Francis Maher, Jr.'s Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
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Other or Expanded Principles & Legislative Priorities are entered exactly as candidates submit them. Vote Smart does not edit for misspelled words, punctuation or grammar.
Due to a later filing deadline or other circumstances delaying entry into our database, Francis Maher, Jr. did not receive the 2012 Political Courage Test.
This candidate has responded to a Political Courage Test in a previous election. As a continued effort to provide the American public with factual information on candidates running for public office, these archived responses are made available here.
Rhode Island State Legislative Election 2008 Political Courage Test
The Political Courage Test asks candidates which items they will support if elected. It does not ask them to indicate which items they will oppose. Through extensive research of public polling data, we discovered that voters are more concerned with what candidates would support when elected to office, not what they oppose. If a candidate does not select a response to any part or all of any question, it does not necessarily indicate that the candidate is opposed to that particular item.
Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding abortion.
| a) Abortions should always be illegal. | |||
| b) Abortions should always be legal. | |||
| c) Abortions should be legal only within the first trimester of pregnancy. | |||
| X | d) Abortions should be legal when the pregnancy resulted from incest or rape. | ||
| X | e) Abortions should be legal when the life of the woman is endangered. | ||
| X | f) Abortions should be subject to a mandatory waiting period. | ||
| X | g) Require clinics to give parental notification before performing abortions on minors. | ||
| d) only in the case of a minor after parental consent. I am very pro-life personally. I also feel that it is not the government's business to be telling any woman what she should do with her body, but our current laws give all the rights to the mother, and no rights to the unborn child/fetus. Some would assume that makes me a pro-choice candidate. I am not. I find it very unfortunate the overwhelming number of abortions done in this country every year. | |||
State Budget: Indicate what state funding levels (#1-6) you support for the following general categories. Select one level per category, you can use a number more than once.State Taxes: Indicate what state tax levels (#1-6) you support for the following general categories. Select one level per category, you can use a number more than once.
| Slightly Increase | a) Education (Higher) | ||
| Slightly Increase | b) Education (K-12) | ||
| Slightly Increase | c) Emergency preparedness | ||
| Maintain Status | d) Environment | ||
| Slightly Decrease | e) Health care | ||
| Slightly Increase | f) Law enforcement | ||
| Greatly Increase | g) Transportation and highway infrastructure | ||
| Greatly Decrease | h) Welfare | ||
| Maintain Status | a) Alcohol taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | b) Cigarette taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | c) Corporate taxes | ||
| Greatly Decrease | d) Gasoline taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | e) Income taxes (incomes below $75,000) | ||
| Slightly Decrease | f) Income taxes (incomes above $75,000) | ||
| Slightly Decrease | g) Property taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | h) Sales taxes | ||
| Eliminate | i) Vehicle taxes | ||
| No | 1) Should state sales taxes be extended to Internet sales? | ||
| No | 2) Should accounts such as a "rainy day" fund be used to balance the state budget? | ||
| Undecided | 3) Should fee increases be used to balance the state budget? | ||
| b)(K-12) education, I believe that a fair funding formula needs to be put into place and the state needs to provide adequate funding for mandates or allow local school districts the latitude to dictate which mandates they are going to follow. More local control needs to be restored to local school districts with added accountability. | |||
| We need to create a more business friendly environment to attract business here and to keep the business we already have. By allowing selective tax credits and incentives to certain companies, we will create more jobs when we create more business growth. The residents of Rhode Island have been taxed to a limit that has put a strangle hold on the average household. We must make the difficult decision to limit social programs and welfare and provide tax relief to the average taxpayer who pays the taxes in this state. | |||
| No more quick fix solutions to fix the budget problems in our state. We have a spending problem, not a revenue problem. | |||
Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding campaign finance and government reform.c) Do you support limiting the following types of contributions to state legislative candidates?
| Yes | a) Do you support the current limit of terms for Rhode Island governors? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support limiting the number of terms for Rhode Island state senators and representatives? | ||
| No | 1) Individual | ||
| No | 2) PAC | ||
| Yes | 3) Corporate | ||
| No | 4) Political Parties | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support requiring full and timely disclosure of campaign finance information? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support imposing spending limits on state-level political campaigns? | ||
| Yes | f) Should Rhode Island participate in the federal REAL ID program? | ||
| Yes | g) Should a plan to reduce the state budget deficit include laying off state workers? | ||
| Undecided | h) Should a plan to reduce the state budget deficit include health benefit reductions to retired state employees? | ||
| f) There is a potential civil liberty issue connected with this topic. In the new era of terrorist activity in a post 9/11 world, and the influx of illegal immigrations into the U.S., we should have a security measure in place. We should be able to achieve this without intense scrutiny into the private life of a U.S. citizen. The Social Security number system has not been proved to be adequate protection due to the amount of false SS numbers in the system. This topic pits democracy against Socialism, but in the end, it should make for a safer America. | |||
Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding crime.
| a) Increase state funds for construction of state prisons and hiring of additional prison staff. | |||
| X | b) Establish the death penalty in Rhode Island. | ||
| X | c) Support programs to provide prison inmates with vocational and job-related skills and job-placement assistance when released. | ||
| X | d) Implement penalties other than incarceration for certain non-violent offenders. | ||
| e) Decriminalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana. | |||
| f) Minors accused of a violent crime should be prosecuted as adults. | |||
| X | g) Support state and local law enforcement officials enforcing federal immigration laws. | ||
| X | h) Support hate crime legislation. | ||
| b) for heinous crimes only c) for non-violent criminals only d) unpaid community service that is monitored. | |||
Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding education.
