Connecticut 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.
- No Answer

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.
- X

5. Abortions should be legal when the life of the woman is endangered.
- X

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

7. Require clinics to give parental notification before performing abortions on minors.
- X

8. Other or expanded principles
- Pro-life with exceptions checked above.

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)
- Maintain Status

2. Education (K-12)
- Maintain Status

3. Emergency preparedness
- Slightly Increase

4. Environment
- Slightly Increase

5. Health care
- Slightly Increase

6. Law enforcement
- Slightly Increase

7. Transportation and Highway infrastructure
- Slightly Increase

8. Welfare
- Slightly Decrease

9. Other or expanded categories
- No Answer

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
- Maintain Status

2. Cigarette taxes
- Maintain Status

3. Corporate taxes
- Slightly Decrease

4. Gasoline taxes
- Greatly Decrease

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

6. Income taxes (incomes above $75,000)
- Slightly Decrease

7. Sales taxes
- Eliminate

8. Vehicle taxes
- Slightly Decrease

9. Other or expanded categories
- No Answer

10. Should state sales taxes be extended to Internet sales?
- No

11. Should accounts such as a "rainy day" fund be used to balance the state budget?
- No

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

13. Should the business entity tax be repealed?
- Yes

14. Should the business entity tax be repealed on small businesses?
- Yes

15. Other or expanded principles
- CT is ranked 50th in least friendly to business category. This must be reversed.

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 Connecticut governors?
- No

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

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

1. Individual
- No

2. PAC
- Yes

3. Corporate
- No

4. Political Parties
- No

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?
- No Answer

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

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

1. Other or expanded principles
- I believe that "term limits" should be left up to the voters every election cycle. To legislatively mandate them would be both undemocratic and short-sighted.

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. Support the death penalty in Connecticut.
- X

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.
- No Answer

6. Minors accused of a violent crime should be prosecuted as adults.
- X

7. Support state and local law enforcement officials enforcing federal immigration laws.
- X

8. Support hate crime legislation.
- No Answer

9. Support a three-strikes law for individuals convicted of three violent felonies.
- X

10. Other or expanded principles
- i) this needs to be re-visited again as this applies only to the most heinous of crimes. The Republicans think this as do I.

Education

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

1. Support state funding of universal pre-K programs.
- No Answer

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

3. Support state education standards and testing requirements for K-12 students.
- No Answer

4. Support requiring public schools to administer high school exit exams.
- X

5. Allow parents to use vouchers to send their children to any public school.
- No Answer

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.
- No Answer

8. Support using a merit pay system for teachers.
- No Answer

9. Provide state funding for tax incentives and financial aid to help make college more affordable.
- No Answer

10. Support allowing illegal immigrant high school graduates of Connecticut to pay in-state tuition at public universities.
- No Answer

11. Other or expanded principles
- I will propose financial literacy requirement for high school students. As a banker and former teacher, I continue to see adults suffer from exorbitant interest rates due to a lack of understanding of credit reports and scores.

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.
- X

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.
- No Answer

6. Include gender identity in Connecticut's anti-discrimination laws.
- No Answer

7. Increase the state minimum wage.
- No Answer

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

9. Support financial punishments for those who knowingly employ illegal immigrants.
- X

10. Support increased work requirements for able-bodied welfare recipients.
- X

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

12. Other or expanded principles
- Providing incentives to businesses to re-locate to CT will start to resurrect a moribound economy that has seen stagnant employment figures for years.

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).
- X

3. Support providing financial incentives to farms that produce biofuel crops.
- X

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 Connecticut'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.
- No Answer

9. Other or expanded principles
- h) This one can be harmful if it goes too far so I am leaving it unchecked.

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?
- Yes

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?
- No

5. Do you support current state restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns?
- No

6. Other or expanded principles
- d) No, because a minor offense from several years prior could result in an otherwise law-abiding citizen from his constitutional right to own a gun.e) Two weeks waiting periods are unnecessary if person passed background check and who may feel they are in danger. Two weeks could be too late.

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.
- X

3. Support allowing municipalities, nonprofits and small businesses to buy into the state employees' health insurance plan.
- X

4. Limit the amount of damages that can be awarded in medical malpractice lawsuits.
- X

5. Allow patients to sue their HMOs.
- No Answer

6. Require hospitals and labs to release reports on infections that are a risk to public health, while not compromising patient confidentiality.
- No Answer

7. Legalize physician assisted suicide in Connecticut.
- No Answer

8. Support allowing doctors to prescribe marijuana to their patients for medicinal purposes.
- No Answer

9. Other or expanded principles
- h) I would support if no other medication was available, and under controlled circumstances.

Social

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

1. Should Connecticut continue to recognize civil unions between same-sex couples?
- Undecided

2. Should same-sex couples be allowed to marry?
- No

3. Should Connecticut provide state-level spousal rights to same-sex couples?
- Undecided

4. Do you support a moment of silence in public schools?
- Yes

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?
- No

9. Do you support affirmative action in public college admissions?
- No

10. Should Connecticut continue affirmative action programs?
- No

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

12. Do you support state funding of embryonic stem cell research?
- No

13. Do you support allowing pharmacists who conscientiously object to emergency contraception to refuse to dispense it?
- Undecided

14. Other or expanded principles
- I support no policy giving any group preferential 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.
- Priority #1) To make CT competitive in business through "common-sense" taxation that encourages business creation and retention.#2) To apply "common-sense" principles to Transportation issues/problems by looking to private sector as an ally and not an adversary. Also, to use "out of the box" thinking to address roadway congestion (example: telecommuting).#3) Encouraging "common-sense" solutions to conservation & recycling. For example, "Single Stream" recycling will provide aesthetic, economical and environmental benefits.