Sherry Wells' Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
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Sherry Wells has provided voters with clear stances on key issues by responding to the 2020 Political Courage Test.
Michigan State Legislative Election 2020 Political Courage Test
| Pro-life | 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? | ||
| I oppose the prohibition of funding for Planned Parenthood--it provides needed services where often there are none or the cost is prohibitive. I've been a patient for routine annual female exams, starting when I was a student and when I was a divorced single mother. | |||
| No | a) In order to balance the budget, do you support reducing state employee salaries AND/OR pensions? | ||
| Yes | b) In order to balance the budget, do you support an income tax increase on any tax bracket? | ||
| Just to be clear, IF "any tax bracket" means particular ones, yes, as in ones with more discretionary income than those with low incomes. If it meant all tax brackets, then "no." | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support a limit on campaign contributions to state candidates? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support the regulation of indirect campaign contributions from corporations and unions? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support the use of an independent AND/OR bipartisan commission for redistricting? | ||
| No | d) Do you support requiring a government-issued photo identification in order to vote at the polls? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support automatic voter registration? | ||
| No | f) Do you support limiting the governor's power to declare a state of emergency? | ||
| g) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| No | a) Do you support capital punishment for certain crimes? | ||
| No | 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 in Michigan? | ||
| No | e) Do you support mandatory minimum sentences for non-violent drug offenders? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support banning the use of cellphones and other handheld communication devices while driving? | ||
| g) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support state government spending as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support lowering state income taxes as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| No | c) Do you support reducing government regulations on the private sector? | ||
| No | d) Do you support requiring welfare applicants to pass a drug test in order to receive benefits? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support an increase of the minimum wage of Michigan? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support requiring employers to provide paid family leave? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support providing financial relief to businesses AND/OR corporations negatively impacted by the state of national emergency for COVID-19? | ||
| Few of these can be Yes or No issues. It depends on how money is spent on economic growth, whose income is taxed, which regulations, and how the financial relief to businesses is earmarked--executive bonuses or employee wages. Welfare applicants with substance abuse problems need treatment not starvation and homelessness. | |||
| No | a) Do you support adopting federal education standards in Michigan? | ||
| No | b) Do you support state funding for charter schools? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support increasing teacher salaries AND/OR benefits in Michigan? | ||
| Yes | d) Should immigrants unlawfully present in the United States who graduate from Michigan high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support allowing college athletes to be compensated for the use of their name, image, and likeness? | ||
| Again, no clear Yes or No. Depends on the federal "standards." I oppose for-profit charter schools. During COVID and stay-at-home schooling, I've heard parents say, "Teachers should be paid a billion dollars a year!" I'm a descendant of immigrants--as is nearly everyone now in this country. If they earned the diploma, good for them! In-state tuition is an investment. RE: college athletes, who benefits from this usage? Both the college and the athlete should benefit. | |||
| 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? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support prohibiting the distribution of bottled water from the Great Lakes watershed outside the watershed? | ||
| IF bottled water means those wretched plastic bottles, bah! IF there is distribution by the tank to areas without adequate clean drinking water, then OK. The sucking up of Great Lakes water for a pittance for a company to make egregious profits is unconscionable. | |||
| 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? | ||
| No | c) Should teachers be allowed to bring guns into the classroom after passing gun safety training? | ||
| Yes | d) Should a license be required for gun ownership? | ||
| I took Gun Safety in 4-H. I have friends who fill their freezers with venison from hunting. I support "gun sense" legislation. I need a license to drive and a car is not designed for killing, though with help, one cars do it well. The daily gun deaths outnumber the mass killings, as tragic as they are and guns should not be in schools, or those frightening drills either. | |||
| Yes | a) Should the state government increase funding for treatment facilities to combat opioid abuse? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support Medicaid expansion through Michigan's health care programs? | ||
| No | c) Do you support requiring individuals to purchase health care insurance? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support legislation that grants citizens the right to choose to die through euthanasia? | ||
| No | e) Do you support eliminating religious exemptions for vaccinations? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support requiring businesses to provide paid medical leave during public health crises, such as COVID-19? | ||
| Four of these can be handled better and less costly by single-payer health care. As for vaccinations, I am also a genealogist and saw many newspaper notices of children dying of diseases decades ago that vaccinations have all but eliminated. Some nonreligious concerns were "mercury" in the serum. I need to understand the religious reasons and statistics about the unvaccinated causing harm to the rest of us. Medical leave during health crises--some businesses might be able to afford it or be insured for it; there must be a safety net when they cannot. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in Michigan's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in Michigan's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support greater efforts by Michigan state government in closing the pay gap between men and women? | ||
| d) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| My promise is that I "will listen to you, learn from you, legislate for you." The current State Rep. worked it out to have meetings in each of the 7 communities, alternating daytime and evenings as not all do. I will keep up that practice--in gymnasiums or parks with masks if necessary. Permitting the Regional Transit Authority to go to the ballot with 3 counties. Make polluters pay. Hire more dam and bridge inspectors and put teeth in the statute. | |||
| Education--Support a Michigan Constitutional Amendment to change the flat income tax to a progressive one. A graph in Babies over Billionaires.org shows the unfairness of the flat tax. This change could bring $3 billion dollars in towards education. |
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