South Dakota 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?
- No

4. Other or expanded principles
- We need to find common ground and work together to provide more and better sex education to students, provide affordable access to contraception, and make reducing unintended pregnancies a priority.

Budget, Spending, & Tax

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. Other or expanded principles
- We need to take a systematic and deep look at the state's overall structure of revenues and expenditures. It has been years since we have done this sort of analysis. If we then find that we need to make significant increases in revenues or reductions in expenditures, that would be the time to rationally consider raising taxes or ending programs. This would be a far better approach than what we have done in the recent past and what is currently proposed as an ad hoc increase in tobacco taxes.

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. Do you support South Dakota transitioning to an open primary election system?
- Yes

6. Do you support prohibiting out-of-state contributions to state ballot initiative committees?
- No

7. Other or expanded principles
- An attempt to ban out of state money will lead to litigation and in a world governed by Citizen's United, we are likely to lose.

Crime & Public Safety

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

2. Do you support the legalization of marijuana for recreational purposes?
- Yes

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

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

5. Other or expanded principles
- I would prefer a decriminalization of the use of marijuana, but to retain penalties for distribution until this issue is resolved at the federal level. Did you know that over one-half of the women in our prison system are there because of drug possession? Did you know that almost one-quarter of women in our corrections system are there because of our ingestion statute? We should repeal our ingestion statute that needlessly fills our corrections system with folks who need more access to drug treatment. If we had expanded Medicaid new enrollees would have had access to treatment.

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 South Dakota?
- Yes

7. Do you support legalized state-sponsored sports betting in South Dakota?
- No

8. Other or expanded principles
- The regulation question is difficult. I support some regulations and oppose others. I supported making it easier for cosmetologists to qualify for barber licenses. I supported the removal of regulation to allow someone to do hair braiding without a license. However, I do believe we will need more regulation if we hope to clean up the Big Sioux River and address other environmental issues.

Education

1. Do you support adopting federal education standards in South Dakota?
- Yes

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

3. Should immigrants unlawfully present in the United States who graduate from South Dakota high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities?
- Yes

4. Other or expanded principles
- The federal government needs to address immigration reform and create clear pathways to citizenship for DACA recipients and others who have lived here for years, have been going to school and working, and have not been convicted of crimes. Unnecessarily decisive rhetoric directed against refugees, immigrants, muslims, and others have no place in South Dakota. It undermines our desire to address work force development issues and to create a South Dakota that works for all of us.

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?
- No

3. Do you support increasing state funding for clean drinking water initiatives?
- Yes

4. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer

Gun

1. Do you generally support gun-control legislation?
- Yes

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?
- Yes

5. Other or expanded principles
- I voted against two bills in 2017 that 1) would have allowed concealed carry without a permit and 2) would have allowed concealed weapons in the Capitol. I continue to oppose these measures.

Health

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

2. Do you support Medicaid expansion through South Dakota'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?
- Yes

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

6. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer

Social

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

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

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

4. Other or expanded principles
- I plan to bring a bill to add sexual orientation and gender identity to ur anti-discimrination laws. I have in the past and will again support a bill to ban asking about previous salary and to create a paid sick leave policy.

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 primary emphasis this coming session would be to expand funding for needs-base scholarships for college students. My second emphasis would be creating a Pre-K education council. I also have a bill to end the sales tax on food, to allow drivers licenses in a language other than English, to close campaign finance loop holes, and to make it easier for municipalities, school boards, and the state to combine elections. I will bring back legislation to prohibit asking about previous salary. It has been demonstrated that this is one mechanism through which prior gender discrimination is perpetuated.