atmosphere where jobs can flourish is the State's objective. Protecting our Agriculture and Energy interests are also key to our success. Being involved in agriculture my entire life has prepared me to serve on the House Agriculture Committee. I also serve on the House Human Services Committee where I have seen the need for services for our most vulnerable population. Drug abuse is already a very big problem for our state.