Aimee Berger-Girvalo's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
Office:
- State House (CT) - District 111, Democratic
On The Ballot: Won, Democratic for State House (CT) - District 111
Key
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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.
Connecticut 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? | ||
| I support a woman's right to choose and believe that, as it ultimately comes down to personal liberty and right to privacy, abortion should be legal up until science deems a pregnancy to be viable. That said, I want every possible alternative to abortion also to be available, accessible, and affordable to every woman, so that each woman truly has a choice. That includes affordable and widely accessible family planning, including birth control, education, ob-gyn care, pre-natal care, child care, family support and adoption/placement. | |||
1) Budget Stabilization:Indicate which proposals you support (if any) for balancing Connecticut's budget.
| Yes | a) Do you support increasing the state gasoline tax? | ||
| 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? | ||
| No | e) An income tax increase on any tax bracket? | ||
| Connecticut's current fiscal situation resulted from decades of fiscal mismanagement, especially under Governors Roland and Rell. We cannot recover legislative mistakes on the backs of citizens. Connecticut must find new revenue sources that minimally impact residents. One such source is graduated tolls, using current, no-slow technologies that have proved effective in other states. This could allow Connecticut to reap new revenues from out-of-state transients that impose so much cost, but no economic benefit, to our state, especially on I-84 and I-95. In this way, Connecticut will recover some of the dollars our residents pay to every other state. | |||
| 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? | ||
| I would only support a photo ID requirement for voting at the polls IF it is irrevocably coupled with effective state programs to make application for and receipt of verified ID easy and convenient to acquire for all voters, such that no person requires more than 1 hour to apply and receive, including travel time, with availability 24/7, ZERO cost to applicant, and accessible in every town and city neighborhood without resort to onerous travel. | |||
| 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? | ||
| e) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support state government spending as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| Yes | 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 Connecticut? | ||
| I believe in continual examination and revision to regulations to ensure they remain optimally effective for protecting the environment, ensuring fairness, equity and protection in all matters economic and democratic, and with minimal costs and intrusions. It isn?t a question of more or less regulation, but rather better or worse; I stand strongly on the side of better, which I interpret as more effective, more efficient, and less burdensome. | |||
| a) Do you support adopting federal education standards in Connecticut? | |||
| Yes | b) Do you support state funding for charter schools? | ||
| Yes | c) Should immigrants unlawfully present in the United States who graduate from Connecticut high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities? | ||
| I do not favor blanket adoption of federal standards, nor do I favor blanket rejection. Connecticut should adopt what works, avoid what doesn?t. Regarding funding of charter schools, I would limit such funding to publicly-run/operated charter schools that meet strict performance, admissions and spending requirements, benchmarked to the best charter school experiences/results nationwide. Privately-run charter schools have universally proven to be costly, inefficient, ineffective, and to undermine education across communities. Absent stringent regulation, I would not support public support of charter schools. | |||
| 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? | ||
| Lead levels and other extremely dangerous contaminants are suspected of rising nationwide. Lead (and others) are highly correlated with increased poverty, crime, health dangers, and increased public expenditures. It is critical that state government allocate resources and expertise to detecting and ameliorating these hidden dangers. Additionally, we stand to benefit from being leaders in bringing green industry to our state. Let these businesses come to us before choosing other states. | |||
| 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? | ||
| In Connecticut, we must be leaders in banning ghost guns, as well as in creating legislation that requires safe storage of weapons and ammunition. The safety of all of our residents is dependent upon our determination to continue to have some of the safest gun laws in the country. Gun violence prevention is on the top of mind of nearly every voter to whom I've spoken. | |||
| Yes | a) Should the state government increase funding for treatment facilities to combat opioid abuse? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support Medicaid expansion through Connecticut'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? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support implementing a state administered paid medical and family leave program? | ||
| g) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in Connecticut's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in Connecticut's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support greater efforts by Connecticut state government in closing the pay gap between men and women? | ||
| d) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| 1.Long-term fiscal sustainability and environmentally-sustainable economic growth. 2.Ensure Connecticut residents a high standard of living, efficient public services and infrastructure, and affordable cost of living. 3.Enshrine equal pay for equal work as a key economic goal. Greatest drag on economic growth in every society worldwide is earnings gender gap. Raising women's income is single most cost-effective way to reduce public spending while increasing economic growth and reducing social ills. Could create massive competitive advantage for Connecticut. 4.Ensure dignity of all people, regardless of race, ethnicity, national origin, gender, gender identity/expression, sexual orientation, religious or conscience tradition. |
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