Kamala Vanderkolk's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
Key
Official Position: Candidate addressed this issue directly by taking the Political Courage Test.
Inferred Position: Candidate refused to address this issue, but Vote Smart inferred this issue based on the candidate's public record, including statements, voting record, and special interest group endorsements.
Unknown Position: Candidate refused to address this issue, or we could not infer an answer for this candidate despite exhaustive research of their public record.
Additional Information: Click on this icon to reveal more information about this candidate's position, from their answers or Vote Smart's research.
Other or Expanded Principles & Legislative Priorities are entered exactly as candidates submit them. Vote Smart does not edit for misspelled words, punctuation or grammar.
Kamala Vanderkolk has provided voters with clear stances on key issues by responding to the 2018 Political Courage Test.
Colorado 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? | ||
| Our focus should be on education and preventing unwanted pregnancies in the first place. Long-acting reversible contraceptives (LARC) are an amazing and effective solution to decrease the number of unwanted pregnancies. | |||
1) Budget Stabilization:Indicate which proposals you support (if any) for balancing Colorado's budget.
| Yes | a) Reducing state employee salaries AND/OR pensions? | ||
| Yes | b) Instituting mandatory furloughs AND/OR layoffs for state employees? | ||
| No | c) Reducing benefits for Medicaid recipients? | ||
| Yes | d) An income tax increase on any tax bracket? | ||
| Colorado has something called TABOR (Tax Payer Bill of Rights), which has reduced our state's ability to raise the necessary funds for needed projects. Simply fixing the formula for how TABOR is determined would go a long way to correcting this issue. For example, the consumer index is used, which is not relevant to the needs of a business as large as a state government. E.g., consumer index is tied to the cost of televisions and clothing, not concrete and steel. Fixing that formula would be my first step, before reducing critical staff or salaries. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support any limits on campaign contributions to state candidates? | ||
| Yes | 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? | ||
| An ID is required to register to vote. I believe that is sufficient. If there were evidence of widespread voter fraud, I might take a different approach. But so far, that hasn't happened. I believe our districts need to be drawn in a competitive way to ensure our representatives listen to their constituents. And if they don't listen, they can be voted out. If districts are gerrymandered, the elected officials have no obligation to their constituents, most of whom are not paying attention. (Unfortunately.) | |||
| No | a) Do you support capital punishment for certain crimes? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support the legalization of marijuana for recreational purposes? | ||
| No | c) Should a minor accused of a violent crime be prosecuted as an adult? | ||
| No | d) Do you support the enforcement of federal immigration laws by state and local police? | ||
| Our nation should be better than our worst criminals. And our nation has made the mistake of killing innocent men dozens of times. If a dangerous criminal is removed from society, that is enough for me. In addition, killing a person is far more expensive than putting the person in jail for life. Fiscally, prison is the better option. Colorado has legal recreational marijuana, and the sky has not fallen. We define an adult as 18 years old. State and local police are welcome to enforce immigration, but generally, that approach backfires, and undocumented immigrants are the victims of crimes. | |||
| 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 Colorado? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support increasing state funding for improving Colorado's roads and bridges? | ||
| A. Invest in our infrastructure. B. We already have very low state taxes. C. Regulations are not created in a vacuum. They are created because someone did something that harmed others. D. I support job training. E. This is a violation of the 4th Amendment of the Bill of Rights. F. This is already happening, and I support it. G. Our roads are woefully underfunded, especially because our gas tax has not increased in 26 years, and cars are more and more fuel-efficient (or electric and not paying the tax at all). We need a new reliable source of funding. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support adopting federal education standards in Colorado? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support state funding for charter schools? | ||
| Yes | c) Should immigrants unlawfully present in the United States who graduate from Colorado high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities? | ||
| A. I agree with federal standards to a point. But I believe we overtest our kids. One or two standardized tests a year are sufficient. B. I support charter schools as long as they accept ALL students. They currently are allowed to turn students away (including my own son). Such discriminating waivers need to be outlawed. C. If a male student graduates from high school in the US, he is automatically enrolled in Selective Service, regardless of status. Their family has paid taxes (property taxes, sales taxes, income taxes), even if they are not legally documented. | |||
| 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? | ||
| No | d) Do you support increased regulations on the hydraulic fracturing ("fracking") industry? | ||
| A. I support renewable energy, because we have abundant solar and wind, and it is more cost-effective than other energy sources. B. Greenhouse gas emissions have contributed to the explosive increase of wildfires since 2002. Doing nothing will be far more expensive, as more and more of our state burns each year. C. We need to ensure we have enough water for drinking and agriculture, and need to scale back wasteful practices like watering lawns. Zero-scaping is a great solution. D. This answer depends on what happens with the outcome of a specific fracking proposal on the current ballot. | |||
| 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 teachers be allowed to bring guns into the classroom? | ||
| Yes | d) Should a license be required for gun ownership? | ||
| A. I support gun safety for all gun owners/users. I used to teach gun safety to others. B. Yes. C. This is currently legal in Colorado through a program called FASTER. I support ONLY teachers/staff being prepared if they have gone through significant training. D. Yes. If I want to use a car (a vehicle, not explicitly a weapon, but can be misused), I need a license. | |||
| No | a) Should the state government increase funding for treatment facilities to combat opioid abuse? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support Medicaid expansion through Colorado's health care programs? | ||
| Yes | 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. I think that the solution for opioid abuse falls with the doctors, pharmacists, and patients. B. Medicaid is one of the most efficient programs in the world. The pricing structure needs some work, but allowing individuals to buy into this is more cost-effective than private insurance. C. Insurance pools only work if the risk is spread among all members, not just those most likely to use it. D. This is already legal in Colorado. E. If a family doesn't want to get vaccinated because of personal/religions beliefs, homeschool your kids, and keep everyone safe. MEDICAL vaccine exemptions are fine. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in Colorado's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in Colorado's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support greater efforts by Colorado state government in closing the pay gap between men and women? | ||
| A. This is already protected in Colorado. B. Yes. Requiring employers to give a reason for terminating an employee can help minimize such discrimination. However, discrimination as the reason for termination will be difficult to prove. C. Yes. Transparent salaries can help significantly. This already happens with Federal employees. | |||
| Colorado has been underfunding public education for decades, and pushing the financial burden onto families. In the 1970s, the state chipped in over 70% of the cost for higher education. Now it chips in less than 30%, leaving families to shoulder that burden. In addition, our state has abandoned vocational training in our high schools. Both solutions can be funded by correcting the formula for TABOR. Our state must also address rising healthcare costs. Requiring transparent pricing empowers consumers when making non-emergency medical decisions. In addition, we must invest and protect renewable energy, which costs less than our current approach. |
Vote Smart does not permit the use of its name or programs in any campaign activity, including advertising, debates, and speeches.