Sean Lewis' Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
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Sean Lewis has failed to provide voters with positions on key issues covered by the 2020 Political Courage Test, despite repeated requests from Vote Smart and voters like you.
This candidate has responded to a Political Courage Test in a previous election. As a continued effort to provide the American public with factual information on candidates running for public office, these archived responses are made available here.
New Hampshire State Legislative Election 2018 Political Courage Test
| Pro-choice | a) Do you generally support pro-choice or pro-life legislation? | ||
| Yes | b) Should abortion be legal when the pregnancy resulted from incest or rape? | ||
| No | c) Do you support the prohibition of public funds for organizations that perform abortions? | ||
| Abortion can a difficult decision made worse if it is the result of a sexual assault. Regardless of an individual's reasons, I don't believe that the state has the right to tell a woman what she may or may not do with her own body. I don't believe that the state has the right to tell a doctor what they may or may not discuss with a patient. With regards to public funding, often such organizations provide a variety of women's health options in regions where medical care isn't often available here in NH. | |||
1) Budget Stabilization:Indicate which proposals you support (if any) for balancing New Hampshire's budget.
| No | a) Do you support the creation of a state income tax in New Hampshire? | ||
| No | b) Reducing state employee salaries AND/OR pensions? | ||
| No | c) Instituting mandatory furloughs AND/OR layoffs for state employees? | ||
| No | d) Reducing benefits for Medicaid recipients? | ||
| The majority of taxes raised in this state comes from two sources: property tax and business profit/enterprise tax. We have cut our business profits tax rate twice over the past two years and it will continue to fall over the course of the next several years. We have done this on the hope that businesses will relocate or expand here in NH but it is ultimately trickle down economics on a state level. Property-rich communities like New Castle will continue to thrive while poor communities like Franklin will struggle and cut services as the state continues to withhold support. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support any limits on campaign contributions to state candidates? | ||
| 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? | ||
| No | d) Do you support requiring a government-issued photo identification in order to vote at the polls? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support imposing penalties on state legislators who fail to attend legislative sessions? | ||
| I would also like to professionalize the legislature by reducing the size of the House of Representatives and seeing that legislators make a living wage. The current structure of 400 reps paid $100 favors the independently wealthy, remote employees, and the retired. Our Legislature is structured to favor what it sought in Colonial days - wealthy landowners, not day laborers. I would also like to see Ranked Choice Voting and instituting Voting Wards to help break the stranglehold that political parties hold in some communities and make running for office easier by lowering the total potential voters per candidate. | |||
| No | a) Do you support capital punishment for certain crimes? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support the legalization of marijuana for recreational purposes? | ||
| c) Should a minor accused of a violent crime be prosecuted as an adult? | |||
| Yes | d) Do you support the enforcement of federal immigration laws by state and local police? | ||
| There is no evidence to show that the death penalty prevents or dissuades certain people from committing a capital crime. Furthermore, death penalty cases are incredibly expensive to taxpayers as the accused works their way through the appeals process. Lastly, there is no corrective action we can take should the state make a mistake. This form of punishment is essentially state-sponsored revenge. With regards to enforcing federal immigration policy, I disagree with and hope we change the current stance that the federal government has taken but believe that we need to follow the law of the land. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support state government spending as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| No | b) Do you support lowering state taxes as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| No | c) Do you support reducing state government regulations on the private sector? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support expanding access to unemployment benefits? | ||
| No | e) Do you support requiring welfare applicants to pass a drug test in order to receive benefits? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support an increase of the minimum wage of New Hampshire? | ||
| State government spending, whether in the form of infrastructure spending or small business loans, can be an important tool to helping stimulate the economy. Lowering our taxes, which may help some small businesses, can't happen in NH on a tiered system which means Comcast and Eversource will receive what tax breaks we offer and I disagree with major corporations getting tax relief. The lowering of state government regulation can be helpful, again for small businesses, but for larger companies or in areas such as the environment and consumer protection regulations are designed to protect taxpayers throughout NH. | |||
| No | a) Do you support adopting federal education standards in New Hampshire? | ||
| No | b) Do you support state funding for charter schools? | ||
| Yes | c) Should immigrants unlawfully present in the United States who graduate from New Hampshire high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities? | ||
| I don't support the adoption of federal education standards because I don't think that federal standards are acceptable. I do believe that the federal government should re-evaluate their standards, preferably toward a student growth focus rather than a proficiency focus, and that those standards should form the baseline for state policy. Item C sounds like a reference to "Dreamers" and if so, they should attend state colleges at the in-state tuition rate. It's worth pointing out that NH chronically underfunds the state college system and our students graduate with the highest amount of student debt in the country. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support state funding for the development of renewable energy (e.g. solar, wind, thermal)? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support state government regulations of greenhouse gas emissions? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support increasing state funding for clean drinking water initiatives? | ||
| Saving the environment might be the most important thing we do for the next 10 generations of people. Every single fossil-fuel energy source either pollutes our environment or poses a national security risk by forcing us to rely on politically volatile allies. Specifically here in NH drinking water contamination as a result of PFC's has been a major concern, wiping out public drinking supplies in Merrimack and Litchfield plus contributing to a significant cancer cluster on the Seacoast near the Pease Air Force base. | |||
| 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 teachers be allowed to bring guns into the classroom? | ||
| Yes | d) Should a license be required for gun ownership? | ||
| If we need a license to drive a car, operate heavy machinery, or hunt then a license for owning a gun shouldn't even be up for discussion. Furthermore, I would like to see safety training for gun owners be a part of the plan. Again, if we expect kids to spend six months learning how to drive and another year after that with a provisional license, is it really so outrageous to expect the same of people who want to own weapons. Furthermore, we should eliminate conceal & carry without a license due to the immediate threat to law enforcement. | |||
| Yes | a) Should the state government increase funding for treatment facilities to combat opioid abuse? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support Medicaid expansion through New Hampshire's health care programs? | ||
| No | c) Do you support requiring individuals to purchase health care insurance? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support legislation that grants citizens the right to choose to die through euthanasia? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support eliminating religious exemptions for vaccinations? | ||
| A) Yes. Combating the opioid crisis will hinge on changing behavior - not incarcerating victims. B) Yes. Some of those who need the most help have the fewest resources. C) No. I support efforts to increase access to healthcare, forcing insurance coverage on people without means and in the face of a government unwilling to regulate or subsidize to a level necessary for affordability is wrong. D) Yes. Those with a terminal illness should have the right not to die in agony or deplete their resources to pay for medical care that can not ultimately help. E) Yes, HERD IMMUNITY. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in New Hampshire's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in New Hampshire's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support greater efforts by New Hampshire state government in closing the pay gap between men and women? | ||
| With regards to closing the pay gap, I would focus my attention on ensuring women are paid the same rate for the same work as men. This debate veers into a discussion about how women tend to make less over the course of their lifetime due to personal decisions, such as starting a family, but that misdirects from the issue at hand. Women who work jobs with all the same experience and qualifications of a male counterpart deserve no less than equal consideration when it comes to pay. | |||
| 1) Lower property taxes by reversing the current business tax cuts. 2) Fight the opioid crisis by expanding Safe Station programs and adding more police & training to create an integrated system for encountering and processing drug abuse victims. 3) Protect public tax dollars from private institutions like charter schools. NH gives public schools $3700 per student but is willing to send that money to a charter school plus add an additional $3000 in tax dollars per student to an organization without public oversight. Funding will come from increased business taxes, cutting charter school subsidies, and drug money seizures. |
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