Mark Venesky'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.
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Mark Venesky has provided voters with clear stances on key issues by responding to the 2020 Political Courage Test.
New York 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? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support the prohibition of public funds for organizations that perform abortions? | ||
| C: Some organizations that perform abortions are using public funds in part, for political purposes. | |||
| No | a) In order to balance the budget, do you support reducing state employee salaries AND/OR pensions? | ||
| No | b) In order to balance the budget, do you support an income tax increase on any tax bracket? | ||
| I believe that it is possible to grow your revenues by making it easier and attractive for business to prosper and hire. I also believe that it is possible to reduce spending by taking a hard look at, and reducing the States controllable costs. I did just that on a smaller scale as the Town of Cicero Supervisor with good results. | |||
| 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? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support requiring a government-issued photo identification in order to vote at the polls? | ||
| No | e) Do you support automatic voter registration? | ||
| E: I would support with adequate provisions to insure that the person being registered is a) a citizen and b) eligible to vote. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support capital punishment for certain crimes? | ||
| Yes | b) Should an individual under 18 accused of a violent crime be prosecuted as an adult? | ||
| 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 New York? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support mandatory minimum sentences for non-violent drug offenders? | ||
| No | f) Do you support eliminating cash bail for all crimes? | ||
| C: The enforcement of Federal immigration laws should not be hindered by State interference in enforcement. | |||
| 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? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support reducing government regulations on the private sector? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support requiring welfare applicants to pass a drug test in order to receive benefits? | ||
| No | e) Do you support an increase of the minimum wage of New York? | ||
| No | 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? | ||
| Yes | h) Do you support the legalization of mobile sports betting and wagering? | ||
| A) Only if the business case has been made that there will be a positive return on investment. | |||
| No | a) Do you support adopting federal education standards in New York? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support state funding for charter schools? | ||
| c) Do you support increasing teacher salaries AND/OR benefits in New York? | |||
| No | d) Should immigrants unlawfully present in the United States who graduate from New York high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities? | ||
| C: I don't support blanket increases in salaries and /or benefits in any sector unless there is a good reason to do so. | |||
| a) Do you support state funding for the development of renewable energy (e.g. solar, wind, geo-thermal)? | |||
| No | b) Do you support government regulations of greenhouse gas emissions? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support increasing state funding for clean drinking water initiatives? | ||
| A: Only on a limited basis. | |||
| No | a) Do you generally support gun-control legislation? | ||
| Yes | b) Should background checks be required on gun sales between private citizens at gun shows? | ||
| Yes | c) Should teachers be allowed to bring guns into the classroom after passing gun safety training? | ||
| No | d) Should a license be required for gun ownership? | ||
| e) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| Yes | a) Should the state government increase funding for treatment facilities to combat opioid abuse? | ||
| No | b) Do you support Medicaid expansion through New York's health care programs? | ||
| No | c) Do you support requiring individuals to purchase health care insurance? | ||
| No | 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? | ||
| No | f) Do you support requiring businesses to provide paid medical leave during public health crises, such as COVID-19? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support suspending rent payments for at least 90 days during public health crises, such as COVID-19? | ||
| h) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| No | a) Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in New York's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| No | b) Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in New York's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| c) Do you support greater efforts by New York state government in closing the pay gap between men and women? | |||
| Yes | d) Do you support requiring all public female-designated restrooms to provide free feminine hygiene products? | ||
| C: That would depend upon the circumstances and what the measures are. | |||
| Transparency: Legislation is being passed by virtue of being buried in the State Budget. I will seek out and work with moderate minded Legislators to pass legislation requiring each item to be brought to a vote. Bail Reform: I will vote to repeal or constructively and sensibly modify bail reform legislation to return sentencing discretion to our Judges. Economic Development: I will look to eliminate the burdens that inhibit private investment and strive to reduce the number of regulations to help make Upstate more competitive throughout the region, the state and across the country. | |||
| I will try and make the case to other moderate and like minded legislators that we reopen and review the State Budget to defer items that can safely be revisited at a later date and redirect monies to support Small business and families to help moderate the impact that Covid-19 has had on our region. |
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