Iowa 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
- The binary option is ridiculous. If we want to actually stop abortion AND safeguard women's rights, we have to start by stopping calling one side "women haters" and the other side "baby killers." If people are actually interested in reaching a resolution to the problem, I am their man. If they just want an excuse to yell at strangers or neighbors, it'd be better if they just moved along.

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
- The taxes are fine the way they are: any budget shortfall in any program needs to be addressed by reducing rebates/abatements to massive, Fortune 500 companies or fully utilizing Federal money offered.

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?
- No

4. Do you support requiring a government-issued photo identification in order to vote at the polls?
- No

5. Other or expanded principles
- This category is all over the place.- all MONETARY donations should come from within the Candidate's district. Outside of that, I really don't care.- regarding money, see the above hashtag. Regarding mailings, contacts, etc., I don't have an issue.- the best solution is a bipartisan committee voting on a map that's partitioned by computer program. The idea is that the computer divides, the committee chooses.- allow the vote, verify the identity if there is a challenge.

Crime & Public Safety

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

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. Other or expanded principles
- - As a Catholic moving through catechism, I can't justify capital punishment as anything but democratically approved vengeance, not justice.- So long as legal marijuana is regulated as tobacco and alcohol, I don't have an issue with legalization.- This is a nuanced question because it's an issue of prosecution, representation, sentencing, and appeals. To that end, I think that special treatment as a minor should only apply at sentencing.- This is an easy one: if Congress wants more boots on the ground enforcing Federal law, they can pass spending to pay for them.

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?
- No

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

7. Do you support offering state tax incentives to attract businesses to Iowa?
- Yes

8. Do you support limiting the ability of state employees to use collective bargaining?
- Yes

9. Other or expanded principles
- I have never had an issue with giving tax breaks and tax supports for businesses coming in to the State. I was a Republican from 2000-2012, so I'm on board with the potential of business to grow the States and communities. At this point, we've seen tax breaks given time and time again with little to no growth on main street. I want to see the businesses deliver their end first.

Education

1. Do you support adopting federal education standards in Iowa?
- No

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

3. Should immigrants unlawfully present in the United States who graduate from Iowa high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities?
- Yes

4. Do you support increasing funding for the state education budget?
- Yes

5. Other or expanded principles
- - I think Federal standards are the minimum standards. We need to do better.- If the public schools are funded adequately, I don't have an issue with charter school funding, but until the primary funding need is addressed, extra spending is not a priority.- I think it depends on how long they've lived here: 6 months, no, but all their lives? No problem.

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?
- No

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

4. Do you support providing economic incentives to Iowa farmers who participate in the Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy ("INRS")?
- Yes

5. Other or expanded principles
- - Renewable energy is the industry we can develop and be the head of across the country if we play our cards right.- Regarding greenhouse grasses, I don't have a problem in principle, but the means of evaluating our progress would necessitate surrounding states doing the same, otherwise we wouldn't really see a difference.- Clean drinking water is good. Let's run with that.- If the farmers need more money or can do more with more money for long term sustainability, lets do it.

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?
- No

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

5. Other or expanded principles
- These questions offer a pretty narrow perspective on gun issues. In general, I don't believe that the current laws on the books are being adequately enforced in spirit or in practice: additional legislation should wait until then.

Health

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

2. Do you support Medicaid expansion through Iowa'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?
- No

5. Do you support eliminating religious exemptions for vaccinations?
- No

6. Do you support increasing state funding for children's mental health services?
- Yes

7. Other or expanded principles
- Regarding mandatory health insurance: I think that the private health insurance market is poison. I think that the nature of healthcare today requires that everyone have health insurance, but compelling someone to buy it from a for-profit entity is making the problem worse. Vaccines help everyone. By everyone, I mean the species. This is one of the few situations I think the government perspective outweighs the religious ones. If you want to meet your God sooner, there are easier ways than a preventable disease that hurts people around you.

Social

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

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

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

4. Should state employees be held financially liable when sued for inappropriate behavior in the workplace?
- Yes

5. Other or expanded principles
- The first three are self-evident, really, but the fourth one is confusing to me. Does the State pay when someone else does that? Is that the way it works now? If so, then I want a third option from the drop box to the left of the question: "Yes, Yes, a thousand times, YES!"

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 want to address spending in the forms of tax abatements to large corporations and redirect them to smaller, State-local businesses instead.I want to work on redirect spending on infrastructure to rural districts.I want to have a closer relationship with local interests and agents to address problems on the small scale; school superintendents and PTA groups, County Supervisor boards, local political groups, etc.