Paul Spencer's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
Key
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Paul Spencer has demonstrated Political Courage by telling citizens where he stands on the issues he may face if elected.
Washington State Legislative Election 2012 Political Courage Test
| Pro-choice | a) Do you generally support pro-choice or pro-life legislation? | ||
| No | 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? | ||
| No | f) Do you support requiring parental consent before an abortion is performed on a minor? | ||
| No | g) Do you support the prohibition of public funds for abortion procedures? | ||
| No | 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 Washington's budget.
| Maintain Status | a) Education (higher) | ||
| Slightly Increase | b) Education (K-12) | ||
| Maintain Status | c) Environment | ||
| Slightly Increase | d) Health care | ||
| Slightly Decrease | e) Law enforcement/corrections | ||
| Slightly Increase | f) Transportation/infrastructure | ||
| Slightly Increase | g) Welfare | ||
| Greatly Increase | h) Other or expanded categories: | ||
| Maintain Status | a) Alcohol taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | b) Cigarette taxes | ||
| Slightly Increase | c) Gas/Oil taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | d) Property taxes | ||
| Eliminate | e) Sales taxes | ||
| Greatly Increase | f) Other or expanded categories: | ||
| No | a) Tapping into Washington's "rainy day" fund | ||
| No | b) Increasing tuition rates at public universities | ||
| No | c) Reducing or eliminating public worker collective bargaining | ||
| Yes | d) Reducing state employee salaries AND/OR pensions | ||
| No | e) Instituting mandatory furloughs AND/OR layoffs for state employees | ||
| No | f) Reducing benefits for Medicaid recipients | ||
| 1) Promotion of manufacturing and deployment of renewable-energy devices and systems; 2) Create a State Bank such as that of North Dakota; 3) Promotion of, and incentives for, conservation of energy and natural resources; 4) Local food production. | |||
| 1) Progressive income tax system, similar to that of Oregon. | |||
| 1) Reduction of programs and managers in DOE, DofA, Supt. of Public Instruction, et al to fit revenue. 2) Eliminate most state-sponsored subsidies and tax 'loopholes', except for renewable energy and affordable housing. | |||
a) Do you support limits on the following types of contributions for state candidates?
| Yes | 1) Individual | ||
| Yes | 2) Political Action Committee | ||
| Yes | 3) Corporate | ||
| Yes | 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? | ||
| No | e) Do you support requiring a government-issued photo identification in order to vote at the polls? | ||
| No | f) Do you support requiring a two-thirds vote of the legislature in order to approve all future tax increases? | ||
| More public fora for candidates. | |||
| 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) Do you support decriminalizing the possession of small amounts of marijuana? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support legalization and regulation of small amounts of marijuana for individuals 21 and older? | ||
| No | 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? | ||
| 1) On e) - answer for me should be "it depends". Level of violence and motivation would be criteria. 2) Legalize, regulate, and tax drugs; DUII covers all intoxicants and could be expanded to include other behaviors. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support reducing government regulations on the private sector? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support increased state funding for job-training programs that re-train displaced workers? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support expanding access to unemployment benefits? | ||
| No | d) Do you support providing financial incentives to the private sector for the purpose of job creation? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support increased spending on infrastructure projects for the purpose of job creation? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support providing direct financial assistance to homeowners facing foreclosure? | ||
| 1) State Bank to socialize fees for banks borrowing from the Federal Reserve's 'Discount Window' (eliminate Wall Street banks' profits from these transactions). 2) 'Fair Trade' agreements, not 'Free Trade'. | |||
| No | a) Do you support the national Common Core State Standards initiative? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support a merit pay system for teachers? | ||
| Yes | c) Is the tenure process for public school teachers producing effective teachers? | ||
| No | d) Should parents be allowed to use vouchers to send their children to any school? | ||
| No | e) Do you support state funding for charter schools? | ||
| No | f) Do you support the state government providing college students with financial aid? | ||
| Yes | g) Should illegal immigrants who graduate from Washington's high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities? | ||
| As in state government, there are too many programs and administrators (and Emeritus professors) in our public universities. Reduce and consolidate. | |||
| 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)? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support state funding for improvements to Washington's energy infrastructure? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support state funding for open space preservation? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support enacting environmental regulations aimed at reducing the effects of climate change? | ||
| Time to move into the 21st century. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns? | ||
| Yes | 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? | ||
| Yes | d) Should a license be required for gun possession? | ||
| Question a) - only a few restrictions, primarily aimed at high-power, high rate-of-fire limits. | |||
| Yes | 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? | ||
| Yes | 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? | ||
| g) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support legalizing same-sex marriage? | ||
| Yes | b) Should same-sex couples be allowed to form civil unions? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in Washington's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in Washington's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| e) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| Jobs! Build affordable and 'workforce' housing: Use local contractors, financed by state-guaranteed loans. Jobs! Renewable energy-based power generation: Incentives to support manufacture and deployment. Jobs! Utilization of Biomass (particularly forest-derived): Support for combined-heat-and-power (CHP) facilities at an appropriate scale, widely distributed among rural communities, with emphasis on industrial or municipal heating applications. As stated in this survey's questions, I support tax reform in order to fund long-term investment in small, local business with both feet in our state and to invest in infrastructure that supports greater energy autonomy for Washington. Tax the super-wealthy and cut waste. |
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