Florida 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.
- No Answer

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.
- X

5. Abortions should be legal when the life of the woman is endangered.
- X

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. Require a woman to have an ultrasound before receiving an abortion.
- No Answer

9. Other or expanded principles
- Abortion is a medical decision, not a legal one. It should be made by a woman and her doctor. I support Roe v. Wade.

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)
- Greatly Increase

2. Education (K-12)
- Greatly Increase

3. Emergency preparedness
- Slightly Increase

4. Environment
- Greatly Increase

5. Health care
- Greatly Increase

6. Law enforcement
- Greatly Increase

7. Transportation and Highway infrastructure
- Greatly Increase

8. Welfare
- Greatly Increase

9. Other or expanded categories
- Need comprehensive tax and budget reform for a fairer, more equitable system.

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
- Slightly Increase

2. Cigarette taxes
- Slightly Increase

3. Corporate taxes
- Slightly Increase

4. Gasoline taxes
- Maintain Status

5. Property taxes
- Slightly Decrease

6. Sales taxes
- Maintain Status

7. Vehicle taxes
- Slightly Increase

8. Other or expanded categories
- Need tax fairness and revised structure. Property tax relief should be targeted to Homestead properties and to increase affordable rental opportunities. Business taxes must be examined so that they do not cost jobs.

9. Should state sales taxes be extended to Internet sales?
- Yes

10. Should accounts such as a "rainy day" fund be used to balance the state budget?
- Yes

11. Should fee increases be used to balance the state budget?
- Yes

12. Other or expanded principles
- We need to prioritize economic development. Taxes on business must be examined so that they do not cost jobs. We need a review of our tax structure to make it more equitabe and close loopholes. As far as rainy day funds, this is a very rainy day. It is ok to use such funds in the current crisis, but they must be rebuilt for the next rainy day.

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 Florida governors?
- Yes

2. Do you support the current limit of terms for Florida 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 Florida participate in the federal REAL ID program?
- Yes

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

1. Other or expanded principles
- Term limits have practical advantages, but there are also disadvantages, both practical and philosophical. I support public financing of elections, with appropriate safeguards and spending limits. A level playing field would lessen the need for term limits, and make sure all elected officials were beholden primarily to the public, not special interests.

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. Support the death penalty in Florida.
- 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. Decriminalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana.
- X

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

7. Support state and local law enforcement officials enforcing federal immigration laws.
- No Answer

8. Support hate crime legislation.
- X

9. Other or expanded principles
- Increased support for police and law enforcement officials. Trying juveniles as adults must be viewed on a case-by-case basis, because circumstances vary so widely. Corrections staff should be sufficient to perform mission, with improved training. Private prisons have not proven their alleged advantage over publicly run prisons. Immigration must be addressed at the federal level.

Education

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

1. Support state funding of universal pre-K programs.
- X

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

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.
- X

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 Florida to pay in-state tuition at public universities.
- X

11. Other or expanded principles
- I support state standards and testing for K-12 students, but not in its current, high-stakes, one-size-fits-all form. I support the concept of No Child Left Behind, but it has been a failure due to, inter alia, lack of funding. Immigrant children should not be punished for their parents' actions. We need more money for education at all levels, and need to revise our tax structure in favor of a fairer, more equitable system to help find the money to fund education.

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.
- X

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.
- X

6. Include sexual orientation in Florida's anti-discrimination laws.
- X

7. Include gender identity in Florida's anti-discrimination laws.
- X

8. Increase the state minimum wage.
- X

9. Support laws that prevent employers from dismissing employees at will.
- X

10. Support financial punishments for those who knowingly employ illegal immigrants.
- No Answer

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

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

13. Other or expanded principles
- Some state regulations on businesses are burdensome and unnecessary, but it is hard to make a blanket statement that regulations should be reduced. Health and safety regulations should not be reduced, excessive paperwork should be. Government should help business to create jobs, not take action that results in job loss.

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.
- X

5. Support funding for improvements to Florida'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.
- X

9. Other or expanded principles
- Alternative fuels and environmental protection are also areas of great potential job growth if we make smart investments now.

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?
- Yes

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

3. Should a license be required for gun possession?
- Yes

4. Do you support current levels of enforcement of existing state restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns?
- No Answer

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

6. Other or expanded principles
- Enforcement of current state law regarding guns is inadequate. The Assault Weapons Ban should be reenacted.

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

4. Allow patients to sue their HMOs.
- X

5. Require hospitals and labs to release reports on infections that are a risk to public health, while not compromising patient confidentiality.
- X

6. Legalize physician assisted suicide in Florida.
- No Answer

7. Support allowing doctors to prescribe marijuana to their patients for medicinal purposes.
- X

8. Other or expanded principles
- Need to reinstitute Comprehensive Health Purchasing Alliances, including for buying prescription drugs. Need to raise Medicaid reimbursement rates for doctors, hospitals and nursing homes. Need to expand access to health care.

Social

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

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

2. Should same-sex couples be allowed to marry?
- Yes

3. Should Florida 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

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

8. Do you support allowing teachers to be critical of the theory of evolution in the classroom?
- Yes

9. Should teachers be required to be critical of the theory of evolution in the classroom?
- No

10. Should the state government consider race and gender in state government contracting and hiring decisions?
- Yes

11. Do you support affirmative action in public college admissions?
- Yes

12. Should Florida continue affirmative action programs?
- Yes

13. Do you support state funding of stem cell research?
- Yes

14. Do you support state funding of embryonic stem cell research?
- Yes

15. Do you support allowing pharmacists who conscientiously object to emergency contraception to refuse to dispense it?
- No

16. Other or expanded principles
- I oppose discrimination. I support freedom. I believe in the separation of church and state. I support science and scientific research.

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.
- Increased funding for education. Increased access to health care and prescription drug purchasing assistance. Insurance and tax reform, as to windstorm insurance rates and health insurance availability and affordability, and property tax fairness. I support a comprehensive reevaluation of our current tax structure, to help struggling homestead property owners, and to increase the availability of affordable rentals, while promoting job growth and economic development, but closing corporate and other tax loopholes.