| a) Support state funding of universal pre-K programs. | |||
| X | b) Support federal education standards and testing requirements for K-12 students (No Child Left Behind). | ||
| X | c) Support state education standards and testing requirements for K-12 students. | ||
| d) Support requiring public schools to administer high school exit exams. | |||
| X | e) Allow parents to use vouchers to send their children to any public school. | ||
| f) Allow parents to use vouchers to send their children to any private or religious school. | |||
| g) Provide state funding to increase teacher salaries. | |||
| X | h) Support using a merit pay system for teachers. | ||
| X | i) Provide state funding for tax incentives and financial aid to help make college more affordable. | ||
| j) Support allowing illegal immigrant high school graduates of Rhode Island to pay in-state tuition at public universities. | |||
| b) NCLB in its core has some good principles, however, it is not perfect and needs to be reworked with more consideration given to local and state requirements. d) still undecided, but state needs accountability standards that should be administered by some type of testing. | |||
Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding employment.
| a) Increase funding for state job-training programs that re-train displaced workers and teach skills needed in today's job market. | |||
| b) Reduce state government regulations on the private sector. | |||
| X | c) Provide low interest loans and tax credits for starting, expanding, or relocating businesses. | ||
| X | d) Provide tax credits for businesses that provide child care for children in low-income working families. | ||
| e) Increase state funds to provide child care for children in low-income working families. | |||
| f) Increase the state minimum wage. | |||
| g) Support laws that prevent employers from dismissing employees at will. | |||
| X | h) Support financial punishments for those who knowingly employ illegal immigrants. | ||
| X | i) Support increased work requirements for able-bodied welfare recipients. | ||
| X | j) Increase funding for employment and job training programs for welfare recipients. | ||
| a) also involve private industry in a plan b) It would depend on portion of the private sector d) As long as it provides it for everyone, not just low income households j) and disability recipients | |||
Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding the environment and energy.
| X | a) Promote increased use of alternative fuel technology. | ||
| X | b) Support increased production of traditional domestic energy sources (e.g. coal, natural gas, oil, etc). | ||
| X | c) Support providing financial incentives to farms that produce biofuel crops. | ||
| X | d) Use state funds to clean up former industrial and commercial sites that are contaminated, unused, or abandoned. | ||
| e) Support funding for improvements to Rhode Island's power generating and transmission facilities. | |||
| X | f) Support funding for open space preservation. | ||
| X | g) Limit carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases linked to global warming. | ||
| X | h) Enact environmental regulations even if they are stricter than federal law. | ||
| g) mainly from industrial sources. h) it would depend on what type of regulation. | |||
Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding guns.
| Yes | a) Should background checks be required on gun sales between private citizens at gun shows? | ||
| Yes | b) Should citizens be allowed to carry concealed guns? | ||
| No | c) Should a license be required for gun possession? | ||
| No | d) Do you support current levels of enforcement of existing state restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns? | ||
| No | e) Do you support current state restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns? | ||
| As long as it the (NICS) is conducted at the show. No additional waiting period should be required. | |||
Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding health.
| X | a) Ensure that citizens have access to basic health care through managed care, insurance reforms, or state-funded care where necessary. | ||
| X | b) Guaranteed medical care to all citizens is not a responsibility of state government. | ||
| X | c) Limit the amount of damages that can be awarded in medical malpractice lawsuits. | ||
| X | d) Allow patients to sue their HMOs. | ||
| X | e) Require hospitals and labs to release reports on infections that are a risk to public health, while not compromising patient confidentiality. | ||
| f) Legalize physician assisted suicide in Rhode Island. | |||
| g) Support allowing doctors to prescribe marijuana to their patients for medicinal purposes. | |||
| h) Other or expanded principles | |||
['Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding social issues.', 'Legislative Priorities']
| No | a) Should Rhode Island continue to recognize civil unions between same-sex couples? | ||
| No | b) Should same-sex couples be allowed to marry? | ||
| No | c) Should Rhode Island provide state-level spousal rights to same-sex couples? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support a moment of silence in public schools? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support voluntary prayer in public schools? | ||
| No | f) Do you support sexual education programs that include information on abstinence, contraceptives, and HIV/STD prevention methods? | ||
| No | g) Do you support abstinence-only sexual education programs? | ||
| No | h) Should the state government consider race and gender in state government contracting and hiring decisions? | ||
| No | i) Do you support affirmative action in public college admissions? | ||
| No | j) Should Rhode Island continue affirmative action programs? | ||
| Yes | k) Do you support state funding of stem cell research? | ||
| No | l) Do you support state funding of embryonic stem cell research? | ||
| Yes | m) Do you support allowing pharmacists who conscientiously object to emergency contraception to refuse to dispense it? | ||
| 2 years | |||
| k) from adults only where no life is compromised. | |||
| 1. Reduce the tax burden on citizens and local business. 2. Create a stable statewide economy encompassing new technologies to create new jobs and maintain a sound budget without one time fixes to balance the budget. The state budget should also be required to be completed before cities and towns and school districts complete their budgets so they can know the amount of state aid they are to receive. 3. Institute a fair funding formula for schools with less unfunded mandates and bring better accountability for student performance. Also create more regional school districts and have a statewide teacher contract. | |||
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