Spencer Rumsey's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
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Spencer Rumsey has provided voters with clear stances on key issues by responding to the 2016 Political Courage Test.
New York 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? | ||
| Reproductive rights for women must be defended and expanded throughout the country and the world. | |||
1) Budget Stabilization:Indicate which proposals you support (if any) for balancing New York'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.
| Yes | a) Tapping into New York'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 | ||
| Greatly Increase | d) Health care | ||
| Maintain Status | e) Law enforcement/corrections | ||
| Greatly Increase | f) Transportation/infrastructure | ||
| Slightly Increase | g) Welfare | ||
| h) Other or expanded categories: | |||
| Maintain Status | a) Alcohol taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | b) Cigarette taxes | ||
| Greatly Increase | c) Corporate taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | d) Small business taxes | ||
| Slightly Increase | e) Gas/Oil taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | f) Property taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | g) Sales taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | h) Income taxes (low-income families) | ||
| Slightly Decrease | i) Income taxes (mid-income families) | ||
| Greatly Increase | j) Income taxes (high-income families) | ||
| Yes | k) Do you support applying sales taxes to all online purchases? | ||
| Slashing government services inordinately affects those who can least afford it. We must redress economic inequality in this gilded age. Trickle down is a misguided missive. | |||
| I do not support adding fees instead of raising taxes because they are inherently unfair to those with the least income. | |||
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? | ||
| I heartily embrace campaign finance reform. I would like to see the New York State Assembly campaigns be publicly financed. We have serious corruption issues in New York that must be addressed. | |||
| 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? | ||
| g) 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? | ||
| Yes | 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? | ||
| Yes | h) Do you support providing direct financial assistance to homeowners facing foreclosure? | ||
| Yes | i) Do you support an increase of the minimum wage? | ||
| Yes | j) Should employers be able to ask about applicants' criminal history before interviewing them? | ||
| Regarding drug testing welfare applicants: I support this initiative only when there are adequate drug treatment facilities and services to help the recipients recover if they test positive. I believe that conservatives unfairly burden welfare applicants but it is public money so there must be transparency to gain support for further welfare spending. People in trouble need help. Welfare is a last resort but it must be maintained. These days corporate executives are addicted to opioids, too. But they can afford treatment. | |||
| No | a) Do you support the national Common Core State Standards initiative? | ||
| No | b) Do you support a merit pay system for teachers? | ||
| No | 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 New York high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities? | ||
| No | h) Should teacher evaluations be tied to the standardized test scores of their students? | ||
| I don't trust the charter school movement because it takes precious public funds from public education while undermining public control. Let the charter schools stay within the public education mandate if they want taxpayer 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 New York'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? | ||
| I believe that green energy technology can be a huge boon to the future of our economy and our country, if not the planet as well. Time is running out. | |||
| 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? | ||
| e) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| 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? | ||
| 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? | ||
| h) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support same-sex marriage? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in New York's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in New York's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| d) Other or expanded principles: | |||
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