Feki Pouha'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.
Feki Pouha has refused to provide voters with positions on key issues covered by the 2016 Political Courage Test, despite repeated requests from Vote Smart and voters like you.
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.
Hawaii State Legislative Election 2014 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? | ||
| In general I support the birth of a child. Exceptions to allowing a "baby in the womb" to grow to a natural or full term (such as involving incest, rape, or where the life or health of the expectant mother is put in grave danger or where severe defects that would make the life of the baby unlikely beyond birth) should be verified by competent medical authorities. The balancing of interests on a case by case basis must be given great care when approaching consideration of an abortion. Other reforms need improvement such as in Human Services and strengthening families. | |||
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 Hawaii's budget.
| Slightly Increase | a) Education (higher) | ||
| Greatly Increase | b) Education (K-12) | ||
| Slightly Increase | c) Environment | ||
| Slightly Increase | d) Health care | ||
| Slightly Increase | e) Law enforcement/corrections | ||
| Greatly Increase | f) Transportation/infrastructure | ||
| Maintain Status | g) Welfare | ||
| Maintain Status | a) Alcohol taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | b) Cigarette taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | c) Corporate taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | d) Gas/Oil taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | e) Property taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | f) Sales taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | g) Income taxes (low-income families) | ||
| Slightly Decrease | h) Income taxes (mid-income families) | ||
| Maintain Status | i) Income taxes (high-income families) | ||
| No | a) Tapping into Hawaii's "rainy day" fund | ||
| No | b) Increasing tuition rates at public universities | ||
| No | c) Reducing or eliminating public worker collective bargaining | ||
| No | 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 | ||
| The Hawai'i biennium budget needs to be held accountable for the automatic dispersion of funds, especially into programs that are defunct or of little value to the taxpayers of Hawai'i. About half of the $12 billion biennium budget is on auto-spend mode and some of that auto-spending is being left largely unchecked. | |||
| I support consideration of a flat tax based on income level or some other kind of comprehensive income tax parity reform. I also believe that food and medicine should be taxed less or not at all, especially for our elderly and otherwise needy. | |||
| I believe that promises should be kept to those who have served. I also know that as a system, if there are places that need improvement, that the budget should reflect responsible fiscal policy and practice. | |||
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? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support requiring a government-issued photo identification in order to vote at the polls? | ||
| I support initiatives that can build trust between our government and our electorate. The goal would be to increase voter participation from an average of about 30 to 40 percent to reach much higher voter participation. I also believe that education that includes voter registration for 16 to 18 year old high school or public community college or university would be very beneficial. | |||
| 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) Do you support legalizing the possession of small amounts of marijuana? | ||
| 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? | ||
| No | f) Do you support the enforcement of federal immigration laws by state and local police? | ||
| No | g) Do you support requiring labels on foods that have been genetically engineered or contain genetically modified ingredients? | ||
| It is difficult to say that issues are black and white when each area of concern is complex and full of moving parts. More discussion, understanding and working are needed on many of these controversial matters an in some cases are regulated by the legislative, executive and judicial functions of our government. I think thorough consideration of all sides of an issue are warranted in a manner that is not demeaning or vilifying. | |||
| No | 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? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support providing financial incentives to the private sector for the purpose of job creation? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support government spending as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support providing direct financial assistance to homeowners facing foreclosure? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support an increase of the minimum wage? | ||
| These complex economic issues seem to be easier to solve and answer to on paper rather than in real practice. In real practice it is unrealistic that a government of the people would be unable to take over the responsibilities and practices of the private sector in various industries. There needs to be a healthy partnership with government, public and private stakeholders to provide a viable result for the people which a government serves. I support the free market way, but inherit in that are results that are less than desirable for any entrepreneur, policymaker and typical citizen. | |||
| No | a) Do you support the national Common Core State Standards initiative? | ||
| No | b) Do you support a merit pay system for teachers? | ||
| c) Is the tenure process for public school teachers producing effective teachers? | |||
| Yes | 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? | ||
| Yes | g) Should illegal immigrants who graduate from Hawaii high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities? | ||
| Beneficial standards, outcomes and benchmarks are already in place that can actually be improved by educational classroom professionals. Teachers and administrators do not need more initiatives to overburden their busy preparatory and instructional time. Teachers do not need a hostile evaluative system. In short, our students need marketable skills and familiarity with every discipline they seek to take part in. STEM subjects, the arts, cultural studies and other parts of academia, including the important trades should be presented to every student for consideration and possible placement. | |||
| 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 state funding for improvements to Hawaii's energy infrastructure? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support state funding for open space preservation? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support government regulations of greenhouse gas emissions? | ||
| The focus should always remain on the interests of the people being governed. Behind-closed-door meetings and agreements often forget the stakeholders that must live with development, improvements and initiatives. Cost-Benefit analyses should legitimately factor in the cost basis for the people who live near proposed infrastructure or other kind of proposals. The cost to the citizens should not be greater than the actual benefit that citizens receive, especially those who bear the burden of living near structures that alter much in the local community. | |||
| 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? | ||
| e) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| 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 Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act? | ||
| No | e) Do you support requiring individuals to purchase health care insurance? | ||
| No | f) Do you support monetary limits on damages that can be collected in malpractice lawsuits? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support allowing doctors to prescribe marijuana to their patients for medicinal purposes? | ||
| h) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| No | a) Do you support same-sex marriage? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in Hawaii's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in Hawaii's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| I do not support educational research projects that are medically inaccurate. | |||
Vote Smart does not permit the use of its name or programs in any campaign activity, including advertising, debates, and speeches.