West Virginia State Legislative Election 2014 Political Courage Test

Abortion & Reproductive

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

2. Should abortions be illegal after the first trimester of pregnancy?
- No

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

4. Should abortion be legal when the life of the woman is endangered?
- Yes

5. Do you support requiring parental notification before an abortion is performed on a minor?
- Yes

6. Do you support requiring parental consent before an abortion is performed on a minor?
- Yes

7. Do you support the prohibition of public funds for abortion procedures?
- Yes

8. Do you support the prohibition of public funds for organizations that perform abortions?
- Yes

9. Other or expanded principles
- Govt. has a duty to protect human life. That is why murder is illegal. As life begins at conception, an unborn human also has the right of that protection. Adoption is a wonderful option.

Budget, Spending, & Tax

State Spending:

Using the key, indicate what state funding levels (#1-6) you support for the following general categories. Select one level per category; you may use a number more than once.

1. Education (higher)
- Maintain Status

2. Education (K-12)
- Maintain Status

3. Environment
- Slightly Decrease

4. Health care
- Maintain Status

5. Law enforcement/corrections
- Maintain Status

6. Transportation/infrastructure
- Slightly Increase

7. Welfare
- Greatly Decrease

8. Other or expanded categories
- a and b: Make these more effecient and competitive. Competition always makes the best rise to the top. This is what we want, if we are truly focused on the best education for our students.

State Taxes:

Using the key, indicate what state tax levels (#1-6) you support for the following general categories. Select one level per category; you may use a number more than once.

1. Alcohol taxes
- Greatly Increase

2. Cigarette taxes
- Greatly Increase

3. Corporate taxes
- Slightly Decrease

4. Gas/Oil taxes
- Maintain Status

5. Property taxes
- Greatly Decrease

6. Sales taxes
- Maintain Status

7. Income taxes (low-income families)
- Maintain Status

8. Income taxes (mid-income families)
- Maintain Status

9. Income taxes (high-income families)
- Maintain Status

10. Other or expanded principles
- I am generally in favor of reducing property taxes, real and personal, and replacing them with sales taxes. The rich would pay more as they buy more, the poor would pay less. Thus, once one buys something, whether real property or personal property, they do not have to fear losing it due non-payment of taxes. I understand taxes are necessary, but it must be remembered, the power to tax is the power to take.

Budget Stabilization:

Indicate which proposals you support (if any) for balancing West Virginia's budget.

1. Tapping into West Virginia's "rainy day" fund
- No

2. Increasing tuition rates at public universities
- No

3. Reducing or eliminating public worker collective bargaining
- Yes

4. Reducing state employee salaries AND/OR pensions
- No

5. Instituting mandatory furloughs AND/OR layoffs for state employees
- No

6. Reducing benefits for Medicaid recipients
- Yes

7. Other or expanded principles
- State employees are valuable; keep promises made; implement merit pay and retention. Overall reducing the size of govt. and making it more effecient will work toward balanced budgets as well. f: implement a meaningful co pay to curbe medicaid abuse; far welfare, no benefits with dirty drug screen

Campaign Finance & Government Reform

Do you support limits on the following types of contributions for state candidates?

1. Individual
- No

2. Political Action Committee
- No Answer

3. Corporate
- No Answer

4. Political Party
- No

5. Should candidates for state office be encouraged to meet voluntary spending limits?
- No

6. Do you support requiring full and timely disclosure of campaign finance information?
- Yes

7. Do you support the use of an independent AND/OR bipartisan commission for redistricting?
- No Answer

8. Do you support requiring a government-issued photo identification in order to vote at the polls?
- Yes

Do you support limits on the following types of contributions for state candidates?

