Maine 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
- I struggle with this question. In my personal life, with my father and best friend being adopted, I support birthing a child so a family that cannot have children can have that opportunity. However, I think the decision to abort a pregnancy is not one I should be making as an elected official, I think it is a personal decision best made by the mother and family.

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?
- No

5. Other or expanded principles
- I answered no on all the questions but I think that a lot of critical details have been left out. Are we currently in a healthy or unhealthy financial situation? Are there defined redundancies in an agency, where efficiencies (cost savings) could be found while still providing essential services? What commitments has the state made to their current employees? What commitments (new pension packet etc) should be made to NEW employees so our retirement system stays sustainable in the long term. There are many factors to assess when making these decisions and is usually not clear cut.

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. Do you support prohibiting out-of-state contributions to state ballot initiative committees?
- Yes

6. Do you support repealing Maine's ranked-choice primary election system?
- No

7. Other or expanded principles
- Again, it is difficult to answer these questions because my decision making style (as an independent) is more of a whole systems assessment and I think more detail is needed for final answers.

Crime & Public Safety

1. Do you support capital punishment for certain crimes?
- Yes

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. Should the legal age for purchasing tobacco products be twenty-one years of age?
- No

6. Other or expanded principles
- I wish there was a "sometimes, it depends" button to select. Yes or no on these questions seem too cut and dry for the reality of everyday life and decision making.

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?
- Yes

3. Do you support reducing state government regulations on the private sector?
- Yes

4. Do you support expanding access to unemployment benefits?
- Yes

5. Do you support requiring welfare applicants to pass a drug test in order to receive benefits?
- Yes

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

7. Other or expanded principles
- I feel like a broken record but again, I need more detail to feel comfortable answering these questions. I think there are appropriate and inappropriate places for government to spend on economic growth. Same for lowering taxes.... what is the current economic climate, what are revenues like, what is the current tax burden and is it appropriate for where we are today? Lots to unpack, not clear cut in all cases.

Education

1. Do you support adopting federal education standards in Maine?
- Yes

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

3. Should immigrants unlawfully present in the United States who graduate from Maine high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities?
- No

4. Other or expanded principles
- "Federal standards" should be just that, standards. The HOW of getting kids to a reasonable standard should be left to the state. I support charter schools, we just need to get the funding formula ironed out so that our public schools continue to have the necessary funding. I support immigration and immigrants, however breaking the law is unacceptable. I would rather support a pathway to citizenry.

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?
- Yes

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

4. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer

Gun

1. Do you generally support gun-control legislation?
- Yes

2. Should background checks be required on gun sales between private citizens at gun shows?
- Yes

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
- I think that some teachers, with certain credentials (like former military or law enforcement with additional weapons handling training) could be useful in these horrible situations. Not all teachers meet this standard..... where is the "sometimes" or the "it depends" button.

Health

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

2. Do you support Medicaid expansion through Maine'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. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer

Social

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

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

3. Do you support greater efforts by Maine state government in closing the pay gap between men and women?
- Yes

4. 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 appreciate the service Vote Smart does, however the style in which the questions are asked is a good example of what my highest priority is: functioning government. Having to answer very complex questions with "yes" or "no" lends itself to binning politicians into "Democrat" or "Republican". As an Independent I have worked to break down these tribal silos and get all legislators to work collaboratively on complex issues. Maine's government isn't functioning all that well right now, being able to see the "others" perspective is extremely important in healing the ever widening partisan divide.