Elliot Simon's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
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Elliot Simon is currently being tested through the 2020 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.
West Virginia State Legislative Election 2012 Political Courage Test
| Pro-life | a) Do you generally support pro-choice or pro-life legislation? | ||
| Yes | b) Should abortions be illegal after 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? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support the prohibition of public funds for abortion procedures? | ||
| Yes | h) Do you support the prohibition of public funds for organizations that perform abortions? | ||
| i) Other or expanded principles: | |||
1) State Spending:Using the key, indicate 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 Taxes:Using the key,indicate 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 Stabilization:Indicate which proposals you support (if any) for balancing West Virginia's budget.
| Maintain Status | a) Education (higher) | ||
| Maintain Status | b) Education (K-12) | ||
| Maintain Status | c) Environment | ||
| Slightly Decrease | d) Health care | ||
| Maintain Status | e) Law enforcement/corrections | ||
| Slightly Increase | f) Transportation/infrastructure | ||
| Greatly Decrease | g) Welfare | ||
| Slightly Decrease | a) Alcohol taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | b) Cigarette taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | c) Corporate taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | d) Gas/Oil taxes | ||
| e) Property taxes | |||
| Maintain Status | f) Sales taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | g) Income taxes (low-income families) | ||
| Slightly Decrease | h) Income taxes (mid-income families) | ||
| Slightly Decrease | i) Income taxes (high-income families) | ||
| a) Tapping into West Virginia's "rainy day" fund | |||
| b) Increasing tuition rates at public universities | |||
| Yes | c) Reducing or eliminating public worker collective bargaining | ||
| Yes | d) Reducing state employee salaries AND/OR pensions | ||
| e) Instituting mandatory furloughs AND/OR layoffs for state employees | |||
| f) Reducing benefits for Medicaid recipients | |||
| With regard to welfare, it is important to provide a safety net. However there should be time limits to ensure that welfare does not become a way of life. With regard to law enforcement, I am open to adding state troopers if crime statistics warrant. | |||
| [e) Property taxes] Candidate wrote "*" in the blank [f) Sales taxes] Candidate wrote "**" * this is a function of County gov't (levy rates) **eliminate sales tax on food | |||
| [d) Reducing state employee salaries AND/OR pensions] Candidate crossed out "salaries AND/OR" and wrote "for new hires" at the end of the phrase | |||
a) Do you support limits on the following types of contributions for state candidates?
| No | 1) Individual | ||
| No | 2) Political Action Committee | ||
| No | 3) Corporate | ||
| No | 4) Political Party | ||
| Yes | b) Should candidates for state office be encouraged to meet voluntary spending limits? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support requiring full and timely disclosure of campaign finance information? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support the use of an independent AND/OR bipartisan commission for redistricting? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support requiring a government-issued photo identification in order to vote at the polls? | ||
| f) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| No | a) Do you support capital punishment for certain crimes? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support reducing prison sentences for those who commit non-violent crimes? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support alternatives to incarceration for certain non-violent offenders, such as mandatory counseling or substance abuse treatment? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support decriminalizing the possession of small amounts of marijuana? | ||
| e) Should a minor accused of a violent crime be prosecuted as an adult? | |||
| No | f) Should a minor who sends sexually-explicit or nude photos by cell phone face criminal charges? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support the enforcement of federal immigration laws by state and local police? | ||
| [e) Should a minor accused of a violent crime be prosecuted as an adult?] Candidate wrote "It depends on the crime" | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support reducing government regulations on the private sector? | ||
| No | b) Do you support increased state funding for job-training programs that re-train displaced workers? | ||
| No | c) Do you support expanding access to unemployment benefits? | ||
| d) Do you support providing financial incentives to the private sector for the purpose of job creation? | |||
| e) Do you support increased spending on infrastructure projects for the purpose of job creation? | |||
| No | f) Do you support providing direct financial assistance to homeowners facing foreclosure? | ||
| [d) Do you support providing financial incentives to the private sector for the purpose of job creation?] Candidate wrote "I support lower fairer taxes to stimulate growth" [e) Do you support increased spending on infrastructure projects for the purpose of job creation?] Candidate wrote "I support spending on infrastructure to promote economic growth" | |||
| No | a) Do you support the national Common Core State Standards initiative? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support a merit pay system for teachers? | ||
| No | c) Is the tenure process for public school teachers producing effective teachers? | ||
| d) Should parents be allowed to use vouchers to send their children to any school? | |||
| Yes | e) Do you support state funding for charter schools? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support the state government providing college students with financial aid? | ||
| No | g) Should illegal immigrants who graduate from West Virginia high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities? | ||
| [d) Should parents be allowed to use vouchers to send their children to any school?] Candidate wrote "Not vouchers--tax decreases" [f) Do you support the state government providing college students with financial aid?] Candidate wrote "Based on need" Regarding f) - I believe there are better ways to fund scholarship programs than through state government. However, if we are to have a Promise program, the criteria should be modified to be based more on need. | |||
| No | 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)? | ||
| c) Do you support increased regulations on mountaintop removal mining and disposal? | |||
| d) Do you support increased regulations on hydraulic fracturing or "fracking" in the Marcellus Shale? | |||
| No | e) Do you support state funding for improvements to West Virginia's energy infrastructure? | ||
| No | f) Do you support state funding for open space preservation? | ||
| No | g) Do you support enacting environmental regulations aimed at reducing the effects of climate change? | ||
| [c) Do you support increased regulations on mountaintop removal mining and disposal?] Candidate wrote "Depends on what they are" [d) Do you support increased regulations on hydraulic fracturing or "fracking" in the Marcellus Shale?] Candidate wrote "Depends" The state does not have a good track record with regard to funding of infrastructure or business incubators. The recent scandal regarding funding of broadband infrastructure is a case in point. | |||
| No | a) Do you support restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns? | ||
| No | b) Should background checks be required on gun sales between private citizens at gun shows? | ||
| Yes | c) Should citizens be allowed to carry concealed guns? | ||
| No | d) Should a license be required for gun possession? | ||
| e) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| No | a) Do you support a universally-accessible, publicly-administered health insurance option? | ||
| 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) Do you support requiring individuals to purchase health care insurance? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support monetary limits on damages that can be collected in malpractice lawsuits? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support allowing doctors to prescribe marijuana to their patients for medicinal purposes? | ||
| [b) Do you support expanding access to health care through commercial health insurance reform?] candidate wrote "Depends on the reform." | |||
| a) Should marriage only be between one man and one woman? | |||
| b) Should same-sex couples be allowed to form civil unions? | |||
| No | c) Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in West Virginia's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| No | d) Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in West Virginia's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| [a) Should marriage only be between one man and one woman?] Candidate wrote "that is my definition" [b) Should same-sex couples be allowed to form civil unions?] Candidate wrote "Depends on how they are defined" Marriage is the province of religious organizations + institutions and the state really shouldn't interfere. I define marriage as between one man + one woman, but it is a states rights issue and should be put to the voters. Regarding civil unions - a contract between 2 people is their affair and the state should enforce contracts between parties. On principle I am for individual... | |||
| My top priority is the economy. This includes tax reform and judicial reform. We need to eliminate the business tax on property, machinery + inventory. This tax stifles entrepreneurial activity. We also need to reduce the Net Business Income Tax to be competitive. We need to reform the way we select judges and we need tort reform. Our court system is not perceived as being fair. We need transparency in our budgeting process. Special revenue accounts are not itemized in the budget. Further, our state constitution calls for a maximum of 1% unclassified spending. Current budget is approximately 30% unclassified... |
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