Utah State Legislative Election 2018 Political Courage Test

Abortion & Reproductive

1. Do you generally support pro-choice or pro-life legislation?
- No Answer

2. Should abortion be legal when the pregnancy resulted from incest or rape?
- No Answer

3. Do you support the prohibition of public funds for organizations that perform abortions?
- No Answer

4. Other or expanded principles
- The viability argument, the ethical basis behind Roe v. Wade, is considered ultimately an unsupportable argument. Until pro-choice and pro-life people can begin to talk about what sound moral basis provides any living entity with a right to life, this issue will never be reconciled. I would invite bioethicists from our institutions of higher education to meet with residents of my House District in order to begin to finally develop a sound approach to addressing abortion.

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?
- No

5. Other or expanded principles
- I would undertake to consult with millionaires in our State to see if a majority of them would be willing to have a percentage of their income taxes increased so that they would pay a fair share of their state taxes like the rest of us. I assume that using tax accountants that many millionaires end up paying much less than the five percent state income tax that most of the rest of us other residents end up paying. If anything Medicaid needs to be expanded.

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 using primary conventions as the sole method of selecting political party nominees?
- No

6. Other or expanded principles
- Currently, there is no evidence that there is any significant voter fraud occurring in Utah. We don't need to pass photo ID legislation to solve a problem that doesn't exist. Primary conventions appear to reflect a minority of resident views and don't reflect the majority of residents of either political party. Extreme partisanship leads to gridlock and divisive political arguments and divide our state. We need to work together on behalf of the voters, not special interest groups.

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

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
- The new hybridization of marijuana has created many powerful, potent stains of marijuana that medical science does not know their effect on human health. If we begin to treat minors as adults for violent crimes, then the opposite is necessary as well - that we treat minors as adults when they demonstrate advanced intelligence and maturity so that they would qualify marry or vote or drink at a younger age. State and local police have enough on their list of responsibilities just to keep us safe from other crimes.

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 Answer

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?
- No Answer

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

7. Other or expanded principles
- Utah needs to do better cost-benefit analyses of spending our taxes wisely in promoting economic growth. There are studies suggesting economic growth in Utah would occur naturally regardless of changes to our state taxes. Government regulations need to be tailored on a case by case basis when it comes to the private sector. Some regulations may need to be increased, others decreased. If drug tests were to be required, the state may also need to consider offering drug treatment programs to those applicants.

Education

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

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

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

4. Do you support increasing the state gasoline tax to fund the education budget?
- No

5. Other or expanded principles
- Local businesses and professionals, teachers and parents can undertake better real world assessments of our schools. Immigrant children should not have to suffer for the illegal actions of their parents. While I support state funding for charters schools, public schools and the state legislature need to evaluate why students are going to charter schools. We need to even the playing field for public schools to see what is missing so that public schools do not lose so many students that public school children begin to suffer. I would provide additional education funds by making our state income tax more progressive.

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. Do you support increasing state funding to improve air quality?
- Yes

5. 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?
- No

5. Other or expanded principles
- Presently, I am not in favor of banning assault weapons until other efforts to reduce gun violence have been undertaken. I also believe adults ages 18 to 21 have a Constitutional right to keep and bear arms. There is no need for teachers to bring guns to school. Schools need to be a place of safety and that is what our community policing programs and resource officers are doing. I believe that licensing should be strictly a state not a federal responsibility.

Health

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

2. Do you support Medicaid expansion through Utah'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
- The right to die is also tied with the issue of abortion and a right to life. More bioethical study needs to be undertaken by the community. The scientific basis for vaccinations has been solidly established, except for some discredited studies. The public safety of all our children is crucial. One sick child could infect hundreds. We have a moral responsibility to keep our children from harm, the risk too great to do otherwise.

Social

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

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

3. Do you support greater efforts by Utah 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.
- Increase teacher and parent control over local neighborhoods schools.Decrease health care costs by expanding health insurance to ALL Utah residents.Reduce exorbitant presciption costs through direct government negotiations or importing from out of the Country,Improve air and water quality by investing in alternative energy sources and low water use gardens.Increase access for residents to local economic markets through developing local market bazaars and preserving local farmland.Consolidate senior citizen services to lower costs.Save Social Security and Medicare through increased pressure on our Congressional delegation.