Terry Wanzek
RTo be claimed
Terry M. Wanzek (b. March 28, 1957) is a Republican member of the North Dakota State Senate, representing District 29. He was first elected to the chamber in 1994. Wanzek served as president pro tempore of the senate from 2013 to 2015.
Wanzek was a member of the North Dakota House of Representatives from 1992 to 1994.
Wanzek earned his B.A. from Jamestown College in 1979. He later graduated from the Texas A&M University Executive Program for Agricultural Procedures. His professional experience includes working as a farmer, rancher and business owner.
Former Member, Appropriations Committee, North Dakota State Senate
Vice Chair, Appropriations Committee
Chair, Budget Section
Vice Chair, Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Joint Review Committee
Member, Joint Committee on Agriculture and Transportation
Member, Joint Committee on Information Technology
— Awards:
Greater North Dakota Chamber Community Leadership Award
1. Abortions should always be illegal.
- X
2. Abortions should always be legally available.
- 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. Eliminate public funding for abortions and public funding of organizations that advocate or perform abortions.
- No Answer
7. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer
1. Agriculture
- Greatly Increase Funding
2. Education (Higher)
- Slightly Increase Funding
3. Education (K-12)
- Greatly Increase Funding
4. Environment
- Maintain Funding Status
5. Health care
- Maintain Funding Status
6. Law enforcement
- Maintain Funding Status
7. Transportation and Highway infrastructure
- Maintain Funding Status
8. Welfare
- Maintain Funding Status
9. Other or expanded categories
- Maintain Funding Status
1. Alcohol taxes
- Maintain Status
2. Capital gains taxes
- Greatly Decrease
3. Cigarette taxes
- Maintain Status
4. Corporate taxes
- Maintain Status
5. Gasoline taxes
- Maintain Status
6. Income taxes (incomes below $75,000)
- Maintain Status
7. Income taxes (incomes above $75,000)
- Maintain Status
8. Inheritance taxes
- Slightly Decrease
9. Property taxes
- Greatly Decrease
10. Sales taxes
- Maintain Status
11. Vehicle taxes
- Maintain Status
12. Other or expanded categories
- No Answer
13. Should Internet sales be taxed?
- Undecided
14. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer
1. Do you support limiting the number of terms for North Dakota governors?
- No
2. Do you support limiting the number of terms for North Dakota state senators and representatives?
- No
1. Individual
- No
2. PAC
- No
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 partial funding from state taxes for state level political campaigns?
- Undecided
7. Do you support voting on-line?
- Undecided
8. Do you support adopting statewide standards for counting, verifying and ensuring accuracy of votes?
- Yes
9. Do you support prohibiting media exit polling of voters until all polling locations in North Dakota are closed?
- Yes
10. Should North Dakota recognize civil unions between same-sex couples?
- No
11. Should North Dakota restrict marriage to a union only between a man and a woman?
- Yes
12. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer
1. Increase state funds for construction of state prisons and for hiring of additional prison staff.
- X
2. Support contracting with private sector firms to build and/or manage state prisons.
- X
3. Implement the use of the death penalty in North Dakota.
- No Answer
4. Support programs to provide prison inmates with vocational and job-related skills and job-placement assistance when released.
- X
5. End parole for repeat violent offenders.
- X
6. Implement penalties other than incarceration for certain non-violent offenders.
- X
7. Decriminalize the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes.
- No Answer
8. Strengthen penalties and sentences for drug-related crimes.
- X
9. Lower the .10 blood-alcohol-content limit defining drunk driving.
- No Answer
10. Minors accused of a violent crime should be prosecuted as adults.
- No Answer
11. Require that crimes based on gender, sexual orientation or disability be prosecuted as hate crimes.
- No Answer
12. Ban the use of racial profiling by law enforcement officers.
- No Answer
13. Increase state funding for community centers and other social agencies in areas with at-risk youth.
- X
14. Increase state funding for additional security of critical infrastructure against terrorist attacks.
- X
15. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer
1. Support national standards and testing of public school students.
- No Answer
2. Provide parents with state-funded vouchers to send their children to any participating school (public, private, religious).
