New York State Legislative Election 2002 National Political Awareness Test

Abortion

Indicate which principles you support (if any) concerning abortion.

1. Abortions should always be illegal.
- No Answer

2. Abortions should always be legally available.
- X

3. Abortions should be legal only within the first trimester of pregnancy.
- No Answer

4. Abortions should be legal when the pregnancy resulted from incest or rape.
- No Answer

5. Abortions should be legal when the life of the woman is endangered.
- No Answer

6. Eliminate public funding for abortions and public funding of organizations that advocate or perform abortions.
- No Answer

7. Other or expanded principles
- X

Budgetary, Spending and Tax

State Budget: Indicate the funding levels you will support for the following general categories.

1. Education (Higher)
- Greatly Increase Funding

2. Education (K-12)
- Greatly Increase Funding

3. Environment
- Greatly Increase Funding

4. Health care
- Greatly Increase Funding

5. Law enforcement
- Slightly Increase Funding

6. Transportation and Highway infrastructure
- Greatly Increase Funding

7. Welfare
- Slightly Increase Funding

8. Other or expanded categories
- Greatly Increase Funding

State Taxes: Indicate the tax levels you will support.

1. Alcohol taxes
- Maintain Status

2. Capital gains taxes
- No Answer

3. Cigarette taxes
- No Answer

4. Corporate taxes
- No Answer

5. Estate taxes
- No Answer

6. Gasoline taxes
- Slightly Decrease

7. Income taxes (incomes below $75,000)
- No Answer

8. Income taxes (incomes above $75,000)
- No Answer

9. Property taxes
- No Answer

10. Sales taxes
- No Answer

11. Vehicle taxes
- No Answer

12. Other or expanded categories
- c) tax over tobacco salese) mirror federalg & h) cannot respond with these #'s ($75,000)l) higher income levels ABOVE TSK

13. Should Internet sales be taxed?
- Yes

14. Other or expanded principles
- m) Federally taxed - returned to states per capita basisn) NY State faces enormous deficit - now is not the time to lower taxes for anyone, National taxes should be raised & returned to states. Must save STAR program. In good economic times can be more progressive on taxes.

Campaign Finance and Governmental Reform

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding campaign finance and government reform.

1. Do you support limiting the number of terms for New York governors?
- No

2. Do you support limiting the number of terms for New York state senators and representatives?
- No

Do you support limiting the following types of contributions to state legislative and gubernatorial candidates?

1. Individual
- Yes

2. PAC
- Yes

3. Corporate
- Yes

4. Political Parties
- Yes

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

6. Do you support partial funding from state taxes for state level political campaigns?
- Yes

7. Do you support voting on-line?
- Yes

8. Do you support adopting statewide standards for counting, verifying and ensuring accuracy of votes?
- Yes

9. Do you support prohibiting the reporting of media exit polling results until all polling locations in New York are closed?
- Yes

10. Do you support establishing a citizen initiative and referendum process in New York?
- No

11. Should New York recognize civil unions between same-sex couples?
- Yes

12. Should New York restrict marriage to a union only between a man and a woman?
- No

13. Should New York strengthen restrictions on smoking in restaurants?
- Yes

14. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer

Crime

Indicate which principles you support (if any) to address crime.

1. Increase state funds for construction of state prisons and for hiring of additional prison staff.
- No Answer

2. Support contracting with private sector firms to build and/or manage state prisons.
- No Answer

3. Support the use of the death penalty in New York.
- No Answer

4. Support programs to provide prison inmates with vocational and job-related skills and job-placement assistance when released.
- X

5. End parole for repeat violent offenders.
- No Answer

6. Implement penalties other than incarceration for certain non-violent offenders.
- X

7. Decriminalize the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes.
- X

8. Strengthen penalties and sentences for drug-related crimes.
- No Answer

9. Reform the Rockefeller drug laws to give judges the authority to send a drug offender to treatment instead of prison.
- X

10. Lower the .10 blood-alcohol-content limit defining drunk driving.
- No Answer

11. Minors accused of a violent crime should be prosecuted as adults.
- No Answer

12. Require that crimes based on gender, sexual orientation or disability be prosecuted as hate crimes.
- X

13. Ban the use of racial profiling by law enforcement officers.
- X

14. Increase state funding for community centers and other social agencies in areas with at-risk youth.
- X

15. Increase state funding for additional security of critical infrastructure against terrorist attacks.
- X

16. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer

Educational

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding education.

