West Virginia State Legislative Election 2018 Political Courage Test

Abortion & Reproductive

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
- No Answer

Budget, Spending, & Tax

1. Reducing state employee salaries AND/OR pensions?
- Yes

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

3. Reducing benefits for Medicaid recipients?
- Yes

4. An income tax increase on any tax bracket?
- No

5. Other or expanded principles
- I do not believe in state funded healthcare and would like to see those on medicaid eventually transferred into a private insurance account.

Campaign Finance & Government Reform

1. Do you support any limits on campaign contributions to state candidates?
- No

2. Do you support the regulation of indirect campaign contributions from corporations and unions?
- No

3. Do you support the use of an independent AND/OR bipartisan commission for redistricting?
- No Answer

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

5. Other or expanded principles
- For redistricting I do not have an answer for. I have read a lot supporting both non-partisan and partisan commissions for redistricting and I still do not have a clear answer for it. It is a difficult question that will need to be answered soon.

Crime & Public Safety

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
- Minors who commit violent and horrific crimes should initially be tried as adults with the exception of being able to receive the death penalty. Throughout that minors life as he or she grows they should be monitored and given mental treatment to see if they can be a safe functioning member of society and if they are deemed able to it should be up to the state to decide whether the full sentence should be carried out or if they can be set free.

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?
- No

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?
- No

7. Other or expanded principles
- I believe that state spending should be a last resort when it comes to economic growth and the main focus should be on lowering taxes and reducing regulations. The only time I believe regulations should not be reduced is if reducing them would lead to a negative impact on the environment.

Education

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?
- No

5. Other or expanded principles
- Though I believe that the school system should ultimately be privatized I do not support funding charter schools unless it would lower the impact on public school systems. Also I do not support increasing the funding for state education as West Virginia already has high education budget. What I would be in favor for is lowering the pay for school board employees and finding out where the money is going in the school system. I would like an audit of the entire WV education system to expose any fraud and make sure the money is going where it should.

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
- Generally I oppose state funding of almost anything however we can not rely on coal forever and we need new sources of energy and jobs here in WV. Also the environment is important, especially here in the Mountain State where so many of our tourist activities are performed out in nature therefore I support most funding that is directed towards preserving the environment.

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?
- No

3. Should teachers be allowed to bring guns into the classroom?
- Yes

4. Should a license be required for gun ownership?
- No

5. Other or expanded principles
- I believe that owning a firearm is a fundamental right given to us by our creator and I believe that unless you are convicted felon then there should be no obstacles in place to you exercising that right.

Health

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?
- No

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?
- Yes

5. Do you support eliminating religious exemptions for vaccinations?
- No

6. Other or expanded principles
- This another issue that if it was not such a huge issue I would not support the state funding it however the opioid epidemic has reached a level that is out of control. We need more treatment facilities because not are lives being lost everyday but West Virginia's growth is suffering because of it.

Social

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

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

3. Do you support greater efforts by West Virginia state government in closing the pay gap between men and women?
- No

4. Other or expanded principles
- The pay gap is non existent at least in the public sector and when it comes to private businesses then it is no job of the governments to regulate how they pay their workers.

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.
- My top three priorities if elected are combating the opioid epidemic, bringing jobs to West Virginia, and finding a way for the state to steer away from coal and into a better more sustainable energy source. The funding I believe should come from cutting funding from places it is not needed as well as finding fraud in the system and eliminating it.