- X
3. Increase state funds for school capital improvements (e.g. buildings and infrastructure).
- No Answer
4. Increase state funds for hiring additional teachers.
- No Answer
5. Support teacher testing and reward teachers with merit pay.
- X
6. Support displaying the Ten Commandments in public schools.
- X
7. Endorse teacher-led voluntary prayer in public schools.
- X
8. Require public schools to administer high school exit exams.
- No Answer
9. Provide state funding to increase teacher salaries.
- X
10. Increase state funding to expand Head Start programs.
- No Answer
11. Provide state funding for tax incentives and financial aid to help make college more affordable.
- X
12. Offer recent college graduates state-funded financial incentives to stay and work in North Dakota.
- No Answer
13. Support age-appropriate sexual education programs that teach about abstinence, contraceptives and HIV/STD prevention methods.
- No Answer
14. Support abstinence-only sexual education programs.
- X
15. Other or expanded principles
- X
1. Increase funding for state job-training programs that re-train displaced workers or teach skills needed in today's job market.
- X
2. Reduce state government regulations on the private sector to encourage investment and economic expansion.
- 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 their employees.
- X
5. Increase state funds to provide child care for children of low-income working families.
- X
6. Include sexual orientation in North Dakota's anti-discrimination laws.
- No Answer
7. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer
1. College and university admissions
- No
2. Public employment
- No
3. State contracting
- No
4. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer
1. Promote increased use of alternative fuel technology.
- X
2. Use state funds to clean up former industrial and commercial sites that are contaminated, unused or abandoned.
- No Answer
3. Support expanding oil development in North Dakota grasslands.
- X
4. Do you support state funding for open space preservation?
- Undecided
5. Should state environmental regulations be stricter than federal law?
- No
6. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer
1. Ban the sale or transfer of semi-automatic guns, except those used for hunting.
- No Answer
2. Maintain and strengthen the enforcement of existing state restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns.
- No Answer
3. Ease state restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns.
- X
4. Repeal state restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns.
- No Answer
5. Allow citizens to carry concealed guns.
- X
6. Require manufacturers to provide child-safety locks on guns.
- No Answer
7. Require background checks on gun sales between private citizens at gun shows.
- No Answer
8. Require a license for gun possession.
- No Answer
9. Other or expanded principles
- X
1. Ensure that citizens have access to basic health care through managed care, insurance reforms or state-funded care where necessary.
- X
2. Transfer more existing Medicaid recipients into managed care programs.
- No Answer
3. Reduce benefits for Medicaid recipients in order to alleviate budget shortfalls.
- No Answer
4. Limit the amount of damages that can be awarded in medical malpractice lawsuits.
- X
5. Support patients' right to sue their HMOs.
- X
6. Support patients' right to appeal to an administrative board of specialists when services are denied by their HMO.
- X
7. Guaranteed medical care to all citizens is not a responsibility of state government.
- X
8. Legalize physician-assisted suicide in North Dakota.
- No Answer
9. Use North Dakota's portion of the national tobacco settlement only for anti-smoking and health programs.
- No Answer
10. Increase state funding for training health workers to recognize and respond to the release of biological agents.
- X
11. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer
1. Support current time limits on welfare benefits.
- X
2. Increase employment and job training programs for welfare recipients.
- X
3. Provide tax incentives to businesses that hire welfare recipients.
- X
4. Provide child care for welfare recipients who work.
- X
5. Increase access to public transportation for welfare recipients who work.
- No Answer
6. Eliminate government-funded welfare programs.
- No Answer
7. Redirect welfare funding to faith-based and community-based private organizations.
- X
8. Use federal TANF (Temporary Assistance to Needy Families) funds to expand state services to include the working poor.
- X
9. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer
In a total of seventy-five (75) words or less, please explain what your two main legislative priorities will be if elected. Please explain how you would obtain any additional government funding needed to implement these priorities.
- ... I want the electorate to know, I maintain my values and principles, however, I try to keep an open mind on all issues when faced with proposed legislation.
The two main priorities are education and agriculture, as both of those areas are important to our state's economy, job creation and personal economic opportunity and prosperity. I believe a stable state government that fosters or encourages investment, free enterprise and the entrepeneurial spirit is vital. Also a state government that invests in its people, through education, to enhance their skills and abilities, only leads to increased creativity and productivity.
Type: bill Chamber: upper
Type: bill Chamber: upper
Type: bill Chamber: upper