New Hampshire State Legislative Election 2016 Political Courage Test

Abortion & Reproductive

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

2. Should abortions be illegal after the first trimester of pregnancy?
- No

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

4. Should abortion be legal when the life of the woman is endangered?
- Yes

5. Do you support requiring parental notification before an abortion is performed on a minor?
- No

6. Do you support requiring parental consent before an abortion is performed on a minor?
- No

7. Do you support the prohibition of public funds for abortion procedures?
- No

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

9. Other or expanded principles
- I am ambivalent about parental notification. In abusive parent-child relations, it could only be damaging.

Budget, Spending, & Tax

1. Tapping into New Hampshire's "rainy day" fund
- No Answer

2. Decreasing funding for public universities
- No

3. Reducing state employee salaries AND/OR pensions
- No

4. Instituting mandatory furloughs AND/OR layoffs for state employees
- No

5. Reducing benefits for Medicaid recipients
- No

6. Other or expanded principles
- Rainy day fund......only when necessary! That's what it is for, not routine budget-balancing. We need to take a hard look at our definition of a "rainy day". If we fail to budget for critical needs, eg., something ordered by the courts, that is an occasion to use rainy day funds. Mandatory layoffs for state employees....do you mean, "firing" employees who are redundant, incompetent, or found unnecessary because of increased state efficiency? Yes, of course. But sweeping layoffs where cuts are made as a standard percentage of every agency's staff is counterproductive.

1. Education (higher)
- Greatly Increase

2. Education (K-12)
- Slightly Increase

3. Environment
- Slightly Increase

4. Health care
- Greatly Increase

5. Law enforcement/corrections
- Slightly Increase

6. Transportation/infrastructure
- Slightly Increase

7. Welfare
- Slightly Increase

8. Other or expanded categories
- School building aid..greatly increase.Targeted land (including agricultural lands) and water resource protection... increase

1. Cigarette taxes
- Greatly Increase

2. Corporate taxes
- Maintain Status

3. Small business taxes
- Maintain Status

4. Gas/Oil taxes
- Slightly Increase

5. Property taxes
- Greatly Decrease

6. Income taxes (low-income families)
- Eliminate

7. Income taxes (mid-income families)
- Slightly Increase

8. Income taxes (high-income families)
- Slightly Increase

9. Other or expanded principles
- We need to capture income taxes from NH residents working outside NH.

Campaign Finance & Government Reform

1. Individual
- Yes

2. Political Action Committee
- Yes

3. Corporate
- Yes

4. Political Party
- Yes

5. Should candidates for state office be encouraged to meet voluntary spending limits?
- Yes

6. Do you support requiring full and timely disclosure of campaign finance information?
- Yes

7. Do you support the use of an independent AND/OR bipartisan commission for redistricting?
- Yes

8. Do you support requiring a government-issued photo identification in order to vote at the polls?
- Yes

9. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer

Crime & Public Safety

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

2. Do you support alternatives to incarceration for certain non-violent offenders, such as mandatory counseling or substance abuse treatment?
- Yes

3. Do you support legalizing the possession of small amounts of marijuana?
- Yes

4. Should a minor accused of a violent crime be prosecuted as an adult?
- Yes

5. Do you support the enforcement of federal immigration laws by state and local police?
- No

6. Do you support delaying the seizure of assets by law enforcement officials until after a conviction?
- Yes

7. Do you support additional funding for programs intended to reduce drug addiction in New Hampshire?
- Yes

8. Other or expanded principles
- Prosecuted as adults.... Older minors, very violent crimes. Sentencing is more the issue.Immigration laws.... we don't want witch hunts that make undocumented workers vulnerable to exploitation by employers.

Economic

1. Do you support government spending as a means of promoting economic growth?
- Yes

2. Do you support lowering taxes as a means of promoting economic growth?
- No Answer

3. Do you support reducing government regulations on the private sector?
- No Answer

4. Do you support increased state funding for job-training programs that re-train displaced workers?
- Yes

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

6. Do you support requiring welfare applicants to pass a drug test in order to receive benefits?
- No Answer

7. Do you support providing financial incentives to the private sector for the purpose of job creation?
- Yes

8. Do you support providing direct financial assistance to homeowners facing foreclosure?
- Yes

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

10. Should employers be able to ask about applicants' criminal history before interviewing them?
- No

11. Other or expanded principles
- Lowering taxes.... selectively. Reducing regulations.... reduce regulations that lead to unnecessary inefficiency with little benefit. Keep those that protect the public good, such as environment and worker safety. Drug testing for welfare applicants... I'm on the fence. I see it as a way to identify drug users to get them help. But a family should not suffer from a household head that may be caught having used a minor amount of drugs.

Education

1. Do you support the national Common Core State Standards initiative?
- Yes

2. Do you support a merit pay system for teachers?
- Yes

3. Is the tenure process for public school teachers producing effective teachers?
- No

4. Should parents be allowed to use vouchers to send their children to any school?
- No

5. Do you support state funding for charter schools?
- Yes

6. Do you support the state government providing college students with financial aid?
- Yes

7. Should illegal immigrants who graduate from New Hampshire high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities?
- Yes

8. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer

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 funding for the development of traditional domestic energy sources (e.g. coal, natural gas, oil)?
- No

3. Do you support state funding for improvements to New Hampshire's energy infrastructure?
- No

4. Do you support state funding for open space preservation?
- Yes

5. Do you support government regulations of greenhouse gas emissions?
- Yes

6. Do you support increased regulations of the hydraulic fracturing ("fracking") industry?
- Yes

7. Other or expanded principles
- Connecticut should be required to increase its own energy sources rather than relying on Northern Pass through NH.

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 citizens be allowed to carry concealed guns?
- No Answer

4. Should a license be required for gun possession?
- Yes

5. Other or expanded principles
- Article 2 of the Constitution protects the right to bear arms. Without a reason for restricting an individual citizen's right, the courts must decide whether that includes concealed.

Health

1. Do you support a universally-accessible, publicly-administered health insurance option?
- Yes

2. Do you support expanding access to health care through commercial health insurance reform?
- Yes

3. Do you support interstate health insurance compacts?
- No Answer

4. Do you support Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare")?
- Yes

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

6. Do you support monetary limits on damages that can be collected in malpractice lawsuits?
- Yes

7. Do you support allowing doctors to prescribe marijuana to their patients for medicinal purposes?
- Yes

8. Other or expanded principles
- I don't know about interstate health compacts.All individuals should have health insurance, but some way must be found for helping them pay for it.

Social

1. Do you support same-sex marriage?
- Yes

2. Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in New Hampshire's anti-discrimination laws?
- Yes

3. Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in New Hampshire's anti-discrimination laws?
- 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.
- Protection of NH's water resources, including drinking water, surface waters and wetlands.Minimum wage that supports working families.School building aid.......from capturing taxes of NH residents working out of the state. (means we must have a State income tax of some sort.)