Maine State Legislative Election 2008 Political Courage Test

Abortion

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

1. Abortions should always be illegal.
- No Answer

2. Abortions should always be legal.
- 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. Abortions should be subject to a mandatory waiting period.
- No Answer

7. Require clinics to give parental notification before performing abortions on minors.
- No Answer

8. Other or expanded principles
- I believe that abortion is a very personal and private matter. I believe the decision to have or not have an abortion is best decided by the woman and her family. I respect the rights of those who do not support abortion and also the rights for a woman to make the choice best for her.

Budget and Tax

State Budget: Indicate what state funding levels (#1-6) you support for the following general categories. Select one level per category, you can use a number more than once.

1. Education (Higher)
- Maintain Status

2. Education (K-12)
- Maintain Status

3. Emergency preparedness
- Maintain Status

4. Environment
- Maintain Status

5. Health care
- Maintain Status

6. Law enforcement
- Maintain Status

7. Transportation and Highway infrastructure
- Maintain Status

8. Welfare
- Maintain Status

9. Other or expanded categories
- Slightly Decrease

State Taxes: Indicate what state tax levels (#1-6) you support for the following general categories. Select one level per category, you can use a number more than once.

1. Alcohol taxes
- Maintain Status

2. Cigarette taxes
- Maintain Status

3. Corporate taxes
- Slightly Decrease

4. Gasoline taxes
- Slightly Decrease

5. Income taxes (incomes below $75,000)
- Slightly Decrease

6. Income taxes (incomes above $75,000)
- Slightly Decrease

7. Property taxes
- Greatly Decrease

8. Sales taxes
- Maintain Status

9. Vehicle taxes
- Slightly Decrease

10. Other or expanded categories
- Maine remains one of the highest taxed states in the country. During this past legislative sesion, I have supported streamlining state government and lowering costs to to avoid a tax increase. We have a very slow moving economy. Now is the time to find ways to reform and lower tax burdens. This will help our economy rebound again.

11. Should state sales taxes be extended to Internet sales?
- No

12. Should accounts such as a "rainy day" fund be used to balance the state budget?
- No

13. Should fee increases be used to balance the state budget?
- No

14. Should state funding to local school districts be reduced to help balance the state budget?
- No

15. Other or expanded principles
- On the Appropriations Committee, I focused on eliminating excess spending and duplication in order to save money. I did not favor raising taxes to solve the state budget shortfall. I believe that Maine people want the legislature to balance the budget within existing resources. Projected school district budget increases were reduced, however, local school districts (in total) continued to receive higher levels of funding than in prior years. I think we all need to manage limited state resources as carefully as we can.

Campaign Finance and Government Reform

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

1. Do you support the current limit of terms for Maine governors?
- Yes

2. Do you support the current limit of terms for Maine state senators and representatives?
- Yes

Do you support limiting the following types of contributions to state legislative 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 imposing spending limits on state-level political campaigns?
- Yes

7. Should Maine participate in the federal REAL ID program?
- Undecided

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

1. Other or expanded principles
- On REAL ID, the State Legislature tightened the driver's license laws in 2008. This was done because Maine was found to be an easy state to obtain a license. Now, to obtain a Maine license, you must be a Maine resident and live in this country legally. REAL ID goes a step further and establishes a national database for sharing identification information among states. While concerns have arisen regarding personal freedom and the cost, I believe we need to continue to examine ways to insure that identification documents are issued legally and consistently throughout the country.

Crime

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

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

2. Establish the death penalty in Maine.
- No Answer

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

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

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

6. Support state and local law enforcement officials enforcing federal immigration laws.
- X

7. Support hate crime legislation.
- No Answer

8. Other or expanded principles
- In the Maine 123rd Legislature, I served on a special sub-committee to address prison overcrowding in the state prisons. Through this experience, I became a believer that Maine can better address the needs of our prison population by managing together the state prisons and county jail system. I supported legislation to create a combined state and jail prison authority which will work together as one corrections system. I believe this will provide better prison management and support for Maine's inmates and families. It will also help reduce recitivism and make our state safer.

Education

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

1. Support state funding of universal pre-K programs.
- No Answer

2. Support federal education standards and testing requirements for K-12 students (No Child Left Behind).
- No Answer

3. Support state education standards and testing requirements for K-12 students.
- No Answer

4. Support requiring public schools to administer high school exit exams.
- No Answer

5. Allow parents to use vouchers to send their children to any public school.
- No Answer

6. Allow parents to use vouchers to send their children to any private or religious school.
- No Answer

7. Provide state funding to increase teacher salaries.
- No Answer

8. Support using a merit pay system for teachers.
- No Answer

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

10. Support allowing illegal immigrant high school graduates of Maine to pay in-state tuition at public universities.
- No Answer

11. Other or expanded principles
- Education for all Maine students -- young and old -- is a top priority for me. During my first term, I was appointed by the Speaker of the House to the "Commission to Develop Strategies to Increase Postsecondary Access, Retention and Completion for Low-Wage, Low-Skilled Adults." I have found that most people want to learn, to grow and to earn a good wage. They want to be able to take care of themselves and their families. Knowing that budgets are tight, I support investment in education to assure a positive future for Maine residents.

