Missouri 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
- I believe the government should not have control over a person's medical decisions.

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
- While it's not my preferred method, (I would prefer to cut spending and close tax-loopholes) if necessary, I would pick a minor tax increase for the ultra wealthy over cutting funding for staff salaries, hurting those who rely on medicaid, or firing/furloughing state employees.

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
- No Answer

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?
- Yes

5. Other or expanded principles
- Capital punishment is not a deterrent, and it is a significantly larger cost than permanent incarceration.The minor subject is tricky; I believe a sufficient cutoff age for that would be between 15 and 16 years old.Missouri made sanctuary cities illegal in 2008, and the law took effect in 2009; I support our law enforcement officers doing their jobs.

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 Missouri?
- Yes

7. Do you support increasing state taxes on tobacco products?
- Yes

8. Do you support increasing funding for the Missouri Department of Agriculture?
- Yes

9. Do you support implementing tolling stations on Interstate 70 to increase transportation funding?
- No

10. Other or expanded principles
- As in all things economics, taking small amounts from each ideology is probably the best approach. We need to look at specific issues and see what options are best for improving the economy. In some cases, that could be a tax cut, in others, it could be government spending. I am not in favor of toll roads at all, though - they impact the poor the most, while benefiting the wealthy the most.

Education

1. Do you support adopting federal education standards in Missouri?
- Yes

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

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

4. Do you support increasing funding for the state education budget?
- Yes

5. Other or expanded principles
- I would like to see a federal solution for undocumented children; but if they've been a part of our community for years, they should be treated like members of our community. The Federal Government has the tools necessary to fix the problem for "undocumented children" - they need to get their act together and solve the problem.

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. Other or expanded principles
- We need to look to the future, and how our children and grandchildren will live; we need to make sure we provide them a better Missouri.

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 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
- These questions are very vague. I support school leadership getting to make the decision on guns in the classroom, but I myself lean against that, since most of the time it's used as an excuse for not doing the more common-sense solutions that we can put in place in all of our schools. So, I don't support teachers doing so without administrator approval. I believe a license should be required for conceal-carry, but not necessarily for a gun purchase. A centralized gun database does not seem useful or warranted to me.

Health

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

2. Do you support Medicaid expansion through Missouri'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
- Health Insurance is a tricky one; I believe we need a better health care system that relies significantly less on health insurance, and more of a single-payer system.I do support a person having the liberty to make their own choices about their own body; we need to ensure that if such laws are passed, they limit the situations in which a person with power of attorney can exercise those options. (Like life-support situations.)I support a person's choice not to vaccinate, (although they SHOULD vaccinate) but that choice does not give them the right to put others at risk.

Social

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

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

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

4. Do you support the removal of Confederate monuments from public spaces?
- Yes

5. Other or expanded principles
- Confederate monuments are a tough issue to tackle, but public spaces are no place for statutes and memorials to hostile, foreign adversaries to the United States. These were tough, complex situations that deserve to be taught; museums, private property, and history books are the correct locations for these; not prominent public locations.

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.
- I would like to implement ranked choice voting, bring down the cost of health care by instituting transparency regulations on health care providers, and improve education by modifying the foundation formula to include transportation for students.