Montana State Legislative Election 2018 Political Courage Test

Abortion & Reproductive

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

2. Should abortion be legal when the pregnancy resulted from incest or rape?
- Yes

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

4. Other or expanded principles
- Public health policies should support voluntary birth control knowledge and use, and offer true medical science information about pregnancy termination options. Pregnancy should be considered a private / medical matter. Public funds should not be denied to organizations that provide abortion as one of various health services. However, I do not oppose restricting use of those public funds to general facility support and services other than pregnancy termination, because many taxpayers feel strongly about this issue.

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?
- Yes

5. Eliminating block grants to public school districts?
- No

6. Decreasing funding to the Montana Department of Health and Human Services?
- No

7. Other or expanded principles
- Letting human and infrastructure resources deteriorate hurts our future.I support legalizing growth and use of medical marijuana and adult recreational cannabis. I support development of industrial hemp farming and its derivative processing industries, expanding our business tax base - and their new workers' income would also add to the tax base. Economic expansion raises revenue without raising rates. Like alcohol and tobacco, we could sales tax retail recreational marijuana.End the drug war and reduce incarceration expense! Consider renting unused prison space to other states.I will work to avoid the need for any income tax increase.

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. Other or expanded principles
- Montana's current campaign finance laws express the wish of voters to have their opinions heard by candidates. Lobbyists, interested organizations, and financially powerful individuals have bought undue influence over candidates and voters at times in our state's history. Until methods of candidate communication with citizens are developed that do not rely on spending, it is prudent to monitor and control contributions.

Crime & Public Safety

1. Do you support capital punishment for certain crimes?
- No

2. Do you support the legalization of marijuana for recreational purposes?
- Yes

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
- Our state and local police should concentrate on the safety of the community, and resolving cases of human distress, theft, illegal force, and fraud. Trying to screen the public for citizenship issues is likely to encourage profiling by officers, and corrode the trust between our local law agents and the people they serve.

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?
- Yes

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

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

7. Other or expanded principles
- Unfortunately, having a minimum wage is like having a speed limit, people refer to it instead of thinking for themselves what's appropriate. Our federal minimum wage has not kept up with inflation or the cost of living since it was first calculated and set. Unemployment benefits help only a fraction of job seekers; we need a better "searching worker" safety net that serves a wider variety of underemployed worker households.

Education

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

2. Do you support state funding for charter schools?
- No

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

4. Other or expanded principles
- Montana's low student population density makes it difficult to fund charter schools without distressing regular public schools. Our public school students would benefit from their schools experimenting with innovative programs. It makes more sense to add alternative teaching and life skills programs within traditional public schools.

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?
- No

3. Do you support increasing state funding for clean drinking water initiatives?
- Yes

4. Other or expanded principles
- Measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions are more appropriate at a federal level. Taxing carbon fuels when they are extracted is more achievable than trying to consistently measure and regulate the waste products of use. The wind doesn't stop blowing at state borders, so air pollution can't be solved locally. Unilateral state action on greenhouse gas emissions might result in differences in regulatory or tax structures between states, which could generate unintended economic consequences. Our legislature should be requesting appropriate Federal action.

Gun

1. Do you generally support gun-control legislation?
- No

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

3. Should teachers be allowed to bring guns into the classroom?
- Yes

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

5. Other or expanded principles
- It would be good to offer a state certification credential of gun safety class study and testing completion.

Health

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

2. Do you support Medicaid expansion through Montana's health care programs?
- Yes

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

4. Do you support legislation that grants citizens the right to choose to die through euthanasia?
- Yes

5. Do you support eliminating religious exemptions for vaccinations?
- No

6. Do you support increasing state funding for tracking and reporting opioid usage and overdoses?
- No

7. Other or expanded principles
- I support medical and community addressing of addiction issues, including supervised spaces for addicts to use their drug safely. Such a program provides opportunity for social services to intervene in the cycle of self-care inadequacy. Medicaid and for-profit insurance are poor solutions to health care funding. I would like to expand the Montana Health Center state employees' clinic program to cover more Montanans. The first clinic (of the current six) for free-to-use primary health services opened in 2012, and has both saved the state money and improved the covered group's health.

Social

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

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

3. Do you support greater efforts by Montana state government in closing the pay gap between men and women?
- No

4. Should individuals be required to use a bathroom that corresponds with the gender listed on their birth certificate?
- No

5. 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.
- I think we should fully legalize cannabis use (medical and recreational marijuana use, growing, and sale, plus industrial hemp farming.) We should stop requiring Daylight Saving Time clock changes in Montana. I will work toward a sustainable economic environment in which people can pursue happiness.