Pennsylvania 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 believe strongly in a woman's right to make her own health care decisions. The government does not regulate reproduction in men, and it should not regulate it for women.

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
- I am supporting the Fair Share Tax Plan put forth as part of the We The People campaign (PA Budget & Policy Center). This plan would fix our rigged tax system by asking those with the most to do their part: increase taxes on largecorporations, the wealthy, and natural gas drillers while decreasing taxes on working-class and middle-class Pennsylvania families.

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 allowing early voting in Pennsylvania?
- Yes

6. Do you support reducing the size of the Pennsylvania General Assembly?
- No

7. Other or expanded principles
- We should do all we can to encourage all eligible Pennsylvanians to vote and participate in their democracy. The initiative to shrink the legislature seems like a nice cost-saving idea, but I fear it would result in even less equitable representation for the people.

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. Should school safety meetings be made available to the public?
- No

6. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer

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 Pennsylvania?
- Yes

7. Do you support increasing state funding for road repairs?
- Yes

8. Other or expanded principles
- We should increase investment in the people of Pennsylvania to ensure a more prosperous future for our commonwealth.

Education

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

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

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

4. Do you support providing virtual charter school alternatives to all K-12 students?
- No Answer

5. Other or expanded principles
- Some federal standards are more cohesive than our state standards (music, for example). Some are not. We need a properly staffed Department of Education in Pennsylvania so that they can adequately tackle these issues.

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
- 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
- Reasonable gun regulations are needed desperately in this country, the only country with an epidemic of mass and school shootings. As an educator, I'm tired of being afraid for my students.

Health

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

2. Do you support Medicaid expansion through Pennsylvania'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
- While I support the right to practice whatever faith one chooses, I do not believe that a person's religion should trump the well-being of society.

Social

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

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

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

4. 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.
- My top priority is fixing the funding disparities in public education in Pennsylvania. We are the most inequitably funded state in the nation, because our fair funding formula only applies to new spending. I support Equity PA's plan to address this gap. To achieve that and also invest in crumbling infrastructure across the state, I will support the Fair Share Tax Plan, which would raise revenues by splitting the income tax to two rates- a higher rate for income from wealth, and a lower rate for income from wages.