Pat Cortellessa'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.
Pat Cortellessa has provided voters with clear stances on key issues by responding to the 2020 Political Courage Test.
Rhode Island State Legislative Election 2020 Political Courage Test
| Pro-life | a) Do you generally support pro-choice or pro-life legislation? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support legalizing abortion when the pregnancy resulted from incest or rape? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support the prohibition of public funds for organizations that perform abortions? | ||
| I am a pro-life candidate. But since protections of abortion for those who are the victims of rape and incest as well as in cases where the health of the mother is at state, is already codified by law, I will work to promote pro-life policies in other ways (such as ending public funding for abortions). | |||
| Yes | a) In order to balance the budget, do you support reducing state employee salaries AND/OR pensions? | ||
| Yes | b) In order to balance the budget, do you support an income tax increase on any tax bracket? | ||
| Taxation is theft. Since taxes are the peoples' earnings, I will work to spend at a reasonable level and keep taxes as low as possible. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support a limit 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? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support requiring a government-issued photo identification in order to vote at the polls? | ||
| No | e) Do you support automatic voter registration? | ||
| THis year because of COVID issues, the mail-in ballot problem has cause a myruad of issues relating to potential voter fraud, and I believe more should have been done to safeguard against this. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support capital punishment for certain crimes? | ||
| Yes | b) Should an individual under 18 accused of a violent crime be prosecuted as an adult? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support the enforcement of federal immigration laws by state and local police? | ||
| No | d) Do you support the use of private prisons in Rhode Island? | ||
| No | e) Do you support mandatory minimum sentences for non-violent drug offenders? | ||
| No | f) Should individuals be prohibited from wearing non-medical face coverings during events? | ||
| I believe that law and order should be upheld, especially for violent crimes. At the same time, policies need to consider civil liberties to ensure Constitutional protections are not infringed upon. | |||
| No | a) Do you support state government spending as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support lowering state income taxes as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support reducing government regulations on the private sector? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support requiring welfare applicants to pass a drug test in order to receive benefits? | ||
| No | e) Do you support an increase of the minimum wage of Rhode Island? | ||
| No | f) Do you support requiring employers to provide paid family leave? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support providing financial relief to businesses AND/OR corporations negatively impacted by the state of national emergency for COVID-19? | ||
| I believe in Friedman economics. Less government regulation and more freedom and letting the free market be the guide, is what makes state and local economies work best. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support adopting federal education standards in Rhode Island? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support state funding for charter schools? | ||
| No | c) Do you support increasing teacher salaries AND/OR benefits in Rhode Island? | ||
| No | d) Should immigrants unlawfully present in the United States who graduate from Rhode Island high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities? | ||
| No | e) Do you support requiring public schools to provide free feminine hygiene products? | ||
| I support school choice in all forms, including vouchers for private and parochial education. | |||
| No | a) Do you support state funding for the development of renewable energy (e.g. solar, wind, geo-thermal)? | ||
| No | b) Do you support government regulations of greenhouse gas emissions? | ||
| No | c) Do you support increasing state funding for clean drinking water initiatives? | ||
| Rhode Island already has too many environmental regulations and pet projects that impose restrictions on business and personal freedoms. Many most be reviewed and even reversed. | |||
| No | a) Do you generally support gun-control legislation? | ||
| No | 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 after passing gun safety training? | ||
| No | d) Should a license be required for gun ownership? | ||
| The Second Amendment is vital to public safety and shall not be infringed. See the federal case of D.C. vs. Heller. | |||
| No | a) Should the state government increase funding for treatment facilities to combat opioid abuse? | ||
| No | b) Do you support Medicaid expansion through Rhode Island's health care programs? | ||
| No | c) Do you support requiring individuals to purchase health care insurance? | ||
| No | d) Do you support legislation that grants citizens the right to choose to die through euthanasia? | ||
| No | e) Do you support eliminating religious exemptions for vaccinations? | ||
| No | f) Do you support requiring businesses to provide paid medical leave during public health crises, such as COVID-19? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support the creation of a state-administered program to allow for the purchase and importation of wholesale prescription drugs from Canada? | ||
| Health Insurance is a national issue, but important to many Rhode islanders. I like to look to priavte solutions and encourage de-regulation as a means to lowering healthcare costs (such as tort reform). | |||
| No | a) Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in Rhode Island's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| No | b) Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in Rhode Island's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| No | c) Do you support greater efforts by Rhode Island state government in closing the pay gap between men and women? | ||
| Identity politics should stay out of Government. Period. | |||
| The biggest political issue for RI is the economy and our state's bad reputation. According to CNBC?s annual state-by-state ranking, Rhode Island has once again been ranked as ?The Worst State For Business? and unemployment currently sits at 17%. Additionally, our infrastructure is historically ranked as poor. Under RhodeWorks, the RI Department of Transportation has pegged more than $378 million in road repairs for which it currently has no funding. Continued poor fiscal management continue to harm our state's fiscal health while ignoring such basic needs as our infrastructure. This must be addressed. | |||
| My top legislative priorities would be ensuring transparency, promoting ethics in government, and turning the page on RI?s ?Culture of Corruption.? To combat this systemic blind eye to corruption, the General Assembly should craft new ethics reform legislation ensuring all levels of government are in check and working for all Rhode Islanders 24/7. No longer should RI be defined by its reputation but ensure the power given to lawmakers puts voters first and with the highest level of transparency. These would not cost a penny, but simply provide more oversight to ensure laws passed & tax dollars are spend fairly. |
Vote Smart does not permit the use of its name or programs in any campaign activity, including advertising, debates, and speeches.