CJ Ferry's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
Key
Official Position: Candidate addressed this issue directly by taking the Political Courage Test.
Inferred Position: Candidate refused to address this issue, but Vote Smart inferred this issue based on the candidate's public record, including statements, voting record, and special interest group endorsements.
Unknown Position: Candidate refused to address this issue, or we could not infer an answer for this candidate despite exhaustive research of their public record.
Additional Information: Click on this icon to reveal more information about this candidate's position, from their answers or Vote Smart's research.
Other or Expanded Principles & Legislative Priorities are entered exactly as candidates submit them. Vote Smart does not edit for misspelled words, punctuation or grammar.
Massachusetts State Legislative Election 2010 Political Courage Test
| Pro-life | a) Do you consider yourself pro-choice or pro-life? | ||
| No | b) Should abortion be legal only within the first trimester of pregnancy? | ||
| Yes | c) Should abortion be legal when the pregnancy resulted from incest or rape? | ||
| Yes | d) Should abortion be legal when the life of the woman is endangered? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support requiring parental notification before an abortion is performed on a minor? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support requiring parental consent before an abortion is performed on a minor? | ||
| No | g) Do you support sexual education programs that include information on abstinence, contraceptives, and HIV/STD prevention methods? | ||
| Yes | h) Do you support abstinence-only sexual education programs? | ||
| While I do not support the availability of contraceptives in our sex ed programs. I do firmly believe that sex ed programs need to educate on the spread of HIV/STD. While studies do not show that abstinence programs are totally effective, I firmly support that sex education and personal choices need to have parental involvement with abstinence being the primary focus in our schools | |||
1) State SpendingIndicate what state funding levels (#1-6) you support for the following general categories. Select one level per category; you may use a number more than once.2) State TaxesIndicate what state tax levels (#1-6) you support for the following general categories. Select one level per category; you may use a number more than once.3) Budget StabilizationIndicate which proposals you support (if any) for balancing Massachusetts' budget.
| Slightly Increase | a) Education (higher) | ||
| Maintain Status | b) Education (K-12) | ||
| Maintain Status | c) Environment | ||
| Slightly Increase | d) Health care | ||
| Greatly Increase | e) Law enforcement | ||
| Slightly Increase | f) Transportation and highway infrastructure | ||
| Maintain Status | g) Welfare | ||
| Greatly Increase | h) Other or expanded categories | ||
| Maintain Status | a) Alcohol taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | b) Cigarette taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | c) Corporate taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | d) Gasoline taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | e) Property taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | f) Sales taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | g) Income taxes (low-income families) | ||
| Slightly Decrease | h) Income taxes (middle-income families) | ||
| Maintain Status | i) Income taxes (high-income families) | ||
| j) Other or expanded categories | |||
| Yes | a) Tapping into Massachusetts' "rainy day" fund | ||
| No | b) Issuing the early release of certain non-violent offenders | ||
| Yes | c) Increasing tuition rates at public universities | ||
| Yes | d) Instituting mandatory furloughs and layoffs for state employees | ||
| No | e) Reducing benefits for Medicaid recipients | ||
| Yes | f) Privatizing certain government services | ||
| g) Other or expanded principles | |||
| Economic Development / Job training & creation | |||
c) Do you support limits on the following types of contributions to candidates for state government?
