Gail Tosh'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.
Gail Tosh has provided voters with clear stances on key issues by responding to the 2020 Political Courage Test.
New York State Legislative Election 2020 Political Courage Test
| Pro-choice | 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? | ||
| No | c) Do you support the prohibition of public funds for organizations that perform abortions? | ||
| d) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| Yes | a) In order to balance the budget, do you support reducing state employee salaries AND/OR pensions? | ||
| No | b) In order to balance the budget, do you support an income tax increase on any tax bracket? | ||
| a) Starting in 2021 the Assembly will pay its members $110,000 per year. That's a 50% increase over previous years. It's too extravagant. We should pare it back. b)I support tax increases on the highest tax brackets. But putting higher taxes on people who are already struggling is not what I will do. | |||
| 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? | ||
| No | d) Do you support requiring a government-issued photo identification in order to vote at the polls? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support automatic voter registration? | ||
| a & b) It's difficult for people with little means to attract the funds they need to run campaigns. | |||
| No | a) Do you support capital punishment for certain crimes? | ||
| No | b) Should an individual under 18 accused of a violent crime be prosecuted as an adult? | ||
| No | 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 New York? | ||
| No | e) Do you support mandatory minimum sentences for non-violent drug offenders? | ||
| No | f) Do you support eliminating cash bail for all crimes? | ||
| b) children's brains are not fully formed. Trying them as adults is unfair and leads to a loss of quality of life, as these children sit in prison until they die of old age. c) State and local funds should not go to pay for the federal police department. d) Private prisons encourage recidivism and worry more about the bottom financial line rather than dignity of life. f) I support eliminating cash bail for some crimes. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support state government spending as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| No | b) Do you support lowering state income taxes as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| No | c) Do you support reducing government regulations on the private sector? | ||
| No | d) Do you support requiring welfare applicants to pass a drug test in order to receive benefits? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support an increase of the minimum wage of New York? | ||
| Yes | 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? | ||
| No | h) Do you support the legalization of mobile sports betting and wagering? | ||
| a) as long as the projects are worthwhile, and not connected to back door deals. Small businesses need a helping hand. d) The cost of administering tests would far out pace the savings we would accrue. It would not be cost effective. | |||
| No | a) Do you support adopting federal education standards in New York? | ||
| No | b) Do you support state funding for charter schools? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support increasing teacher salaries AND/OR benefits in New York? | ||
| Yes | d) Should immigrants unlawfully present in the United States who graduate from New York high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities? | ||
| d) It has been proven by studies that many of these immigrants brought here by their parents have taken full advantage of the education they received here and are now paying it back by running great businesses, being involved in the sciences, hiring other individuals and paying taxes. These individuals are on a whole, assets to our society. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support state funding for the development of renewable energy (e.g. solar, wind, geo-thermal)? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support government regulations of greenhouse gas emissions? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support increasing state funding for clean drinking water initiatives? | ||
| d) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| 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 after passing gun safety training? | ||
| Yes | d) Should a license be required for gun ownership? | ||
| e) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| Yes | a) Should the state government increase funding for treatment facilities to combat opioid abuse? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support Medicaid expansion through New York'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? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support requiring businesses to provide paid medical leave during public health crises, such as COVID-19? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support suspending rent payments for at least 90 days during public health crises, such as COVID-19? | ||
| h) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in New York's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in New York's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support greater efforts by New York state government in closing the pay gap between men and women? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support requiring all public female-designated restrooms to provide free feminine hygiene products? | ||
| e) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| Jobs are always high priority. Manufacturing and energy jobs will come to our district if we start harvesting renewable energy. The Governor has mentioned public works projects centering on this very idea, from our region. There is opportunity here. Rural broadband needs to be considered a necessary utility. The existential health crisis affecting the 120th needs to be addressed. We have a low life expectancy, high infant mortality, and substance abuse and suicide rates that are off the charts. We need to start healing our district. | |||
| My top legislative priority is to increase the circulation of rural broadband. We need to hold internet providers responsible for transporting service to sparsely populated areas. Broadband is a necessity that we can't live without when it comes to education, business, and our health. I plan to fund this project by requiring the internet providers to expand their service. They are a business providing a necessary service, and they need to provide it to everyone, not just the areas where they can make the most money. They need to use their profits to fill the gap. |
Vote Smart does not permit the use of its name or programs in any campaign activity, including advertising, debates, and speeches.