New Mexico 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
- No Answer

Budget, Spending, & Tax

1. Tapping into New Mexico's "rainy day" fund
- Yes

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
- To ensure long term budget stabilization, we need to focus on creating revenue. We can do this by increasing our production of renewable energy, fixing our aging infrastructure and promoting trade. By focusing on these priorities we will not on stabilize our budget, but also create new jobs and opportunities for all New Mexicans.

1. Education (higher)
- Slightly Increase

2. Education (K-12)
- Greatly Increase

3. Environment
- Slightly Increase

4. Health care
- Slightly Increase

5. Law enforcement/corrections
- Slightly Increase

6. Transportation/infrastructure
- Greatly Increase

7. Welfare
- Maintain Status

8. Other or expanded categories
- No Answer

1. Alcohol taxes
- Maintain Status

2. Cigarette taxes
- Maintain Status

3. Corporate taxes
- Slightly Increase

4. Small business taxes
- Maintain Status

5. Gas/Oil taxes
- Greatly Increase

6. Property taxes
- Maintain Status

7. Sales taxes
- Maintain Status

8. Income taxes (low-income families)
- Maintain Status

9. Income taxes (mid-income families)
- Maintain Status

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

11. Do you support applying sales taxes to all online purchases?
- Yes

12. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer

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?
- No

1. Other or expanded principles
- Unfortunately, true campaign finance reform will be difficult to achieve while we still have the Supreme Court's decision in Citizen's United. That is why I support a constitutional amendment to overturn that decision.

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?
- No

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 Mexico?
- Yes

8. Other or expanded principles
- There are certain extreme circumstances where it might make sense to charge a minor as an adult, however this action should only be used in the rarest of cases.

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?
- Yes

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

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?
- No Answer

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 Answer

11. Do you support the enactment of right-to-work legislation?
- No

12. Other or expanded principles
- I cannot in good faith answer some of these questions due to the fact that they are overly broad and would take more space and time to answer effectively.

Education

1. Do you support the national Common Core State Standards initiative?
- No

2. Do you support a merit pay system for teachers?
- No

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

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 Mexico high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities?
- Yes

8. Other or expanded principles
- I do not support a merit pay system for teachers that relies on subjective criteria for pay increases. However, I do support a tiered licensure system that includes many different factors. I do support state funding for charter schools however, those schools should be held to the same standards as our public schools.

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 Answer

3. Do you support state funding for improvements to New Mexico's energy infrastructure?
- Yes

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
- I am in support of state funding for any energy source that can provide clean and safe energy.

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?
- Yes

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

5. Other or expanded principles
- While it would be very difficult to repeal concealed carry laws, we must regulate who can gain a permit and where gun are allowed within our communities. We also need to regulate what kinds of guns should be allowed to be purchased by private citizens.

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

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

5. Do you support requiring individuals to purchase health care insurance?
- Yes

6. Do you support monetary limits on damages that can be collected in malpractice lawsuits?
- No

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

8. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer

Social

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

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

3. Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in New Mexico'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.
- If elected to office, my top three priorities will be to generate revenue for our economy, create new jobs and advocate for more resources for our public education system. New Mexico is currently dealing with an economic and jobs crisis. We must utilize our natural resources to develop alternative energy sources. We need to reform our capital outlay system so that our tax dollars are being put to good use by rebuilding our infrastructure. We also need to use our "rainy day" fund to fund early childhood education. And we need to reduce class sizes and pay teachers more.