West Virginia State Legislative Election 2012 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
- No Answer

Budget, Spending, & Tax

1. Education (higher)
- Slightly Increase

2. Education (K-12)
- Slightly Increase

3. Environment
- Slightly Decrease

4. Health care
- Slightly Decrease

5. Law enforcement/corrections
- Maintain Status

6. Transportation/infrastructure
- Slightly Increase

7. Welfare
- Slightly Decrease

8. Other or expanded categories
- More of public education funding should be shifted to the classroom by reducing the bureaucracy at the state level. Both healthcare and welfare funding could be reduced slightly without affecting the quality if abuse and fraud were policed more effectively.

1. Alcohol taxes
- Maintain Status

2. Cigarette taxes
- Maintain Status

3. Corporate taxes
- Slightly Decrease

4. Gas/Oil taxes
- Greatly Decrease

5. Property taxes
- Maintain Status

6. Sales taxes
- Slightly Decrease

7. Income taxes (low-income families)
- Maintain Status

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

9. Income taxes (high-income families)
- Maintain Status

10. Other or expanded categories
- No Answer

1. Tapping into West Virginia's "rainy day" fund
- Yes

2. Increasing tuition rates at public universities
- No

3. Reducing or eliminating public worker collective bargaining
- Yes

4. Reducing state employee salaries AND/OR pensions
- No

5. Instituting mandatory furloughs AND/OR layoffs for state employees
- No

6. Reducing benefits for Medicaid recipients
- Yes

7. Other or expanded principles
- Reducing the size of government at the state level, especially in public education, would reduce spending and ultimately increase jobs in the private sector and improve public education by freeing classroom teachers from burdensome reporting requirements and repeated tampering with programs and instructional methods.

Campaign Finance & 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

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 reducing prison sentences for those who commit non-violent crimes?
- Yes

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

4. Do you support decriminalizing the possession of small amounts of marijuana?
- No

5. Should a minor accused of a violent crime be prosecuted as an adult?
- Yes

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

7. Do you support the enforcement of federal immigration laws by state and local police?
- Yes

8. Other or expanded principles
- Regarding question f), a minor should not face adult criminal charges for sending such material, but should be referred to juvenile authorities for processing. Such activity should be discouraged and counseling/supervision imposed, but not incarceration.

Economic

1. Do you support reducing government regulations on the private sector?
- Yes

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

3. Do you support expanding access to unemployment benefits?
- No

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

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

6. Do you support providing direct financial assistance to homeowners facing foreclosure?
- No

7. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer

Education

1. Do you support the national Common Core State Standards initiative?
- Yes

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
- The use of vouchers in smaller school districts is not practical. Where vouchers are used, there should be a "level playing field" (i.e. an equal representation of special needs students).

Environment & Energy

1. Do you support state funding for the development of alternative energy?
- 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 increased regulations on mountaintop removal mining and disposal?
- No

4. Do you support increased regulations on hydraulic fracturing or "fracking" in the Marcellus Shale?
- No

5. Do you support state funding for improvements to West Virginia's energy infrastructure?
- 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?
- No

8. Other or expanded principles
- State government should encourage, but not subsidize, the development of all of our energy resources. State government should not pick "winners" and "losers", but should create a regulatory and tax climate that encourages responsible development of all energy resources.

Gun

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

2. Should background checks be required on gun sales between private citizens at gun shows?
- No

3. Should citizens be allowed to carry concealed guns?
- Yes

4. Should a license be required for gun possession?
- Yes

5. Other or expanded principles
- With respect to question a), I support requiring criminal background checks for purchasers from gun dealers. I support an individual's Second Amendment right to possess firearms, but believe in reasonable restrictions prohibiting carrying a gun in a Courthouse and in a public school.

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 requiring individuals to purchase health care insurance?
- No

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

6. Do you support allowing doctors to prescribe marijuana to their patients for medicinal purposes?
- Yes

7. Other or expanded principles
- With respect to question e), I support reasonable limits on non-economic damages in malpractice lawsuits.

Social

1. Should marriage only be between one man and one woman?
- Yes

2. Should same-sex couples be allowed to form civil unions?
- Yes

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

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

5. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer

Legislative Priorities

In the following area, on an attached page, or via e-mail, 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.
- My top priority is creating a climate in which businesses can increase good paying jobs and thereby provide better opportunities for our children, families and fellow citizens. De-centralizing and reducing the size of state government will not only assist in that priority, but would reduce the cost of state government and allow both meaningful tax reduction and an increase in funding for public education at the classroom level and for the prevention/treatment of drug abuse.