New York 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
- I have built a long, consistent pro-choice record including upholding an 100% pro-choice voting record on the City Council, fighting to expand access to contraception and provide age appropriate sex education in our schools and against deceptive crisis pregnancy centers. We must pass the Reproductive Health Act to codify Roe v. Wade into New York state law. As national Republicans continue to attack women?s reproductive rights, passage of the RHA is even more urgent.

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. An income tax increase on any tax bracket?
- Yes

5. Other or expanded principles
- Need to continue millionaires tax, and look to those who have received big federal tax cuts to pay fair share.

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
- Big money has corrupted our government, and we must fundamentally change the way we run campaigns. It?s time to take campaigns away from the special interests and put them in the hands of the people where they belong. To do that, we must change our pay-to-play system. Only by taking the money out can the people get their government back.

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. Do you support replacing the cash bail system with a supervised release system for misdemeanor charges?
- Yes

6. Other or expanded principles
- Too many people sit in our jails for nothing more than being poor. I support a reform package including: Speedy trials; End to cash bail; and Discovery Reform. We must invest in schools not jails.

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?
- 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 New York ?
- Yes

7. Other or expanded principles
- While I worked hard to pass the minimum wage increase, unfortunately it was watered down by the GOP-IDC coalition. Here are four things we can do now to improve it: the law should include indexing to ensure that working families won?t fall behind again; it should get rid of the ?sub?minimum? wage for tipped workers, so all workers can benefit; upstate workers should not have to wait nine years in some cases to see their hourly wage increase to $15; and it should give localities the right to raise their minimum wage without state approval.

Education

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

2. Do you support state funding for charter schools?
- Yes

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

4. Should students' standardized test scores be used to evaluate teacher performance?
- No

5. Other or expanded principles
- Education is the key to opportunity and we must place it in the hands of every child. While improving education isn?t only about money, money is an important factor. It takes money to reduce class size, hire more teachers and guidance counselors, make sure that our children and teachers have the supplies and resources they need, create more community schools and do a better job identifying, educating and supporting students with special needs like dyslexia. It?s our obligation to provide every student the opportunity to a sound, basic education.

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
- With President Trump and his administration not only failing to lead, but totally denying the existence of climate change, strong local action to protect our environment is especially important. New York should be a leader in the conversion to renewable sources and the reduction in greenhouse emissions. This should include aggressively facilitating the siting of new wind energy projects; substantially increasing the use of solar power; and developing a long-term strategy to manage the effects of climate change. And we must pass the Climate and Community Protection Act.

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
- No Answer

Health

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

2. Do you support Medicaid expansion through New York '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 New York 's anti-discrimination laws?
- Yes

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

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

4. Should New York permit localities to adopt "Sanctuary City" immigration policies?
- Yes

5. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer

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.
- Supporting a real, progressive Democratic majority in the State Senate that puts the people's interest first so that we can 1) Finally fully funding our public schools for all our children 2) Stand up against special interests and landlords to reform our rent laws to protect tenants and affordable housing. 3) Pass election, campaign finance and criminal justice reform.