Employment

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

1. Increase funding for state job-training programs that re-train displaced workers and teach skills needed in today?s job market.
- No Answer

2. Reduce state government regulations on the private sector.
- 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 children in low-income working families.
- X

5. Increase state funds to provide child care for children in low-income working families.
- No Answer

6. Increase the state minimum wage.
- No Answer

7. Support laws that prevent employers from dismissing employees at will.
- No Answer

8. Support financial punishments for those who knowingly employ illegal immigrants.
- X

9. Support increased work requirements for able-bodied welfare recipients.
- X

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

11. Other or expanded principles
- Maine is a small-business state with over 90% of all companies considered "small business." With that in mind, I support initiatives that help entrepreneurs grow their companies with the workforce that they need. Maine has a strong community college system that provides affordable education for students and adults. I have supported student loan programs, tax credits for education loans and expanded funding to UMaine, Maine Community Colleges, and Maine Maritime Academy. Education is key to providing a well-trained workforce to meet the needs of growing businesses.

Environment and Energy

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

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

2. Support increased production of traditional domestic energy sources (e.g. coal, natural gas, oil, etc).
- No Answer

3. Support providing financial incentives to farms that produce biofuel crops.
- X

4. Use state funds to clean up former industrial and commercial sites that are contaminated, unused, or abandoned.
- No Answer

5. Support funding for improvements to Maine's power generating and transmission facilities.
- X

6. Support funding for open space preservation.
- X

7. Limit carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases linked to global warming.
- X

8. Enact environmental regulations even if they are stricter than federal law.
- No Answer

9. Other or expanded principles
- I support a strong economy and a clean environment. Mainers need more and better job opportunities. Creating a more "business-friendly" state, while keeping our state beautiful, is one of my goals. Maine can become a leader in renewable and alternative energy usage. At the same time, we can encourage more companies to grow in Maine. This is my vision for our state and for our children and grandchildren who want to be here.

Gun

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

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

2. Should citizens be allowed to carry concealed guns?
- No Answer

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

4. Do you support current levels of enforcement of existing state restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns?
- Yes

5. Do you support current state restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns?
- Yes

6. Other or expanded principles
- I support enforcement of existing gun laws in Maine.

Health

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

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

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

3. Support Dirigo Health in Maine.
- No Answer

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

5. Allow patients to sue their HMOs.
- No Answer

6. Require hospitals and labs to release reports on infections that are a risk to public health, while not compromising patient confidentiality.
- No Answer

7. Legalize physician assisted suicide in Maine.
- No Answer

8. Support allowing doctors to prescribe marijuana to their patients for medicinal purposes.
- No Answer

9. Other or expanded principles
- I believe that Maine's health insurance market needs substantial reform. The state provides Medicaid to approximately 300,000 residents, additionally, 15,000 are insured through Dirigo Health. These are vital programs. However, in the last legislative session, NO REFORM was passed to help private-pay and self-insured markets that cover over 500,000 people in Maine. The result: Maine continues to have the highest health insurance rates in the country. Unfortunately, the issue has become very politicized. As a legislator, I will continue to commit to work on a strong, bi-partisan basis to help solve this crisis in Maine.

Social

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

1. Should Maine recognize civil unions between same-sex couples?
- Yes

2. Should same-sex couples be allowed to marry?
- No Answer

3. Should Maine provide state-level spousal rights to same-sex couples?
- Yes

4. Do you support a moment of silence in public schools?
- Yes

5. Do you support voluntary prayer in public schools?
- No Answer

6. Do you support sexual education programs that include information on abstinence, contraceptives, and HIV/STD prevention methods?
- Yes

7. Do you support abstinence-only sexual education programs?
- No Answer

8. Should the state government consider race and gender in state government contracting and hiring decisions?
- No Answer

9. Do you support affirmative action in public college admissions?
- No Answer

10. Should Maine continue affirmative action programs?
- No Answer

11. Do you support state funding of stem cell research?
- No Answer

12. Do you support state funding of embryonic stem cell research?
- No Answer

13. Do you support allowing pharmacists who conscientiously object to emergency contraception to refuse to dispense it?
- Yes

14. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer

Legislative Priorities

1. 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 legislative priorities in the 124th Maine Legislature will be: 1) Support a strong economy with a clean environemnt2) Reform Maine's health insurance market3) Maintain a balanced state budget without increased taxes4) Provide quality education to Maine people It has been an honor and a privilege to serve the residents of Belfast, Belmont and Northport these past two years. I hope to continue this work with support in the November 2008 elections.