North Carolina State Legislative Election 2014 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)
- Maintain Status

2. Education (K-12)
- Slightly Increase

3. Environment
- Maintain Status

4. Health care
- Maintain Status

5. Law enforcement/corrections
- Slightly Increase

6. Transportation/infrastructure
- Slightly Increase

7. Welfare
- Maintain Status

8. Other or expanded categories
- Law enforcement and public safety are the most important functions of our state and local government. Education is another very important function. Overall education spending has increased tremendously and yet teachers still aren?t adequately paid! Where is the money going? Other reforms, like charter schools are needed to improve education with limited resources. I will protect our environment. We must use our resources to help our people. With sound science, we can do both. I want everyone to have access to medical care and will work to that goal within our limited resources.

1. Alcohol taxes
- Maintain Status

2. Cigarette taxes
- Maintain Status

3. Corporate taxes
- Slightly Decrease

4. Gas/Oil taxes
- Slightly Decrease

5. Property taxes
- Slightly Decrease

6. Sales taxes
- Maintain Status

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

8. Income taxes (mid-income families)
- Maintain Status

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

10. Other or expanded principles
- Higher taxes hurt our economy by slowing down the growth of our businesses. Unfortunately, the tax policies of the federal government are such a huge drag on the economy that it is hard for state tax policy to help. Just like a family in North Carolina, our state government must live within its means. Most of the tax money that is taken from people is money that will not be used to increase wages or create jobs. I believe that people spend their money better than the government does.

1. Tapping into North Carolina's "rainy day" fund
- No

2. Increasing tuition rates at public universities
- No

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

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

5. Reducing benefits for Medicaid recipients
- No

6. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer

Campaign Finance & Government Reform

1. Individual
- Yes

2. Political Action Committee
- Yes

3. Corporate
- Yes

4. Political Party
- No

5. Should candidates for state office be encouraged to meet voluntary spending limits?
- No

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?
- No

8. Do you support requiring a government-issued photo identification in order to vote at the polls?
- Yes

1. Other or expanded principles
- When I go to vote, I want to know that my vote will count. I use my ID for everything else that I do and I want them to verify that I am who I say that I am. I will not compromise on protecting the integrity of the vote. That is just Common sense.

Crime & 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. Do you support legalizing the possession of small amounts of marijuana?
- No Answer

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

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

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

7. Other or expanded principles
- I am concerned about the number of death row inmates that have been freed. It also costs much more to execute a murderer than to lock him up for life, so I am less supportive of the death penalty.Marijuana laws have changed in other states and I will wait and see the result of those changes to see if similar changes might benefit North Carolina. Most cases of crimes by minors should be handled individually and most judges do a good job of evaluating cases. State law should give judges some flexibility.

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?
- No

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 government spending as a means of promoting economic growth?
- No

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

7. Do you support an increase of the minimum wage?
- No

8. Other or expanded principles
- Excessive regulations have been forced on my district. The Falls Lake cleanup has fallen on Granville and Person Counties in disproportion to the contributions of our rural makeup. The regulations that were forced on my district have severely restricted any job creating development, driven down property values and have forced a new tax on the citizens of Granville and Person counties. There has been no proof offered that our district is responsible for the condition of Falls Lake or that the lake will be cleaned up if we pay this price.

Education

1. Do you support the national Common Core State Standards initiative?
- No Answer

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 North Carolina high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities?
- Yes

8. Other or expanded principles
- In Person County, a couple of new charter schools have been successful and, as a result, we have seem improvement in all of our schools. We must find ways to reward and retain our best teachers, so the parents aren?t working to get their kids in the class with the best teachers.

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 blocking fracking permits?
- No Answer

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

5. Do you support state funding for open space preservation?
- No Answer

6. Do you support government regulations of greenhouse gas emissions?
- No

7. Do you support stricter regulation of coal ash disposal by the state and DENR?
- No

8. Other or expanded principles
- I believe in the open market and that the taxpayers should not have to support any industry.

Gun

1. Do you support restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns?
- No

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?
- No

5. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer

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?
- No

3. Do you support interstate health insurance compacts?
- Yes

4. Do you support Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act?
- No

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

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

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. Do you support same-sex marriage?
- No Answer

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

3. Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in North Carolina's anti-discrimination laws?
- No Answer

4. Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in North Carolina's anti-discrimination laws?
- No Answer

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.
- We need help in my district to create jobs. North Carolina is leading the nation in the recovery, my district seems to have been left behind. I want to go to Raleigh and work to get some help with economic development so we don't all have to travel south to work.I want to bring some common sense to our state government. I agree with much that the new Republican legislature has done but there are some smaller issues that don't make sense. There are some issues that are to be addressed that should be handled in a "sensible" way.