Massachusetts State Legislative Election 2010 Political Courage Test

Abortion and Reproductive

1. Do you consider yourself pro-choice or pro-life?
- Pro-choice

2. Should abortion be legal only within the first trimester of pregnancy?
- No

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?
- No

7. Do you support sexual education programs that include information on abstinence, contraceptives, and HIV/STD prevention methods?
- Yes

8. Do you support abstinence-only sexual education programs?
- No

9. Other or expanded principles
- Notification in (e) may be to a parent, guardian, or other appropriate adult as directed by current Massachusetts law.

Budget, Spending, and Tax

1. Education (higher)
- Greatly Increase

2. Education (K-12)
- Greatly Increase

3. Environment
- Slightly Increase

4. Health care
- Maintain Status

5. Law enforcement
- Maintain Status

6. Transportation and highway infrastructure
- Slightly Increase

7. Welfare
- Maintain Status

8. Other or expanded categories
- No Answer

1. Alcohol taxes
- Maintain Status

2. Cigarette taxes
- Maintain Status

3. Corporate taxes
- Slightly Decrease

4. Gasoline taxes
- Slightly Increase

5. Property taxes
- Maintain Status

6. Sales taxes
- Maintain Status

7. Income taxes (low-income families)
- Slightly Decrease

8. Income taxes (middle-income families)
- Slightly Decrease

9. Income taxes (high-income families)
- Slightly Increase

10. Other or expanded categories
- No Answer

1. Tapping into Massachusetts' "rainy day" fund
- Yes

2. Issuing the early release of certain non-violent offenders
- Yes

3. Increasing tuition rates at public universities
- No

4. Instituting mandatory furloughs and layoffs for state employees
- Yes

5. Reducing benefits for Medicaid recipients
- No

6. Privatizing certain government services
- Yes

7. Other or expanded principles
- My answer to (f) is Yes only if a rigorous analysis shows that the service in question can be provided at the same or higher quality and lower cost to taxpayers, without violating existing contracts or agreements.

Campaign Finance and Government Reform

1. Individual
- Yes

2. Political Action Committee
- Yes

3. Corporate
- Yes

4. Political Party
- Yes

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

1. Other or expanded principles
- We need comprehensive campaign finance reform at the state and federal levels. This needs to address both direct spending by candidates and indirect spending by third party organizations.

Crime and Public Safety

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

2. Do you support alternatives to incarceration for certain non-violent offenders, such as mandatory counseling or substance abuse treatment?
- Yes

3. Should the possession of small amounts of marijuana be decriminalized?
- Yes

4. Should a minor accused of a violent crime be prosecuted as an adult?
- No

5. Should a minor who sends sexually-explicit or nude photos by cell phone face criminal charges?
- No

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

7. Other or expanded principles
- Question (c) - I did not support the Ballot Question that decriminalized marijuana, but since it has now passed I am committed to respecting the will of the voters.

Economic

1. Do you support reducing government regulations on the private sector?
- No

2. Do you support the expansion of state-regulated gaming?
- Yes

3. Do you support increased state funding for job-training programs that re-train displaced workers?
- Yes

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

5. Do you support providing financial incentives to the private sector for the purpose of job creation?
- Yes

6. Do you support increased spending on infrastructure projects for the purpose of job creation?
- Yes

7. Do you support providing direct financial assistance to homeowners facing foreclosure?
- Yes

8. Other or expanded principles
- Question (a) - regulations should be regularly reviewed to ensure that they are still effective in achieving their original objectives, and, if not, determine how they need to be updated or changed.

Education

1. Do you support national education standards?
- Yes

2. Do you support requiring public schools to administer high school exit exams?
- Yes

3. Do you support using a merit pay system for teachers?
- Yes

4. Do you support state funding for charter schools?
- Yes

5. Do you support the state government providing college students with financial aid?
- Yes

6. Should illegal immigrants who graduate from Massachusetts high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities?
- Yes

7. Other or expanded principles
- Question (d) - the funding for charter schools needs to be consistent with the state's Chapter 70 school funding formula and consist of both local and state funding. Question (f) - I support in-state tuition for these students assuming they meet a number of criteria, such as specific immigration status, number of years of high school completed in Massachusetts, and path to citizenship.

Environment and Energy

1. Do you support state funding for the development of alternative energy?
- Yes

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 providing financial incentives to farms that produce biofuel crops?
- Yes

4. Do you support state funding for improvements to Massachusetts' energy infrastructure?
- Yes

5. Should municipalities be allowed to take control of their electric infrastructure through the use of eminent domain?
- No

6. Do you support state funding for open space preservation?
- Yes

7. Do you support enacting environmental regulations aimed at reducing the effects of climate change?
- Yes

8. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer

Gun

1. Do you support restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns?
- Yes

2. Do you support requiring background checks on gun sales between private citizens at gun shows?
- Yes

3. Do you support allowing individuals to carry concealed guns?
- Yes

4. Do you support requiring a license for gun possession?
- Yes

5. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer

Health

1. Do you support a universally-accessible, publicly-administered health insurance option?
- Yes

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. Should individuals be required to purchase health care insurance?
- Yes

5. Do you support monetary limits on damages that can be collected in malpractice lawsuits?
- Yes

6. Do you support legalizing physician-assisted suicide in Massachusetts?
- No

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. Should marriage only be between one man and one woman?
- No

2. Should Massachusetts continue to grant marriage licenses to same-sex couples?
- Yes

3. Do you support state funding for stem cell research?
- Yes

4. Do you support state funding for embryonic stem cell research?
- Yes

5. Do you support the state's use of affirmative action?
- Yes

6. Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in Massachusetts' anti-discrimination laws?
- Yes

7. Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in Massachusetts' anti-discrimination laws?
- Yes

8. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer

Legislative Priorities

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.
- Increasing the accessibility and affordability of quality health care; resolving the inequities in our education funding and ensuring a quality education for all children; promoting environmentally and economically sound energy practices.