1. Support mayoral control of city school systems.
- No Answer

2. Support national standards and testing of public school students.
- No Answer

3. Provide parents with state-funded vouchers to send their children to any participating school (public, private, religious).
- No Answer

4. Increase state funds for school capital improvements (e.g. buildings and infrastructure).
- X

5. Increase state funds for hiring additional teachers.
- X

6. Support teacher testing and reward teachers with merit pay.
- No Answer

7. Support displaying the Ten Commandments in public schools.
- No Answer

8. Endorse teacher-led voluntary prayer in public schools.
- No Answer

9. Require public schools to administer high school exit exams.
- No Answer

10. Provide state funding to increase teacher salaries.
- X

11. Increase state funding to expand Head Start programs.
- X

12. Provide state funding for tax incentives and financial aid to help make college more affordable.
- X

13. Support age-appropriate sexual education programs that teach about abstinence, contraceptives and HIV/STD prevention methods.
- X

14. Support abstinence-only sexual education programs.
- No Answer

15. Other or expanded principles
- X

Employment and Affirmative Action

Employment: Indicate which principles you support (if any) concerning employment.

1. Increase funding for state job-training programs that re-train displaced workers or teach skills needed in today's job market.
- X

2. Reduce state government regulations on the private sector to encourage investment and economic expansion.
- No Answer

3. Provide low interest loans and tax credits for starting, expanding or relocating businesses.
- X

4. Provide tax credits for businesses that provide child care for their employees.
- X

5. Increase state funds to provide child care for children of low-income working families.
- X

6. Increase the state minimum wage requirement to $6.75 an hour.
- X

7. Include sexual orientation in New York's anti-discrimination laws.
- X

8. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer

Affirmative Action: Should race, ethnicity or gender be taken into account in state agencies' decisions on:

1. College and university admissions
- Yes

2. Public employment
- Yes

3. State contracting
- Yes

4. Other or expanded principles
- Affirmative action with means testing for schools, police & fire especially - century of racism is being perpetuated

Environmental and Energy

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding the environment and energy.

1. Promote increased use of alternative fuel technology.
- X

2. Lower clean-up standards for contaminated properties to encourage redevelopment by appropriate businesses.
- No Answer

3. Increase state funding for clean-up of contaminated properties to encourage redevelopment by appropriate businesses.
- X

4. Should New York state require power plants to limit the amount of carbon dioxide emissions?
- Yes

5. Do you support state funding for open space preservation?
- Yes

6. Should state environmental regulations be stricter than federal law?
- No Answer

7. Other or expanded principles
- X

Gun

Indicate which principles you support (if any) concerning gun issues.

1. Ban the sale or transfer of semi-automatic guns, except those used for hunting.
- X

2. Maintain and strengthen the enforcement of existing state restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns.
- X

3. Ease state restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns.
- No Answer

4. Repeal state restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns.
- No Answer

5. Allow citizens to carry concealed guns.
- No Answer

6. Require manufacturers to provide child-safety locks on guns.
- X

7. Require background checks on gun sales between private citizens at gun shows.
- X

8. Require a license for gun possession.
- X

9. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer

Health

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding health issues.

1. Ensure that citizens have access to basic health care through managed care, insurance reforms or state-funded care where necessary.
- X

2. Transfer more existing Medicaid recipients into managed care programs.
- No Answer

3. Limit the amount of damages that can be awarded in medical malpractice lawsuits.
- No Answer

4. Support patients' right to sue their HMOs.
- X

5. Support patients' right to appeal to an administrative board of specialists when services are denied by their HMO.
- X

6. Guaranteed medical care to all citizens is not a responsibility of state government.
- No Answer

7. Legalize physician-assisted suicide in New York.
- X

8. Increase state funding for training health workers to recognize and respond to the release of biological agents.
- X

9. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer

Welfare and Poverty

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding welfare.

1. Support current time limits on welfare benefits.
- No Answer

2. Increase employment and job training programs for welfare recipients.
- X

3. Provide tax incentives to businesses that hire welfare recipients.
- X

4. Provide child care for welfare recipients who work.
- X

5. Increase access to public transportation for welfare recipients who work.
- X

6. Eliminate government-funded welfare programs.
- No Answer

7. Redirect welfare funding to faith-based and community-based private organizations.
- No Answer

8. Use federal TANF (Temporary Assistance to Needy Families) funds to expand state services to include the working poor.
- No Answer

9. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer

Legislative Priorities

In a total of seventy-five (75) words or less, please explain what your two main legislative priorities will be if elected. Please explain how you would obtain any additional government funding needed to implement these priorities.
- * Assist efforts to revitalize our main streets, sponsor initiatives to support small business, expand broadband access, and job training. * Improve justice and community coordination efforts for victims of domestic violence and strengthen child support enforcement. Work for social justice, raising the minimum wage, revision of Rockefeller Drug Laws, and passage of comprehensive nondiscrimination legislation. * Support legislation to create "housing opportunity zones" to provide incentives to encourage rehabilitation and construction of housing units for mixed income housing and stabilization of transitional neighborhoods, near and within villages.