Indiana State Legislative Election 2018 Political Courage Test

Abortion & Reproductive

1. Do you generally support pro-choice or pro-life legislation?
- Pro-choice

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
- Question a): Sister Joan Chittister, O.S.B. said, "I do not believe that just because you're opposed to abortion, that that makes you pro-life. In fact, I think in many cases, your morality is deeply lacking if all you want is a child born but not a child fed, not a child educated, not a child housed. And why would I think that you don't? Because you don't want any tax money to go there. That's not pro-life. That's pro-birth. We need a much broader conversation on what the morality of pro-life is." Public funding, including birth control, supports these neediest.

Budget, Spending, & Tax

1. Reducing state employee salaries AND/OR pensions?
- No Answer

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

3. Reducing benefits for Medicaid recipients?
- No Answer

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

5. Other or expanded principles
- Question d) is not a yes/no answer and requires explanation. Although I am not considering it now, an income tax increase, though distasteful, could possibly be considered for those with earned (or un-earned) income at some large percentage above the poverty rate, but would be one of the last options to stabilize the budget.

Campaign Finance & Government Reform

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
- Voter ID makes sense when you don?t know your voters. In areas where the poll workers see the same voters year after year, know them by name, it makes no sense to send an 80-year old back home to get his ID when he just walked blocks to the polling place. I actually had to ask the mayor of our city for his ID when he voted in a past election. The ABILITY to ask for ID, however, could be a valuable component when you do not know the voter.

Crime & Public Safety

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

2. Do you support the legalization of marijuana for recreational purposes?
- No Answer

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

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

5. Do you support legislation to define and establish penalties for hate crimes?
- Yes

6. Other or expanded principles
- Question b): Not a yes-or-no question. I support medical marijuana, but recreational is a different subject and would require more study.Question c): This should not be a hard-and-fast decision for a minor. It would depend on the crime, the age, the circumstances. It should also not be decided by one person.

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?
- No

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

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?
- No

6. Do you support an increase of the minimum wage of Indiana?
- Yes

7. Other or expanded principles
- Question b): We already have some of the lowest taxes. Property tax has been capped in the Constitution, and has caused drastic cuts in local government.Question e): This has been found to be cost prohibitive in other states.Question f): In addition to the minimum wage, we need to take a serious look at a living wage. Families working at minimum wage don?t even reach poverty level.

Education

1. Do you support adopting federal education standards in Indiana?
- No

2. Do you support state funding for charter schools?
- No

3. Should immigrants unlawfully present in the United States who graduate from Indiana high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities?
- No Answer

4. Do you support increasing funding for the state education budget?
- Yes

5. Other or expanded principles
- Question a): I support higher standards.Question b): Charter schools, state vouchers, and ?school choice? have severely impacted public school budgets.Question c): I?m not sure about this question. If it?s asking about access to attend, yes. If it?s asking about scholarship/paid tuition to public universities, I would need further information on that to make an informed decision.

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
- Public/private partnerships and public utilities should also be considered in financing any of the above initiatives.

Gun

1. Do you generally support gun-control legislation?
- No Answer

2. Should background checks be required on gun sales between private citizens at gun shows?
- Yes

3. Should teachers be allowed to bring guns into the classroom?
- No

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

5. Other or expanded principles
- Question a): I support laws to increase gun safety, including mandatory training in usage.Question d): I would support gun registration but refer to question b) above. Background checks on ALL sales. A license would not necessarily be essential.

Health

1. Should the state government increase funding for treatment facilities to combat opioid abuse?
- Yes

2. Do you support Medicaid expansion through Indiana's health care programs?
- Yes

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

4. Do you support legislation that grants citizens the right to choose to die through euthanasia?
- No Answer

5. Do you support eliminating religious exemptions for vaccinations?
- Yes

6. Other or expanded principles
- Question a): especially for creating them in counties without existing inpatient facilities.Question c): yes, until we have a better solution to the problem.Question d): Not arbitrarily, but possibly in cases where untreatable terminal illness would cause undue pain and suffering, bankrupting both patients and extended family simply to keep them in that pain until they die, possibly months or years later with no chance for quality of life, and with the full, informed consent of the patients before it?s too late to choose for themselves and with sufficient witness to their decisions.

Social

1. Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in Indiana's anti-discrimination laws?
- Yes

2. Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in Indiana's anti-discrimination laws?
- Yes

3. Do you support greater efforts by Indiana state government in closing the pay gap between men and women?
- Yes

4. Other or expanded principles
- Question c): Between 2014 and 2016, the gap INCREASED in Indiana. We need to find ways to address this. Indiana women earn less, own less, and experience poverty more often than men. The nationwide gap between net worth of single men and single women is 68%. We need stronger laws for equal pay; collective bargaining; paid family leave; and work accommodations for pregnant and nursing mothers.

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.
- More school funding, particularly for teacher salaries, job training, and infrastructure repair/maintenance are at the top. If the budget can?t be balanced without cutting essentials, I would recommend using some of the nearly $1.8 billion that was accrued by school budget cuts every year since 2010.