Jon Olson's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
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Jon Olson has provided voters with clear stances on key issues by responding to the 2020 Political Courage Test.
Minnesota State Legislative Election 2020 Political Courage Test
| Pro-choice | a) Do you generally support pro-choice or pro-life legislation? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support legalizing abortion when the pregnancy resulted from incest or rape? | ||
| No | c) Do you support the prohibition of public funds for organizations that perform abortions? | ||
| I will never vote to take away a woman's right to control her own body--ever. While I feel every abortion is a tragedy on many levels, I reject the far right and far left's efforts to use abortion as a wedge issue, to drive us, as Americans, apart from each other. Instead, I fully support public policy that reduces unwanted pregnancies to the greatest extent possible. I believe we can do this by advancing medical science to deal with serious birth defects, perfecting birth control, and providing high-quality medical care to Minnesotans. Let's solve unwanted pregnancies--that's the smart path forward. | |||
| No | a) In order to balance the budget, do you support reducing state employee salaries AND/OR pensions? | ||
| Yes | b) In order to balance the budget, do you support an income tax increase on any tax bracket? | ||
| Minnesota is facing an unprecedented financial challenge due to COVID-19's economic impacts. Everything is on the table, but I do not support cutting dedicated public service employees' salaries or pensions. I would consider raising income taxes on the wealthiest members of our society, who've received massive federal tax breaks when they really don't need it. With great power comes great responsibility, and that is especially true for the very few who've been quite fortunate in their professional pursuits. I will seek creative ways to address our budget challenges while avoiding catastrophic negative impacts to our future economic opportunity. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support a limit on campaign contributions to state candidates? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support the regulation of indirect campaign contributions from corporations and unions? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support the use of an independent AND/OR bipartisan commission for redistricting? | ||
| No | d) Do you support requiring a government-issued photo identification in order to vote at the polls? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support automatic voter registration? | ||
| Yes | f) Should Minnesota move toward a ranked-choice voting system? | ||
| Electoral and campaign finance reform are one of my top priorities. We need to give the power back to people rather than corporations and political parties. In Minnesota, I'd remove barriers to entry into political races. I'll work to introduce term limits for our state legislature. I'll also seek to dramatically enhance the public financing option for campaigns to further level the playing field. We must have a non-partisan citizen panel for redistricting. Top issue. I do think ranked choice voting will greatly balance our elections, especially in conjunction with other meaningful reforms. Automatic voter registration is a "no-brainer". | |||
| No | a) Do you support capital punishment for certain crimes? | ||
| Yes | b) Should an individual under 18 accused of a violent crime be prosecuted as an adult? | ||
| No | c) Do you support the enforcement of federal immigration laws by state and local police? | ||
| No | d) Do you support the use of private prisons in Minnesota? | ||
| No | e) Do you support mandatory minimum sentences for non-violent drug offenders? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support the legalization of recreational marijuana? | ||
| The 100-word count for this question greatly limits meaningful public policy discussion. Under certain circumstances, some juveniles might be tried as an adult for truly egregious offenses. I believe it is time to have a mature, rational, fact-based conversation about legalizing marijuana, and if I'm convinced we can create a safe industry with strong control mechanisms, I'd likely support such a policy. Immigration is a federal issue. State, county, and municipal law enforcement should play no role in it. One can strongly support law enforcement and still be a fierce advocate for oversight and demand total professionalism from the police. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support state government spending as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| No | b) Do you support lowering state income taxes as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support reducing government regulations on the private sector? | ||
| No | d) Do you support requiring welfare applicants to pass a drug test in order to receive benefits? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support an increase of the minimum wage of Minnesota? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support requiring employers to provide paid family leave? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support providing financial relief to businesses AND/OR corporations negatively impacted by the state of national emergency for COVID-19? | ||
| Once again, these issues are very complex. I believe government spending is a strategic investment in Minnesota's economic future, and is a shared opportunity for all to benefit from such efforts. I think our tax rules are not just about raising state, county, or local revenue, but rather should be seen as a mechanism to create incentives for our people. When people are given the right incentives, they generally prosper, get healthier, earn better wages, find good homes, get great educations, et al. Our system has all the wrong incentives, but we can change that for the better. | |||
| No | a) Do you support adopting federal education standards in Minnesota? | ||
| No | b) Do you support state funding for charter schools? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support increasing teacher salaries AND/OR benefits in Minnesota? | ||
| Yes | d) Should immigrants unlawfully present in the United States who graduate from Minnesota high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities? | ||
