Joe Canestraro is a Democratic member of the West Virginia House of Delegates, representing District 4. Canestraro is running for re-election in the primary on May 8, 2018. The general election will take place on November 6, 2018. He was first elected to the chamber in 2016.
Former Member, Roads and Transportation Committee, West Virginia State House of Delegates
Member, Joint Commission on Special Investigations
Member, Joint Committee on the Judiciary
Member, Joint Legislative Oversight Commission on Department of Transportation Accountability
Member, Judiciary Committee
Member, Political Subdivisions Committee
Member, Select Committee on Education Reform A
Member, Senior, Children, and Family Issues Committee
Chair, Veterans Affairs and Homeland Security Committee
1. Do you generally support pro-choice or pro-life legislation?
- Pro-life
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?
- Yes
4. Other or expanded principles
- except in cases of life of the mother and rape/incest
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?
- No
5. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer
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
1. Do you support capital punishment for certain crimes?
- Yes
2. Do you support expanding existing medical marijuana laws to include edible and/or respiratory forms of marijuana?
- Yes
3. Do you support the legalization of marijuana for recreational purposes?
- No
4. Should a minor accused of a violent crime be prosecuted as an adult?
- Yes
5. Do you support the enforcement of federal immigration laws by state and local police?
- Yes
6. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer
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?
- Yes
6. Do you support an increase of the minimum wage of West Virginia?
- Yes
7. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer
1. Do you support adopting federal education standards in West Virginia?
- No
2. Do you support state funding for charter schools?
- No
3. Should immigrants unlawfully present in the United States who graduate from West Virginia high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities?
- No
4. Do you support increasing funding for the state education budget?
- Yes
5. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer
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
- Look at what happened with the spill in the Kanawha River a few years ago.We should be protecting our drinking water.
1. Do you generally support gun-control legislation?
- No
2. Should background checks be required on gun sales between private citizens at gun shows?
- No
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
- No Answer
1. Should the state government increase funding for treatment facilities to combat opioid abuse?
- Yes
2. Do you support Medicaid expansion through West Virginia's health care programs?
- Yes
3. Do you support requiring individuals to purchase health care insurance?
- No
4. Do you support legislation that grants citizens the right to choose to die through euthanasia?
- No
5. Do you support eliminating religious exemptions for vaccinations?
- Yes
6. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer
1. Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in West Virginia's anti-discrimination laws?
- Yes
2. Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in West Virginia's anti-discrimination laws?
- Yes
3. Do you support greater efforts by West Virginia state government in closing the pay gap between men and women?
- Yes
4. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer
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. Education. We should be doubling down on our public education system through increasing vocational education and STEM education to train our children for the careers of tomorrow.We should stop cutting our public and higher education systems and work to fund our public employee insurance for our teachers, school service personnel and other public employees2. Jobs. We need to work to attract "down stream" industries in our rich oil and natural gas areas of the state like plastics production.3. Corruption. We need to continue fighting public corruption in our government.
Type: concurrent resolution Chamber: lower
Type: resolution Chamber: lower
Type: resolution Chamber: lower