Montana State Legislative Election 2018 Political Courage Test

Abortion & Reproductive

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

2. Should abortion be legal when the pregnancy resulted from incest or rape?
- Yes

3. Do you support the prohibition of public funds for organizations that perform abortions?
- No

4. Other or expanded principles
- My stance on abortion is a mother and a child have an equal opportunity to the right to life, but medically speaking a fetus has a low probability of survival in births before 26 weeks. This is better know as the Fetal Viability Test. These decisions should be made between a woman and her doctor, not by the government. On funding, I do not support expanding funding to any organization with government money. Although prohibitions seem like the natural way to prevent this, I am more in favor of sun-setting existing government payments to reduce market shocks.

Budget, Spending, & Tax

1. Reducing state employee salaries AND/OR pensions?
- No

2. Instituting mandatory furloughs AND/OR layoffs for state employees?
- No

3. Reducing benefits for Medicaid recipients?
- No

4. An income tax increase on any tax bracket?
- No

5. Eliminating block grants to public school districts?
- Yes

6. Decreasing funding to the Montana Department of Health and Human Services?
- No

7. Other or expanded principles
- My view on the budgeting requirements of Montana is to place a moratorium on new spending, and reduce the overall negative impact that gouging out budget line items has had on the people of Montana. By working in absolutes, via all or nothing requirements for the budget, we ignore the very real impact that pulling the rug out from under existing has on the people who depend on them. I want a smaller government, with more money in Montanan's pockets, but we need to look at the big picture, and plan for the next forty years, not the next four.

Campaign Finance & Government Reform

1. Do you support any limits on campaign contributions to state candidates?
- Yes

2. Do you support the regulation of indirect campaign contributions from corporations and unions?
- Yes

3. Do you support the use of an independent AND/OR bipartisan commission for redistricting?
- Yes

4. Do you support requiring a government-issued photo identification in order to vote at the polls?
- No

5. Other or expanded principles
- Voting is the fundamental right of every citizen of this country. That right has been eroded by the two major parties. Any measure, ordinance, or law that restricts access or participation in the political process is inherently unjust. It is better to have 500 illegal votes than to force 5,000 legal voters from the desire to vote. The second is happening far more often than the first, and it can be tied to the atmosphere surrounding our politicians and elections. When the power of an independent vote is taken away from the people: that is the end of this nation.

Crime & Public Safety

1. Do you support capital punishment for certain crimes?
- No

2. Do you support the legalization of marijuana for recreational purposes?
- Yes

3. Should a minor accused of a violent crime be prosecuted as an adult?
- Yes

4. Do you support the enforcement of federal immigration laws by state and local police?
- No

5. Other or expanded principles
- The questions of crime and punishment comes down to one simple test: who is the victim? Using cannabis only affects the user, and has no moral or rational reason for being illegal. The MTLP is in agreement that all restrictions on the cannabis genus of plants be legal. Similarly, immigration is a problem that should be settled at the international level, not at the state and local level. We need to pay or police and sheriff's deputies to prevent violent crime, not enforce non-victim crimes. On capital punishment it unfortunately doesn't solve anything, and support less suffering in the world.

Economic

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

2. Do you support lowering state taxes as a means of promoting economic growth?
- Yes

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

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

5. Do you support requiring welfare applicants to pass a drug test in order to receive benefits?
- No

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

7. Other or expanded principles
- Economics is my bread and butter. It is what I have studied resolutely for almost a decade. My stance simply is to take less money out of the pocket of Montanan, and let business compete on a truly open market. The Montana government needs to adopt austerity measures, and not subsidize industries in any way. We need to take a hard look at the actual structure of our labor market, and adjust our funding and criteria for education to meet the needs for the labor force in 20 years right now. The markets will work if we just let them.

Education

1. Do you support adopting federal education standards in Montana?
- No

2. Do you support state funding for charter schools?
- No

3. Should immigrants unlawfully present in the United States who graduate from Montana high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities?
- No

4. Other or expanded principles
- Top down standards in education are the greatest detriment to the economic conditions in the United States, period. The less care we take in looking at the actual probability of success that each educational program will lend to the students of Montana, the more we are simply wasting money. I don't like to waste money, especially when it is the tax payers. We need to take a hard look at the Montana University system, and their funding practices, because tuition are skyrocketing, and pay for a degree is dwindling. We need to set children up for success in the workforce.

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 government regulations of greenhouse gas emissions?
- Yes

3. Do you support increasing state funding for clean drinking water initiatives?
- No

4. Other or expanded principles
- This comes down to setting up the legal code to holds polluters accountable, and lets the markets do the rest. Subsidizing renewable energy sounds like a great plan until you realize that the solar farm or wind mill being installed is at the cost of food on the table for some Montanans. Absolutely, climate change is a problem that we need to figure out, but no matter the amount of money we throw at it it is the underlying social structure that will drive the actual effects of environmental progress. The people always need to come first in this issue.

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

3. Should teachers be allowed to bring guns into the classroom?
- Yes

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

5. Other or expanded principles
- The Second Amendment rests on a simple premise. You have the absolute right to defend your life and those who cannot defend themselves. The problems with school shootings are an assumption that the government can always protect you. That is faulty logic, the government is more likely to kill you that to protect you as we see with racial charged police shootings. If we put absolute faith in the government to protect our life we will be let down, every time. We must break the taboo of self defense and take an active role in training Americans to defend themselves.

Health

1. Should the state government increase funding for treatment facilities to combat opioid abuse?
- Yes

2. Do you support Medicaid expansion through Montana's health care programs?
- No

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

4. Do you support legislation that grants citizens the right to choose to die through euthanasia?
- Yes

5. Do you support eliminating religious exemptions for vaccinations?
- No

6. Do you support increasing state funding for tracking and reporting opioid usage and overdoses?
- No

7. Other or expanded principles
- Public health is an important issue, but has spiraled out of control. The opioid crisis comes from a market that is out-of-wack. As health care costs break new records every day, we need to look at weather care is being increased as well, the answer is sadly, no. People can't afford health care, even with the ACA in place. Thus the natural tendency is to self medicate, or in other words make the pain go away. If we start looking at these issues from a personal lens, we will find lasting solutions, and improve the overall health of all Montanans.

Social

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

2. Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in Montana's anti-discrimination laws?
- Yes

3. Do you support greater efforts by Montana state government in closing the pay gap between men and women?
- No

4. Should individuals be required to use a bathroom that corresponds with the gender listed on their birth certificate?
- No

5. Other or expanded principles
- Gender is in many ways fundamental biology in my mind, but I do understand that my perspective is mine alone. I believe that making any laws that punish or benefit any person on the basis of gender or identity are simply immoral. I have always felt this way. This does not mean, however, that we can use laws to unduly benefit members of the LBGTQ community, nor can we force private industries to close a pay gap that they generally have no control over. All forms of discrimination are unacceptable, but that doesn't mean every disadvantage is discrimination in action.

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.
- My legislative priorities for the 2019 session are to institute political reform in Montana. Money is pouring into this state, and the vast majority of our elected official are transplants from other part of the country. That needs to change, and we need to give the voice back to the people. I also want to look at our land management, and see how we can make Montana a more affordable place to life, while preserving our environment. Lastly, I want to rebuilt social welfare programs from the ground up, and get ride of the waste focusing only on the need.