California 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
- We can't legislate away abortion. Poor women who have been raped will seek alternative means to terminate their pregnancies, thereby risking their lives while not protecting the fetus in any way.

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?
- Yes

5. Other or expanded principles
- The last people who should be shouldering the burden of balancing our State budget are the poorest Californians. Nor should State employees be punished for the Legislature's lack of political courage. Corporate income tax rates are lower than those of many individual Californians. The taxation system protects wealthy investors and corporations too much and the middle class too little.

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. Do you support repealing California's nonpartisan blanket primary election system?
- Yes

6. Other or expanded principles
- b) But it needs to be fair. Previous ballot initiatives claiming to do this have had big loopholes for corporations.c) The Citizens' Redistricting Commission is working.e) The "Louisiana-style" open primary system isn't working. It opens the door for candidates whose political ideologies don't match the majority of voters to come out on top, especially when several good candidates run.

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
- a) Evidence has proved that we have executed multiple innocent people. That's an irreversible mistake that should never happen.c) Only by the decision of a judge, not by prosecutors.d) Enforcement of federal immigration laws is the job of the federal government. We can't afford to pull local law enforcement personnel from pursuing local criminals in order to make up for the federal government's failings.

Economic

1. Do you support state government spending as a means of promoting economic growth?
- Yes

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 California?
- Yes

7. Do you support expanding state public housing programs?
- Yes

8. Other or expanded principles
- a) California has already demonstrated that it can build and maintain a healthy and stable economy through rules that keep it fair.b) We should seek to reduce regressive taxes like sales taxes once we have closed income and property tax loopholes for the wealthy and corporations.c) We need to streamline regulations as much as possible; however, we should provide assistance to small businesses to comply with environmental measures rather than eliminate those measuresd) It's been shown to be horribly cost-ineffective, only eliminating a few recipients.e) The minimum wage must be a living wage.

Education

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

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

3. Should immigrants unlawfully present in the United States who graduate from California high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities?
- Yes

4. Other or expanded principles
- a) Current federal standards are inadequate and do little to help disadvantaged students.b) This pulls away funding for students the charter schools leave behind. Charter schools lack proper oversight and can pick and choose students in many cases. As a social worker, the charter schools to which struggling students I work with have been assigned provide very little classroom support and are instead independent-study-based. Not a good recipe for success.c) Children brought here illegally didn't have a choice. If they succeed in public school and demonstrate career potential, we lose contributors to our economy by shutting them out.

Environment & Energy

1. Do you support state funding for the development of renewable energy (e.g. solar, wind, thermal)?
- Yes

2. Do you support state government regulations of greenhouse gas emissions?
- Yes

3. Do you support increasing state funding for clean drinking water initiatives?
- Yes

4. Do you support permanent statewide water usage restrictions?
- Yes

5. Other or expanded principles
- a) We paid the price with heavy smog from the 1940s through the 1960s by failing to do this, when technology now being used was already being developed a century ago by innovators like Oliver Parker Fritchle.b) Our survival will ultimately depend on it.d) Landscaping on public lands and all new home and commercial construction should shift from non-native plants and grasses to native plants that require very little water.

Gun

1. Do you generally support gun-control legislation?
- Yes

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

3. Should teachers be allowed to bring guns into the classroom?
- No

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

5. Other or expanded principles
- a) The 2008 Heller decision affirmed that we do not have an unlimited right to possess any firearm we desire. Assault weapons and high-capacity magazines go too far.b) Necessary to fully close the loophole and prevent firearms from getting into the hands of felons or mentally unstable individuals who shouldn't have access to such weapons.c) The answer to reducing gun violence is not more guns. The "good guy with a gun" theory is a fallacy for several reasons.d) I'm not ready to suggest this, though it doesn't violate the Second Amendment (keep and bear doesn't equal own).

Health

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

2. Do you support Medicaid expansion through California's health care programs?
- Yes

3. Do you support requiring individuals to purchase health care insurance?
- Yes

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. Other or expanded principles
- a) The cost of not treating it is far greater than the cost of treatment.b) and c) Actually, a single-payer system addresses both and ultimately saves money.d) when diagnosed as terminally ille) Not when those children attend school with other children.

Social

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

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

3. Do you support greater efforts by California state government in closing the pay gap between men and women?
- Yes

4. Do you support California's "Sanctuary State" immigration policies?
- Yes

5. Other or expanded principles
- d) It's really more about not letting the federal government off the hook for failing to do its job. SB 54 includes exceptions for multiple violent crimes.

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.
- 1) Streamlining freight delivery further along the Alameda Corridor East (which runs directly through our District) by linking together existing underused four-lane service roads just north of the 60 Freeway to create a separate "freeway" for big rigs2) Protecting existing open space in the District and drawing a line on further development that will increase traffic3) Increasing transparency in both political campaigns and government spending