| Question "D" is a difficult question, and can be solved immediately by federal law giving kids who've only known America as their home immediate citizenship. That would be the right thing to do. Education is the single most important strategic investment we can make in Minnesota's future. When I say "strategic," I mean we must think about our outcome in 25 years. A Kindergartener won't reveal her or his true potential until they've entered their career path, perhaps well-embedded by the age of 30. Thus, a 25-year strategic process. We must rethink our approach to why we invest in education. | |||
| No | a) Do you support state funding for the development of renewable energy (e.g. solar, wind, geo-thermal)? | ||
| No | b) Do you support government regulations of greenhouse gas emissions? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support increasing state funding for clean drinking water initiatives? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support state regulations on fuel economy standards? | ||
| I'd like to maximize the use of market-driven processes for getting Minnesota to "carbon-negative" as soon as possible. The right mix of incentives will do that, in transportation, energy production, and in carbon sequestration in the agriculture sector. Fuel economy standards are helpful, but incentivizing electric and hydrogen fuel cell-powered transportation options, and then allowing those two new entries to compete fairly against each other will yield incredible breakthroughs in technology, reliability, and clean energy options. I'd also support helping Minnesota's largest energy producers to amortize their fossil fuel power generation plants to take them off-line more rapidly. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you generally support gun-control legislation? | ||
| Yes | b) Should background checks be required on gun sales between private citizens at gun shows? | ||
| No | c) Should teachers be allowed to bring guns into the classroom after passing gun safety training? | ||
| Yes | d) Should a license be required for gun ownership? | ||
| A well-regulated Militia, necessary for the security of a free state... You never hear gun rights partisan advocates mention that part of the 2nd Amendment. I swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution, and did so for a quarter of a century. I will never vote to undermine the 2nd Amendment. Requiring universal background checks, establishing licensing and weapons qualification requirements for the Militia, and creating Red Flag laws to protect people and their families during times of personal crisis are rational, smart ways to ensure public safety while also protecting the right to keep and bear arms. | |||
| Yes | a) Should the state government increase funding for treatment facilities to combat opioid abuse? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support Medicaid expansion through Minnesota's health care programs? | ||
| No | c) Do you support requiring individuals to purchase health care insurance? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support legislation that grants citizens the right to choose to die through euthanasia? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support eliminating religious exemptions for vaccinations? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support requiring businesses to provide paid medical leave during public health crises, such as COVID-19? | ||
| The COVID-19 crisis has convinced me Minnesota should move aggressively toward a patient-centered health care system that affords every citizen access to affordable, high-quality health care. Health care should not be siloed between standard health, dental, eye care, mental health, long-term care, prescription drugs, et al. Instead, our system should cover everything, in smart, fiscally responsible ways. I support bringing together the leaders from the medical community to discuss how we dramatically reduce the current cost-drivers in health care. Many doctors tell me they believe the only real option is national adoption of a federal single-payer system. We'll see. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in Minnesota's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in Minnesota's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support greater efforts by Minnesota state government in closing the pay gap between men and women? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support expanding anti-discrimination laws to include hair textures and protective hairstyles? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support legislation that prohibits sexual orientation conversion therapy for individuals under the age of 18? | ||
| Equal protections under the law. Period. Unless and until we create a state where everyone is treated equally under the law, with all the same rights, responsibilities, and where everyone is held accountable equally for their actions, we won't have a more perfect Union. We have a great deal of work to do to create a Minnesota that works for all. I will strive to build a Minnesota where a person's ethnic background, their religious beliefs, and who they love are irrelevant to how we protect their equal rights under the law. That is what patriotism means to me. | |||
| The questionnaire didn't really address how we get Minnesota beyond COVID-19. This is our top short-term priority. We need to keep small businesses and front-line workers afloat until we have vaccinated enough people to get our economy back to some semblance of normal. We can also address significant investments in Minnesota's economic future by pursuing more bonding bills while interest rates are so low, boosting our infrastructure and supporting long-term economic growth. Finally, I think we can and must find a solid balance between economic growth and fiercely protecting our wilderness heritage--one of the most important things in our state. | |||
| Health care is the top priority. I heard this over and over again over the course of my campaign. People are most concerned about the rising costs of health care. I plan to look at every aspect of health care, and will work to create a health care system in Minnesota that delivers far better outcomes to patients for a great deal less cost. What are the social determinants and the cost-drivers for health care? Let's address those root causes. Competition in the marketplace has devastated rural health care. It hasn't been good for people in the cities, either. |
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