Hugo Reyes' Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
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Hugo Reyes has provided voters with clear stances on key issues by responding to the 2015 Political Courage Test.
Virginia State Legislative Election 2015 Political Courage Test
| Pro-choice | a) Do you generally support pro-choice or pro-life legislation? | ||
| 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? | ||
| 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? | ||
| Abortion is a very difficult and personal decision that should be left up to a woman and her conscience. Although I would not advocate this course of action in many cases, I would not want to force another person into one decision or another. I would, however strongly advocate for means of prevention such as sex education and increased access to birth control | |||
1) Budget Stabilization:Indicate which proposals you support (if any) for balancing Virginia's budget.2) 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.3) 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.
| No | a) Tapping into Virginia's "rainy day" fund | ||
| No | b) Decreasing funding for public universities | ||
| No | c) Reducing state employee salaries AND/OR pensions | ||
| No | d) Instituting mandatory furloughs AND/OR layoffs for state employees | ||
| No | e) Reducing benefits for Medicaid recipients | ||
| Slightly Increase | a) Education (higher) | ||
| Greatly Increase | b) Education (K-12) | ||
| Greatly Increase | c) Environment | ||
| Greatly Increase | d) Health care | ||
| Greatly Increase | e) Law enforcement/corrections | ||
| Greatly Increase | f) Transportation/infrastructure | ||
| Maintain Status | g) Welfare | ||
| Maintain Status | a) Alcohol taxes | ||
| Slightly Increase | b) Cigarette taxes | ||
| Slightly Increase | c) Corporate taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | d) Small business taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | e) Gas/Oil taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | f) Property taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | g) Sales taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | h) Income taxes (low-income families) | ||
| Maintain Status | i) Income taxes (mid-income families) | ||
| Slightly Increase | j) Income taxes (high-income families) | ||
| There are other ways to balance Virginia's budget. For example, on August 11 the Daily Press reported that attorneys had already billed Virginia taxpayers more than $1 million in fees for one of three pending lawsuits. This is an example of politically motivated actions that cost taxpayers each year, and because those involved are not responsible for the costs, they are free to drag the proceedings on, with little financial consequences. Requiring parties to pay costs, as is the case in other suits, would bring enormous savings to Virginia taxpayers. This savings can be used to help balance the budget. | |||
| These are general answers, more complex than a simple drop down menu can provide. There are also many areas within each section that I prefer to look at on a case by case basis, rather than as a broad category, however overall I believe that most of these areas require an increase in funding. | |||
| As before, these are general answers, more complex than a simple drop down menu can provide. There are also many areas within each section that I prefer to look at on a case by case basis, rather than as a broad category. | |||
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 | ||
| No | 4) Political Party | ||
| No | 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? | ||
| Money has become too important a component in deciding elections, often giving a greater advantage to those with more money to spend, rather than the better candidate. Voluntary limits are not practical because they do not have to be adhered to. It's been suggested that candidates should be limited in the amount of money they can spend in order to level the playing field. | |||
| No | 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? | ||
| c) Do you support legalizing the possession of small amounts of marijuana? | |||
| d) Should a minor accused of a violent crime be prosecuted as an adult? | |||
| No | e) Do you support the enforcement of federal immigration laws by state and local police? | ||
| Capital punishment - More expensive and not shown to deter crime Marijuana - would consider legalizing under certain conditions but this is more than a yes of no question Minors accused - depends strongly on the age of the minor and nature of the crime. This is more complex than a yes or no. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support government spending as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| b) Do you support lowering taxes as a means of promoting economic growth? | |||
| No | c) Do you support reducing government regulations on the private sector? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support increased state funding for job-training programs that re-train displaced workers? | ||
| e) Do you support expanding access to unemployment benefits? | |||
| f) Do you support providing financial incentives to the private sector for the purpose of job creation? | |||
| No | g) Do you support providing direct financial assistance to homeowners facing foreclosure? | ||
| Yes | h) Do you support an increase of the minimum wage? | ||
| These are general answers to complex questions that cannot be answered with a simple yes or no. There are many areas within each category that need to be looked at on a case by case basis. | |||
| No | a) Do you support the national Common Core State Standards initiative? | ||
| b) Do you support a merit pay system for teachers? | |||
| 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? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support the state government providing college students with financial aid? | ||
| Yes | g) Should illegal immigrants who graduate from Virginia high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities? | ||
| These are general answers to complex questions that cannot be answered with a simple yes or no. There are many areas within each category that need to be looked at on a case by case basis. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support state funding for the development of renewable energy (e.g. solar, wind, thermal)? | ||
| No | b) Do you support state funding for the development of traditional domestic energy sources (e.g. coal, natural gas, oil)? | ||
| No | c) Do you support state funding for improvements to Virginia'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? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support increased regulations of the hydraulic fracturing ("fracking") industry? | ||
| These are general answers to complex questions that cannot be answered with a simple yes or no. There are many areas within each category that need to be looked at on a case by case basis. | |||
| a) Do you generally support gun-control legislation? | |||
| Yes | b) Should background checks be required on gun sales between private citizens at gun shows? | ||
| c) Should citizens be allowed to carry concealed guns? | |||
| d) Should a license be required for gun possession? | |||
| These are general answers to complex questions that cannot be answered with a simple yes or no. There are many areas within each category that need to be looked at on a case by case basis. As a responsible gun owner of many years, I would advocate a gun safety course as a condition of purchasing weapons, along with universal background checks. | |||
| a) Do you support a universally-accessible, publicly-administered health insurance option? | |||
| b) Do you support expanding access to health care through commercial health insurance reform? | |||
| c) Do you support interstate health insurance compacts? | |||
| Yes | d) Do you support Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare")? | ||
| e) Do you support requiring individuals to purchase health care insurance? | |||
| f) Do you support monetary limits on damages that can be collected in malpractice lawsuits? | |||
| g) Do you support allowing doctors to prescribe marijuana to their patients for medicinal purposes? | |||
| These are complex questions that cannot be answered with a simple yes or no. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support same-sex marriage? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in Virginia's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in Virginia's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| d) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| Medicaid expansion would close the coverage gap for 400,000 working Virginians who cannot otherwise afford healthcare. This is money that Virginians are already paying in Federal taxes that is being sent to other states. In addition to funding healthcare, it would create an estimated 20,000 new jobs. This would also free up state tax money that can be used to fund other programs. Investments in education are investments in our future. Education begins in pre K-12 and early education programs need to be expanded and funded across the Commonwealth. Some funding can come from money freed up through Medicaid expansion. |
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