| Yes | a) Do you support limits on the number of terms for Massachusetts governors? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support limits on the number of terms for Massachusetts state legislators? | ||
| Yes | 1) Individual | ||
| Yes | 2) Political Action Committee | ||
| Yes | 3) Corporate | ||
| Yes | 4) Political Party | ||
| Yes | d) Should candidates for state office be encouraged to meet voluntary spending limits? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support requiring full and timely disclosure of campaign finance information? | ||
| f) Other or expanded principles | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support capital punishment for certain crimes? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support alternatives to incarceration for certain non-violent offenders, such as mandatory counseling or substance abuse treatment? | ||
| No | c) Should the possession of small amounts of marijuana be decriminalized? | ||
| Yes | d) Should a minor accused of a violent crime be prosecuted as an adult? | ||
| Yes | e) Should a minor who sends sexually-explicit or nude photos by cell phone face criminal charges? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support the enforcement of federal immigration laws by state and local police? | ||
| g) Other or expanded principles | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support reducing government regulations on the private sector? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support the expansion of state-regulated gaming? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support increased state funding for job-training programs that re-train displaced workers? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support expanding access to unemployment benefits? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support providing financial incentives to the private sector for the purpose of job creation? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support increased spending on infrastructure projects for the purpose of job creation? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support providing direct financial assistance to homeowners facing foreclosure? | ||
| h) Other or expanded principles | |||
| No | a) Do you support national education standards? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support requiring public schools to administer high school exit exams? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support using a merit pay system for teachers? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support state funding for charter schools? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support the state government providing college students with financial aid? | ||
| No | f) Should illegal immigrants who graduate from Massachusetts high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities? | ||
| I do not support the National education standards because I firmly bel;ieve that it dumbs down our educational system and standards for Massachusetts. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support state funding for the development of alternative energy? | ||
| No | b) Do you support state funding for the development of traditional domestic energy sources (e.g. coal, natural gas, oil)? | ||
| No | c) Do you support providing financial incentives to farms that produce biofuel crops? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support state funding for improvements to Massachusetts' energy infrastructure? | ||
| Yes | e) Should municipalities be allowed to take control of their electric infrastructure through the use of eminent domain? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support state funding for open space preservation? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support enacting environmental regulations aimed at reducing the effects of climate change? | ||
| h) Other or expanded principles | |||
| No | a) Do you support restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns? | ||
| No | b) Do you support requiring background checks on gun sales between private citizens at gun shows? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support allowing individuals to carry concealed guns? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support requiring a license for gun possession? | ||
| The Right to bear Arms is a Constitutionally guaranteed right and the effects of Massachusetts Gun control regulations is meant to restrict that right in the narrowest of fashions. | |||
| No | a) Do you support a universally-accessible, publicly-administered health insurance option? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support expanding access to health care through commercial health insurance reform? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support interstate health insurance compacts? | ||
| No | d) Should individuals be required to purchase health care insurance? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support monetary limits on damages that can be collected in malpractice lawsuits? | ||
| No | f) Do you support legalizing physician-assisted suicide in Massachusetts? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support allowing doctors to prescribe marijuana to their patients for medicinal purposes? | ||
| As a Nurse, I see the need for adequate health insurance for our citizens but I do not believe that we can force people to purchase a product they do not want. I believe that if those individuals do not carry health insurance than the responsibility of those medical bills if incurred then become the sole responsibility of the individual and can not and should not be passed onto the state. | |||
| Yes | a) Should marriage only be between one man and one woman? | ||
| Yes | b) Should Massachusetts continue to grant marriage licenses to same-sex couples? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support state funding for stem cell research? | ||
| No | d) Do you support state funding for embryonic stem cell research? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support the state's use of affirmative action? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in Massachusetts' anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in Massachusetts' anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| Marriage is defined as a sacrament in all the major religions of the world. As a Justice of the Peace I am required by law to perform a marriage between any individuals that obtain a marriage license. I believe to end this debate over semantics, any marriage performed by a religious cleric should be called a marriage and any union performed by a civil authority should be called a civil union. Both would carry the sames rights as the other The name marriage license should also be changed to "A License to Wed" | |||
| The number one priority our state currently has is jobs and job creation. We can grant tax incentives to prospective businesses to hire our unemployed populations and to also train them as opposed to having third party companies provided unnecessary and wasteful training programs at tax payer expense. Getting our Massachusetts Budget under control by maintaining Aid to cities and towns, yet cutting spending by consolidation of services and cutting discretionary spending and requiring our legislative branch to be just as accountable to budgetary concerns as all other agencies. |
Vote Smart does not permit the use of its name or programs in any campaign activity, including advertising, debates, and speeches.