Dotty Caldwell's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
Key
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Dotty Caldwell has provided voters with clear stances on key issues by responding to the 2016 Political Courage Test.
Maine 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? | ||
| e+f) of course having the support of parent(s) is best for minors, but this is not always the case, and current Maine statutes already adequately address the best interests of the minor. | |||
1) Budget Stabilization:Indicate which proposals you support (if any) for balancing Maine'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 Maine'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) | ||
| Slightly Increase | c) Environment | ||
| Slightly Increase | d) Health care | ||
| Slightly Increase | e) Law enforcement/corrections | ||
| Greatly Increase | f) Transportation/infrastructure | ||
| Slightly Increase | g) Welfare | ||
| h) Other or expanded categories: | |||
| Slightly Increase | a) Alcohol taxes | ||
| Greatly Increase | b) Cigarette taxes | ||
| Slightly Increase | c) Corporate taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | d) Small business taxes | ||
| Slightly Increase | e) Gas/Oil taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | f) Property taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | g) Sales taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | h) Income taxes (low-income families) | ||
| Maintain Status | 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? | ||
| l) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| Economic austerity is not the answer. We need to eliminate tax loopholes and reform the state tax system to let those who can best afford it, pay more. | |||
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? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support maintaining the provisions of the Maine Clean Election Act? | ||
| g) 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? | ||
| 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? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support additional funding for programs intended to reduce drug addiction in Maine? | ||
| b) alternatives to incarceration should also include significant and supervised community service c) I am very mixed on this, and think we should study the results in other states thoroughly, before coming to any conclusions. Possession of small amounts of medical marijuana should be legal. | |||
| 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? | ||
| 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? | ||
| Yes | 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? | ||
| c) excessive red tape inhibits economic growth, but government regulations that protect workers, consumers, and the environment are very necessary. f) no, as long as they are actively participating in drug treatment, and because this would impact the innocent children of addicted parents. g) yes, as long as the actual job creation is documented. j) no, as long as they may ask them at the interview, and consider the answer in their hiring decision | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support the national Common Core State Standards initiative? | ||
| No | 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? | ||
| Yes | 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 Maine high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities? | ||
| a) the standards are good, but the testing takes too much time from teaching and needs to be reduced and improved, and the results need to be interpreted in full context and lead to improvements based on evidence. b) merit pay can undermine teachers' sense of community and cooperation c) we have many effective teachers who have come up in this system, but there are now better measurement tools in place to evaluate K-12 teacher performance, and which avoid some of the potential shortcomings of tenure. d) fully funding local schools is preferable for the student's sense of community support | |||
| 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 Maine'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? | ||
| c) as we develop renewable resources to produce electricity, the grid continues to need maintenance and sometimes replacement f) fracking should be eliminated, as it is too dangerous to our groundwater and environment. | |||
| 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? | ||
| No | d) Should a license be required for gun possession? | ||
| c) but only with a Maine state permit for carrying a concealed weapon d) but, at purchase, evidence should be submitted of completion of either our current hunting license requirements, or of a gun safety course conducted by a certified trainer | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support a universally-accessible, publicly-administered health insurance option? | ||
| No | b) Do you support expanding access to health care through commercial health insurance reform? | ||
| Yes | 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? | ||
| c) but only until we get universally-accessible publicly-administered health insurance in place e) but only until we get universally-accessible publicly-administered health insurance in place, and with subsidies allowed. f) as long as limits are set realistically high | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support same-sex marriage? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in Maine's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in Maine's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| d) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| My top priorities all center around health - environmental, economic, personal, and community health. Our environment impacts everything. Our economy needs businesses, and workers need a living wage, affordable healthcare, and fair income and property taxes. Our physical, mental, and social well-being are also boosted by affordable healthcare, but also by strong local schools, accessible veteran and senior services, connected communities, and a safety net for children and those who fall on hard times. My question is always - will this contribute to the environmental, economic, personal, and/or community health of constituents, and do no harm? |
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