West Virginia 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?
- Yes

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
- I have supported the bills prohibiting dismemberment abortions and pain-capable abortions including voting to override gubernatorial vetos.

Budget, Spending, & Tax

1. Tapping into West Virginia'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
- No

5. Reducing benefits for Medicaid recipients
- No

6. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer

1. Education (higher)
- Maintain Status

2. Education (K-12)
- Slightly Increase

3. Environment
- Slightly Decrease

4. Health care
- Maintain Status

5. Law enforcement/corrections
- Slightly Increase

6. Transportation/infrastructure
- Slightly Increase

7. Welfare
- Slightly Decrease

8. Other or expanded categories
- For years, West Virginia has invested in facilities, buildings and sites without adequately investing in the greatest asset within the governmental system, the public employees of our state. Moving the wage levels of our state employees upward promotes good retention and upward mobility, particularly in the fields of corrections and law enforcement. Additionally, investing in transportation and infrastructure replaces grossly aging and deficient structures and systems to meet the challenges of today into the future. A strong education system promotes positive self-worth of the student and prepare them for the workplace of today.

1. Alcohol taxes
- Slightly Increase

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
- Slightly Increase

7. Sales taxes
- Greatly Increase

8. Income taxes (low-income families)
- Eliminate

9. Income taxes (mid-income families)
- Eliminate

10. Income taxes (high-income families)
- Eliminate

11. Do you support applying sales taxes to all online purchases?
- Yes

12. Other or expanded principles
- I believe that changing the WV tax structure is critical to achieving substantive change and promoting economic prosperity for all West Virginians. A systematic, multi-level approach to restructuring can also serve as a tool for attracting business and industry to the mountain state that employee West Virginians. Increases in either property taxes or fees levied on property insurance should be dedicated to supporting fire departments where rural fire companies are faced with the challenge, most often, of raising their own support while investing time and resources protecting those in the local community.

Campaign Finance & Government Reform

1. Individual
- No

2. Political Action Committee
- Yes

3. Corporate
- Yes

4. Political Party
- No

5. Should candidates for state office be encouraged to meet voluntary spending limits?
- Yes

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

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?
- No

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. g Do you support additional funding for programs intended to reduce drug addiction in West Virginia?
- Yes

8. Other or expanded principles
- Regarding c), I do support and will promote the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes. Regarding a) particularly in cases where the capital crime involves premeditated commission of the felony against public officials and public agency employees.

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?
- No

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

11. Would you support the enactment of statewide 'Right to Work' legislation?
- Yes

12. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer

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 West Virginia high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities?
- No

8. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer

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

5. 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 West Virginia's anti-discrimination laws?
- No

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

4. 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.
- Providing a funding mechanism for the fire service within West Virginia through additional surcharge on property insurances so that the revenue to the county's fire departments is commensurate with the level of risk associated with providing fire protection to the property; reduce the state's burdensome regulatory process throttling business and industry; restructuring the state retirement benefit program for new employees to a contribution benefit system. So much has been accomplished in my two sessions with more to do. Let's Get West Virginia Moving Forward!