Daniel Sandell'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-choice | a) Do you consider yourself pro-choice or pro-life? | ||
| 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? | ||
| f) Do you support requiring parental consent before an abortion is performed on a minor? | |||
| Yes | g) Do you support sexual education programs that include information on abstinence, contraceptives, and HIV/STD prevention methods? | ||
| h) Do you support abstinence-only sexual education programs? | |||
| Although I would actively advocate for alternatives such as adoption, it is my humble and personal opinion that ultimately a woman should have the right to make the decision as to whether or not she wishes to bring another life into this world. | |||
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 | ||
| Maintain Status | d) Health care | ||
| Slightly Increase | e) Law enforcement | ||
| Slightly Increase | f) Transportation and highway infrastructure | ||
| Slightly Decrease | g) Welfare | ||
| Slightly Decrease | a) Alcohol taxes | ||
| Greatly Decrease | b) Cigarette taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | c) Corporate taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | d) Gasoline taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | e) Property taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | f) Sales taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | g) Income taxes (low-income families) | ||
| Slightly Decrease | h) Income taxes (middle-income families) | ||
| Maintain Status | i) Income taxes (high-income families) | ||
| No | a) Tapping into Massachusetts' "rainy day" fund | ||
| No | b) Issuing the early release of certain non-violent offenders | ||
| No | 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 | ||
| It is my position that we should not be rewarding undocumented workers who broke the laws when they entered the Commonwealth by rewarding them with benefits such as access to public housing, welfare payments, disability payments, food stamps, and access to the Mass. Health program. Our hard earned tax dollars should be spent on the citizens who live in the Commonwealth as well as those that followed the rules to immigrate into our country. | |||
| Taxes on alcohol and cigarettes are regressive and have a greater impact on lower income families. We should be doing everything we can to allow families to keep a larger percentage of their income so that they can continue to work towards prosperity. | |||
| Our rainy day fund should not be pillaged every time career politicians want to overspend. We need to fundamentally change the way that our government spends our citizens� money so that we can solve our short and long term financial problems. Decades of the tax and spend attitudes of career politicians have led us to the situation we are now in. Next year we are facing a 2.5 Billion dollar deficit, and only through significant spending reductions can we pass off a financially stable Commonwealth to future generations. | |||
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? | ||
| No | 1) Individual | ||
| No | 2) Political Action Committee | ||
| No | 3) Corporate | ||
| No | 4) Political Party | ||
| No | 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? | ||
| As long as a candidate is required to fully disclose where the money for their campaign comes from, it is my personal opinion that any individual and/or organization should be allowed to donate as much of their hard earned money on the candidate that they think will best represent them in the government. I agree with recent Supreme Court decisions that support this theory as an extension of our rights under the United States Constitution. | |||
| 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? | ||
| Yes | c) Should the possession of small amounts of marijuana be decriminalized? | ||
| No | 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? | ||
| I believe that for non-violent drug offenders, there should be more treatment facilities available for them. Although there is the Community Corrections program in almost every County in the Commonwealth, we need to provide more long term residential programs so that young people whom have become addicted to substances can have the long term treatment and support that they need to re-integrate themselves successfully back into the community. Although I do not support the widespread use of the death penalty, I do support it for the killing of police officers, federal law enforcement officials, as well as for elected representatives. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support reducing government regulations on the private sector? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support the expansion of state-regulated gaming? | ||
| c) Do you support increased state funding for job-training programs that re-train displaced workers? | |||
| 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? | ||
| g) Do you support providing direct financial assistance to homeowners facing foreclosure? | |||
| I support gambling in Massachusetts because I feel that it would be a positive addition to our economy. I have held this position and have not flip-flopped because I was asked to by my party leaders like my opponent. Two things that the legislature could have done to create jobs in the economy but did not is to give increased tax deductions for hiring new employees as well as capital equipment. If this had been done, more business would be willing to hire new workers as well as buy machinery and equipment that will keep our economy moving forward. | |||
| Yes | 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? | ||
| Educating the children of the Commonwealth to face the realities of the real world is a top priority. I will always choose to stand with the students. I will stand against teachers unions who have been reluctant to adopt a merit pay system as well as adopting successful teaching methods that have originated in some of the Charter School systems. Seeing children and their parents break down and cry when they are not selected for Charter School lotteries is something I will not forget. It is a sad reality that our public educational system has failed so many families. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support state funding for the development of alternative energy? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support state funding for the development of traditional domestic energy sources (e.g. coal, natural gas, oil)? | ||
| Yes | 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? | ||
| f) Do you support state funding for open space preservation? | |||
| g) Do you support enacting environmental regulations aimed at reducing the effects of climate change? | |||
| I support the development of all forms of energy that can be generated without causing sustained damage to the environment. I support grants to Universities and Colleges in the Commonwealth that can increase the efficiency of our production methods as well as lessening the environmental impacts of those energy sources. Having a stable and affordable source of energy for every person in the Commonwealth is essential if we are going to keep the economy moving forward. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns? | ||
| Yes | 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? | ||
| I have a 90% rating from G.O.A.L. Convicted felons should not be allowed to own firearms in my opinion, that is my primary restriction I would impose. As long as an affordable system can be put in place to allow dealers to perform background checks on individuals at gun shows then I support this requirement. I believe that we should protect every right we have in the Constitution and therefore we should allow individuals to "bear arms" if they chose to do so. I do support having a licensing system for firearms, but the fees should be reduced or eliminated. | |||
| 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? | ||
| No | e) Do you support monetary limits on damages that can be collected in malpractice lawsuits? | ||
| 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? | ||
| I support any proposal that increases the options that individuals, private businesses and local officials have in choosing the best healthcare plan that fits their individual needs instead of being forced into a one size fits all package that we currently have. I firmly believe that we the people should have as many options as possible to determine what type of health care plan is best for them. Some people may prefer to be covered only for catastrophic care with a high deductible while others may prefer a plan that offers a lower cost for prescription medications. | |||
| a) Should marriage only be between one man and one woman? | |||
| b) Should Massachusetts continue to grant marriage licenses to same-sex couples? | |||
| c) Do you support state funding for stem cell research? | |||
| d) Do you support state funding for embryonic stem cell research? | |||
| e) Do you support the state's use of affirmative action? | |||
| f) Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in Massachusetts' anti-discrimination laws? | |||
| g) Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in Massachusetts' anti-discrimination laws? | |||
| I believe that all people, regardless of sexual orientation, race, gender,creed, and religion should have equal protection under the law. This includes the right to enter into a legally protected relationship that will ensure the co-mingling of marital property as well as the protections of the law regarding inheritance and divorce. | |||
| Reducing our spending so that we can provide future generations with a financially stable Commonwealth. By eliminating wasteful spending, overpaid government positions, and programs that have failed to achieve their desired goals, we can begin make this goal a reality. I also support allowing private sponsorships of public buildings and property as well as the repeal of the Pacheco law that has made it extremely difficult for any government service to become privatized. If the money runs out, we all lose. We should not be gambling with our the future of our younger generations. |
Vote Smart does not permit the use of its name or programs in any campaign activity, including advertising, debates, and speeches.