North Carolina 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.
- 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
- Abortion should only be available in cases of rape, incest or medical threat to the mother's life.

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)
- Slightly Increase

2. Education (K-12)
- Slightly Increase

3. Emergency preparedness
- Maintain Status

4. Environment
- Slightly Increase

5. Health care
- Greatly Increase

6. Law enforcement
- Slightly Increase

7. Transportation and Highway infrastructure
- Greatly Increase

8. Welfare
- Maintain Status

9. Other or expanded categories
- All of the above spending categories could be expanded if the State aggressively identified waste and abuse in the system, duplication of services, and eliminated programs which are not effectively serving the public. For example, the N&O found, and independent audits confirmed, over $400 million in waste and abuse in the Medicaid Program. These funds could have gone to strengthen or expanding existing programs serving our citizens. The State Auditor confirmed waste in the Dept. of Transportation which cost hundreds of millions urgently needed for road maintenance and expansion. It isn't the amount we spend, it's how effectively we spend...

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. Sales taxes
- Slightly Decrease

8. Vehicle taxes
- Slightly Decrease

9. Other or expanded categories
- In North Carolina taxes have been raised 7 of the last 8 years. N.C. has the highest combined marginal tax rates in the Southeast. The best incentive for helping grow businesses in North Carolina, attract new jobs and investment is to cut those marginal rates.

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

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

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

13. Do you support the construction of toll roads?
- Yes

14. Other or expanded principles
- * The current Governor, Board of Transportation and Legislative leadership provided no options to fund the I-540 Western Wake and Triangle Expressways except by tolls. All funds raised on this road must go to paying off the bonds and when the bonds are paid the tolls must be removed. I support the provision that no road of bridge be tolled unless there is a free 4-lane alternative and we use tolls as a limited means pf highway construction.

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 North Carolina governors?
- Yes

2. Do you support limiting the number of terms for North Carolina state senators and representatives?
- Yes

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

1. Individual
- No

2. PAC
- Yes

3. Corporate
- Yes

4. Political Parties
- No

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?
- No

7. Should North Carolina participate in the federal REAL ID program?
- No Answer

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

1. Other or expanded principles
- ** The State should participate in REAL ID to the extent we are insuring our driver licenses are only issued to legal residents of North Carolina. We must be concerned when federal provisions are either unfunded mandates on the states, unwarranted invasions of privacy or serve purposes other than the reasonable security and authenticity of state documents.

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.
- X

2. Support the death penalty in North Carolina.
- X

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.
- No Answer

6. Minors accused of a violent crime should be prosecuted as adults.
- X

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

8. Support hate crime legislation.
- X

9. Other or expanded principles
- * It should be an aggravating factor resulting in additional prison time/punishment for any violent criminal act in which a contributing motive is to instill fear into a group of citizens.

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.
- X

4. Support requiring public schools to administer high school exit exams.
- X

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.
- X

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 North Carolina to pay in-state tuition at public universities.
- No Answer

11. Other or expanded principles
- I support charter schools and providing greater choice and a stronger voice of parents in deciding which school best suites their children's educational needs. In addition we need to re-establish neighborhood schools especially for elementary school children.

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.
- X

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. Include sexual orientation in North Carolina's anti-discrimination laws.
- No Answer

7. Include gender identity in North Carolina's anti-discrimination laws.
- No Answer

8. Increase the state minimum wage.
- No Answer

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

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

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

12. Increase funding for employment and job training programs for welfare recipients.
- No Answer

13. Other or expanded principles
- *We must make better use of our resources by consolidating the dozens of training programs and focusing our efforts through our outstanding Community College System in North Carolina.

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).
- X

3. Support providing financial incentives to farms that produce biofuel crops.
- No Answer

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 North Carolina's power generating and transmission facilities.
- No Answer

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
- No Answer

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?
- Yes

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

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 using federal instant criminal background checks (NICS) for gun show sales.

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.
- X

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

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 North Carolina.
- No Answer

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

8. Other or expanded principles
- Rather than focus on issue which divide us we need to bring the medical, patient, insurance, and advocacy communities together to work on solutions which will increase access to quality affordable health care with a special emphasis on preventive care and wellness.

Social

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

1. Should North Carolina recognize civil unions between same-sex couples?
- No

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

3. Should North Carolina provide state-level spousal rights to same-sex couples?
- No

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

5. Do you support voluntary prayer in public schools?
- Yes

6. Do you support sexual education programs that include information on abstinence, contraceptives, and HIV/STD prevention methods?
- No Answer

7. Do you support abstinence-only sexual education programs?
- Yes

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 North Carolina 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?
- No Answer

14. Other or expanded principles
- The State must insure equal opportunity and equal access for all in government contraction, hiring and college admission. In addition we should provide assistance to underrepresented groups and individuals seeking to participate and compete in these endeavors.

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.
- No Answer