Jay Williams' Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
Key
Official Position: Candidate addressed this issue directly by taking the Political Courage Test.
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Jay Williams has provided voters with clear stances on key issues by responding to the 2022 Political Courage Test.
South Dakota State Legislative Election 2022 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? | ||
| Women's right to privacy and to health care without the intrusion of the government, just as men have, is fundamental to our free country. | |||
| No | a) In order to balance the budget, do you support reducing state employee salaries AND/OR pensions? | ||
| Yes | b) DO you support raising taxes on any income or on any entity, to promote economic growth? | ||
| Our country is the richest in the world and yet governments at every level (local, state, national) are under funded. That is not right. I support taxing those who can most afford it (i.e. the very wealthy) to fund sensible government programs. | |||
| 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? | ||
| No | e) Do you support mandatory minimum sentences for non-violent drug offenders? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support the legalization of medical marijuana in South Dakota? | ||
| Even though I answered YES to the question about prosecuting young offenders as adults, I think this is a difficult issue and should be approached on a case by case basis. Our pinion system should not be a for profit enterprise. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support state government spending as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| No | b) Do you support reducing government regulations on the private sector? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support an increase of the minimum wage of South Dakota? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support providing financial relief to businesses AND/OR corporations negatively impacted by the state of national emergency for COVID-19? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support government investment in efforts to establish more affordable housing in South Dakota? | ||
| It is the purpose of the government to provide assistance to make the pursuit of life, liberty and prosperity possible for all. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support adopting federal education standards in South Dakota? | ||
| No | b) Do you support state funding for charter schools? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support increasing teacher salaries AND/OR benefits in South Dakota? | ||
| No | d) Should immigrants unlawfully present in the United States who graduate from South Dakota's high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities? | ||
| South Dakota has a huge reserve fund that could be used to help our public schools. Our teachers are at the bottom of the salary scale in the USA. I believe public education is the back bone of our country and should be fully supported by our government. The charter school question is tricky because charter schools vary widely, some very good and some bad. With adequate oversight, charter schools might be a good thing for South Dakota. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support state funding for the development of renewable energy (e.g. solar, wind, geo-thermal)? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support government regulations of greenhouse gas emissions? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support increasing state funding for clean drinking water initiatives? | ||
| The damaging effect of fossil fuels on our environment is a major issue for everyone in the entire world. We must address this issue quickly or the consequences may well result in disaster for us all. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support the regulation of campaign contributions from corporations, unions, and individuals? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support the use of an independent AND/OR bipartisan commission for redistricting? | ||
| No | c) Do you support requiring a government-issued photo identification in order to vote at the polls? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support automatic voter registration? | ||
| The treat to our democracy is real and ongoing. I support policies which will help us maintain our free and fair elections which are currently being challenged by MAGA Republicans. | |||
| 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? | ||
| Yes | c) Should a license be required for gun ownership? | ||
| I support reasonable gun legislation. Unfortunately, the NRA and the right wing have made this a political issue and the result is the carnage we see in our nation. School shootings, concert massacres and an epidemic of gun related suicides are unacceptable and we must do something to address these appalling events. I recognize that the 2nd amendment guarantees the right to bear arms, but I also recognize that this right, like all of the rights in the bill of rights, is limited by the rights of others. | |||
| Yes | a) Should the state government increase funding for treatment facilities to combat opioid abuse? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support a government-run (single-payer) healthcare program such as Medicare-for All? | ||
| Yes | c) Should an individual have the right to choose to die through euthanasia? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support eliminating religious exemptions for vaccinations? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support expanding paid family AND/OR medical leave opportunities? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support lowering the cost of prescription drugs? | ||
| Health care is not only for the rich. Government has a responsibility to ensure it's people have adequate health care. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in South Dakota's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in South Dakota's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support greater efforts by South Dakota's state government in closing gender, racial and other wage gaps? | ||
| It is the responsibility of the government to protect all of the people, especially the most vulnerable. | |||
| I am a Vietnam veteran. I fought for my country back when it was not popular to do so. I am fighting for my country once again. This time against the fascist and racist who have emerged in the last few years with the intent of stripping citizens of their rights and destroying our democracy. Please join me in this fight to save our country. | |||
| My top legislative priority is to ensure our democracy is safe from the MAGA right wing. One of the main things these MAGA tyrants oppose is legislation to curb the damage being done by fossil fuels. I will work to ensure South Dakota becomes a leader in moving from fossil fuels to clean energy. To fund this effort, I believe we will be able to use the federal funds that have already been appropriated for this effort along with targeted state taxes to incentivize moving to clean energy and to disincentivize the use of fossil fuels. |
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