Perrin Swanlund has provided voters with clear stances on key issues by responding to the 2016 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? | ||
| No | 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? | ||
| While the concept of abortion is certainly ethically troubling, it is a concept that we mustn't simply condemn, criminalize, and ignore. The demand for abortion is an indictment of the socioeconomic problems which drive women to seek it, and we all must work with zeal to solve those problems. Until we address the issues at the root of abortion, outlawing it would have the far darker effect of forcing desperate women to use dangerous and illegal alternatives which put mothers, fetuses, and communities in a far worse position than they have at present. | |||
1) Budget Stabilization:Indicate which proposals you support (if any) for balancing California's budget.2) State Spending: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: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 California'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 | ||
| f) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| Greatly Increase | a) Education (higher) | ||
| Greatly Increase | b) Education (K-12) | ||
| Maintain Status | c) Environment | ||
| Slightly Increase | d) Health care | ||
| Maintain Status | e) Law enforcement/corrections | ||
| Slightly Increase | f) Transportation/infrastructure | ||
| Maintain Status | g) Welfare | ||
| h) Other or expanded categories: | |||
| Maintain Status | a) Alcohol taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | b) Cigarette taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | c) Corporate taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | d) Small business taxes | ||
| Slightly Increase | e) Gas/Oil taxes | ||
| Slightly Increase | f) Property taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | g) Sales taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | h) Income taxes (low-income families) | ||
| Maintain Status | i) Income taxes (mid-income families) | ||
| Maintain Status | j) Income taxes (high-income families) | ||
| Yes | k) Do you support applying sales taxes to all online purchases? | ||
| l) Other or expanded principles: | |||
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? | ||
| f) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| 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? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support legalizing the possession of small amounts of marijuana? | ||
| No | 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? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support delaying the seizure of assets by law enforcement officials until after a conviction? | ||
| No | g) Should the minimum age for purchasing tobacco products be 21? | ||
| h) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support government spending as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| No | 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? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support expanding access to unemployment benefits? | ||
| No | f) Do you support requiring welfare applicants to pass a drug test in order to receive benefits? | ||
| No | g) Do you support providing financial incentives to the private sector for the purpose of job creation? | ||
| No | h) Do you support providing direct financial assistance to homeowners facing foreclosure? | ||
| Yes | i) Do you support an increase of the minimum wage? | ||
| No | j) Should employers be able to ask about applicants' criminal history before interviewing them? | ||
| k) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support the national Common Core State Standards initiative? | ||
| No | 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? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support the state government providing college students with financial aid? | ||
| Yes | g) Should illegal immigrants who graduate from California high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities? | ||
| h) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| 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)? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support state funding for improvements to California'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? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support permanent statewide water usage restrictions? | ||
| h) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| 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? | ||
| Yes | c) Should citizens be allowed to carry concealed guns? | ||
| Yes | d) Should a license be required for gun possession? | ||
| While I am inclined to support efforts to reduce firearm-related deaths, I do not believe gun-control legislation should be written emotionally. It is of utmost importance that we use scientific research and data to determine what safety measures work and what safety measures don't, and legislate based on those findings above the passions of either side of the debate. | |||
| 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? | ||
| No | c) Do you support interstate health insurance compacts? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare")? | ||
| 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: | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support same-sex marriage? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in California's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in California's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| d) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| If elected, I will work to create a new state-water plan, collaborating with environmental scientists and engineers to expand conservation efforts and establish regional water supplies independent of California's traditional reserves, in recognition of the far-worse droughts we can expect in the future. This plan will need minimal state funds. I will work to establish universal single-payer healthcare in California. As this program would cut bureaucratic costs and allow the state to reduce medical costs across the board, the necessary funding could be acquired through the establishment of a tax which will be significantly cheaper than current health insurance payments. |
Vote Smart does not permit the use of its name or programs in any campaign activity, including advertising, debates, and speeches.