1. Other or expanded principles
- a: 2,3 undecidedd: Undecided

Crime & Public Safety

1. Do you support capital punishment for certain crimes?
- Yes

2. Do you support alternatives to incarceration for certain non-violent offenders, such as mandatory counseling or substance abuse treatment?
- Yes

3. Do you support legalizing the possession of small amounts of marijuana?
- No

4. Should a minor accused of a violent crime be prosecuted as an adult?
- Yes

5. Should a minor who sends sexually-explicit or nude photos by cell phone face criminal charges?
- Yes

6. Do you support the enforcement of federal immigration laws by state and local police?
- Yes

7. Other or expanded principles
- Enforcement of the criminal code is a true duty of government.

Economic

1. Do you support reducing government regulations on the private sector?
- Yes

2. Do you support increased state funding for job-training programs that re-train displaced workers?
- No Answer

3. Do you support expanding access to unemployment benefits?
- No Answer

4. Do you support providing financial incentives to the private sector for the purpose of job creation?
- Yes

5. Do you support government spending as a means of promoting economic growth?
- No

6. Do you support providing direct financial assistance to homeowners facing foreclosure?
- No

7. Do you support an increase of the minimum wage?
- No

8. Other or expanded principles
- b and c: These normally prove to be ineffective in the long run. The overall best policy is to lessen the tax burden on the people. The free enterprise system will induce people,having more money, to engage in more private investment and entrepreneurship, creating more jobs, making a higher and competitive demand for workers resulting in more jobs with higher wages.

Education

1. Do you support the national Common Core State Standards initiative?
- No

2. Do you support a merit pay system for teachers?
- Yes

3. Is the tenure process for public school teachers producing effective teachers?
- No

4. Should parents be allowed to use vouchers to send their children to any school?
- Yes

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

6. Do you support the state government providing college students with financial aid?
- Yes

7. Should illegal immigrants who graduate from West Virginia high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities?
- No

8. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer

Environment & Energy

1. Do you support state funding for the development of alternative energy?
- No Answer

2. Do you support state funding for the development of traditional domestic energy sources (e.g. coal, natural gas, oil)?
- No Answer

3. Do you support state funding for improvements to West Virginia's energy infrastructure?
- No Answer

4. Do you support state funding for open space preservation?
- No Answer

5. Do you support government regulations of greenhouse gas emissions?
- No Answer

6. Other or expanded principles
- a-d: These are necessarily better accomplished through tax incentives to the private sector. e: More information is needed.

Gun

1. Do you support restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns?
- No

2. Should background checks be required on gun sales between private citizens at gun shows?
- No

3. Should citizens be allowed to carry concealed guns?
- Yes

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

5. Other or expanded principles
- The right to possess and bear arms, an individual right, is not only for hunting, sporting, enjoyment, and personal self defense, but more importantly, for the free people to be able to defend themselves against an oppressive government, should the need ever arise. I am a strong supporter of individual gun rights. Government opression has happened before, and can happen again.

Health

1. Do you support a universally-accessible, publicly-administered health insurance option?
- No

2. Do you support expanding access to health care through commercial health insurance reform?
- No Answer

3. Do you support interstate health insurance compacts?
- No Answer

4. Do you support Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act?
- No

5. Do you support requiring individuals to purchase health care insurance?
- No

6. Do you support monetary limits on damages that can be collected in malpractice lawsuits?
- No Answer

7. Do you support allowing doctors to prescribe marijuana to their patients for medicinal purposes?
- No

8. Other or expanded principles
- b and c: More information is needed.f: Better judges and Courts are needed to apply judicial discretion making sure all damages are in line with actual damages. Legislative involvement is needed to insure this.

Social

1. Do you support same-sex marriage?
- No

2. Should same-sex couples be allowed to form civil unions?
- No Answer

3. Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in West Virginia's anti-discrimination laws?
- No

4. Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in West Virginia's anti-discrimination laws?
- No

5. Other or expanded principles
- Marriage between one man and one woman is a sacred institution created by God which our civil government, founded upon Godly principles, should maintain. This is the olny married union which can procreate. Undecided on civil unions. As to discrimination laws, if discrimination is illegal, it should be illegal for all, not just a select group. Lady justice should not peak from behind the blindfold to see who is standing before her so to render justice more in favor on one over another.

Legislative Priorities

In the following area, on an attached page, or via e-mail, 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.
- See more on http://votetomfast.com/