Melinda Vasquez's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
Key
Official Position: Candidate addressed this issue directly by taking the Political Courage Test.
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Melinda Vasquez has provided voters with clear stances on key issues by responding to the 2016 Political Courage Test.
California State Legislative Election 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? | ||
| The decision to have an abortion should be between a health care provider and their patient. The government should not be involved in the decision process - but health insurance should cover any medical attention regardless of the decision. | |||
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 | ||
| Greatly Increase | a) Education (higher) | ||
| Greatly Increase | b) Education (K-12) | ||
| Greatly Increase | c) Environment | ||
| Slightly Increase | d) Health care | ||
| Greatly Increase | e) Law enforcement/corrections | ||
| Greatly Increase | f) Transportation/infrastructure | ||
| Greatly Increase | g) Welfare | ||
| Slightly Increase | a) Alcohol taxes | ||
| Slightly Increase | b) Cigarette taxes | ||
| Slightly Increase | c) Corporate taxes | ||
| Slightly Increase | d) Small business taxes | ||
| Slightly Increase | e) Gas/Oil taxes | ||
| Slightly Increase | f) Property taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | g) Sales taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | h) Income taxes (low-income families) | ||
| Slightly Decrease | i) Income taxes (mid-income families) | ||
| Slightly Increase | j) Income taxes (high-income families) | ||
| Yes | k) Do you support applying sales taxes to all online purchases? | ||
| The rainy day fund should only be used during periods of time when the economy contracts and we are in a recession in order to supplement the budget. | |||
| Although I am fiscally conservative in the respect that I believe in balancing a budget, we must invest in areas of government that help our Education, Environment, Health Care, etc. It will decrease the amount of revenues spent in the near future and it will expand the economy. However, it must be paid for under normal circumstances. | |||
| If items sold in person are taxed then items purchased online should be as well. Otherwise, online purchases have an unfair advantage in competing with retail stores. | |||
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? | ||
| Voter-fraud is negligible in relation to the amount of voters that would disenfranchised by requiring government-issued IDs. | |||
| 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? | ||
| Yes | 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? | ||
| Yes | g) Should the minimum age for purchasing tobacco products be 21? | ||
| Although I believe in upholding all laws, the federal government has direct authority over immigration. Only if the Federal Government grant the State government permission to assist in immigration would I support such enforcement. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support government spending as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| Yes | 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? | ||
| Yes | 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? | ||
| Although a person's criminal background is relevant for purposes of hiring them in some positions, it is not relevant in all positions. If our penal system is indeed a correction facility where once someone has served their time their rights are reinstated then the stigma of having a criminal background should not disproportionately inhibit their ability to make a living. Our current system ostracizes them from the labor force and causes an increases in recidivism. This needs to be corrected. | |||
| 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? | ||
| b) Merit pay for teachers cannot be objectively evaluated because each student succeeds for different reasons; supportive family members, independent dedication, independent perseverance, etc. e) I am against public funding of charter schools as they are currently organized because they do not comply with the strict regulations of public schools yet receive public funding. g) I reject the terminology of "illegal immigrant" because it is offensive. If someone is an undocumented resident but can show that their parents pay federal income taxes then they should be allowed to pay in-state tuition ($3.0 billion a year pay income taxes) | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support state funding for the development of renewable energy (e.g. solar, wind, thermal)? | ||
| 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 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? | ||
| No | c) Should citizens be allowed to carry concealed guns? | ||
| Yes | d) Should a license be required for gun possession? | ||
| If people have to qualify for a license to drive a vehicle then they should have to carry a license to shoot a gun - both can be done responsively and irresponsibly so society needs to be able to regulate both purchases. | |||
| 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")? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support requiring individuals to purchase health care insurance? | ||
| Yes | 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? | ||
| Monetary limits on damages should be reasonable. | |||
| 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: | |||
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