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.
- 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. Other or expanded principles
- Prevention of unintended/unplanned pregnancy is obviously the best solution, with many efforts focused in this direction resulting in significant success (especially reduction of teen pregnancies). I advocate for a woman's right to choose and spend an equal amount of energy - if not more - on efforts towards prevention.

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
- Slightly Increase

6. Law enforcement
- Maintain Status

7. Transportation and Highway infrastructure
- Greatly Increase

8. Welfare
- Slightly Increase

9. Other or expanded categories
- Greatly Increase

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
- Maintain Status

4. Gasoline taxes
- Maintain Status

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

6. Income taxes (incomes above $75,000)
- Maintain Status

7. Property taxes
- Slightly Decrease

8. Sales taxes
- Greatly Increase

9. Vehicle taxes
- Maintain Status

10. Other or expanded categories
- Maine's tax system needs an expansive review and creative overhaul. The patchwork quilt of supplemental taxes and fees dos not result in a plannedful approach to funding essential and important state services, and is burdensome upon middle- and low-income individuals, small businesses, etc. This is a priority for me.

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

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

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
- No Answer

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?
- No

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
- I do advocate for longer terms for the state legislature to permit individuals to really "learn" the legislative process and grow in their effectiveness. Between the short terms and term limits, we do not provide sufficient time for our elected officials to effecively learn and really serve. I also believe that this would reduce costs and effort, particularly in terms of campaigning.

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.
- No Answer

7. Support hate crime legislation.
- X

8. Other or expanded principles
- Our county jail is a model of efficiency and effectiveness and should be permitted to continue to operate.

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).
- 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.
- X

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

11. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer

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.
- X

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
- Small business are vital to Maine's economy and need to be supported. Fees and surcharges often penalize small business rather than to promote them.

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.
- 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 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
- Our state needs to advance recycling in a consistent, statewide manner. There is a lot more than we could do that we aren't doing now, even though we are ahead of some other states with respect to recycling. We should be open to consideration and use of all alternative energy approaches, especially those which are "locally grown" such as wind power.

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?
- Undecided

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

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

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

6. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer

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
- We all end up paying for the poor health of our neighbors. It is only right and prudent to provide for the basic health care needs of our residents with criteria that promote healthy practices. If individuals choose poor health practices (e.g., smoking, alcohol and subtance abuse, etc.), their costs for health insurance would be higher and could include prepayments. We should reward those who are really trying to be healthy and who seek preventive care in any statewide package that is developed.

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?
- Undecided

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

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

9. Do you support affirmative action in public college admissions?
- Undecided

10. Should Maine continue affirmative action programs?
- Undecided

11. Do you support state funding of stem cell research?
- Undecided

12. Do you support state funding of embryonic stem cell research?
- Undecided

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

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.
- Maine needs to develop a vision for itself, through a series of public forums held throughout the state - which would guide the Legislature in budget development and prioritization. We currently "build" our budget based upon what we did the prior year, which simply escalates the potential for inadequate planning based upon history rather than a future. Education and business development are inextricably linked. We need to support families in ordre for them to raise strong and healthy children, ready to learn AND we need to make sure our citizens are safe and healthy in their own communities.