Kenneth Stickney's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
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Kenneth Stickney has provided voters with clear stances on key issues by responding to the 2020 Political Courage Test.
Colorado 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 believe that person hood begins at the time that the fetus is reasonably viable outside the womb with the use of the latest medical technology. Consensus is that beyond 22 weeks the fetus is reasonably viable. Any women who waits longer than that to obtain an abortion has forfeited her right to an abortion. Birth should be induced if there is a serious threat to the mother or child, or the fetus must be carried to term. The child can always be put up for adoption, there are many couples wanting to adopt a newborn. | |||
| 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? | ||
| Reductions in state budgets occur during economic downturns, when many businesses must reduce cost by layoffs. Why should state governments be immune to this? In the latest Covid related downturn, job loses by government were the least of any sector. Tax increases to balance the budget should be put to the voters, not decided by the legislature. In this state we have a flat tax across all income levels, and it fosters a favorable tax climate that encourages population and economic growth, which produces more revenue for our state and local governments | |||
| 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? | ||
| No | 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? | ||
| No | f) Do you support awarding Colorado's electoral votes to the winner of the national popular vote? | ||
| g) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| 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? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support the use of private prisons in Colorado? | ||
| No | e) Do you support mandatory minimum sentences for non-violent drug offenders? | ||
| No | f) Do you support a ban on flavored nicotine products? | ||
| g) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| 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 Colorado? | ||
| 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 support financial relief to small businesses only, as they are least likely to weather the pandemic, and least likely to be able to secure loans from the private sector w/o government aid. I do not support raising of the minimum wage because it only accelerates the automation of low skilled jobs. I would like to see more funds for job training for more highly skilled jobs. | |||
| No | a) Do you support adopting federal education standards in Colorado? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support state funding for charter schools? | ||
| No | c) Do you support increasing teacher salaries AND/OR benefits in Colorado? | ||
| No | d) Should immigrants unlawfully present in the United States who graduate from Colorado high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities? | ||
| I believe that education is a state responsibility, not a federal responsibility. I believe teacher salary increases should be merit based, on performance and increased training, just like in the private sector. As far as immigration goes, we need to overhaul our immigration laws at the federal level to be more nuanced to cover the many different kinds of situations that immigrants find themselves in. | |||
| No | 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? | ||
| No | d) Do you support the reintroduction of gray wolves into Colorado? | ||
| We need to have sound scientifically based standards for clean air and clean water. I believe we should eliminate all subsidies for development and production of energy from all sources. The government should not be in the business of picking winners in any sector of the economy. | |||
| No | 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 after passing gun safety training? | ||
| No | d) Should a license be required for gun ownership? | ||
| Increased gun control legislation does not make citizens safer. Mexico has very restrictive gun laws but has an extraordinary amount of gun violence. Colorado already requires background checks at gun shows. The evidence is clear that mass shootings occur in gun free zones. Allowing teachers to choose concealed carry is the best way to make schools safe. Concealed carry is only granted after significant training has been undergone. A license for gun ownership means fees collected, which can put gun ownership of the hands of low wage earners who live in high crime neighborhoods. | |||
| Yes | a) Should the state government increase funding for treatment facilities to combat opioid abuse? | ||
| No | b) Do you support Medicaid expansion through Colorado'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? | ||
| 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? | ||
| Colorado already implemented expanded Medicaid coverage, to 134% of poverty level, which is higher than many other states. In public health crises, it should be up to the government to assist individuals who must leave their employment because of health issues, possibly through payroll protection plans, which would allow the employer to pay the employee during their health related leave. | |||
| 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? | ||
| No | c) Do you support greater efforts by Colorado state government in closing the pay gap between men and women? | ||
| It is my belief that much of the pay gap between men and women is due differences in job choice and non-job related life choices. What we need to do is to promote the ideal that pay should be merit based. | |||
| Community Safety- Support the law enforcement and hold lawbreakers accountable. Criminal Justice Reform does not mean wholesale release of suspects w/o bail. Education: Get our kids back in school, remote learning is woefully inadequate. Promote school choice, establish more charter schools, and encourage more parental involvement in lower income communities. Counter the left-wing indoctrination in our public schools, such as 1619 Project and Critical Race Theory. | |||
| Fixing the state economy after the covid induced collapse, with these actions (no funding needed): -Fight for the immediate full opening up of the business economy, letting businesses and individuals determine the level of risk they can tolerate, while protecting those at risk. -Amend Colorado Revised Statutes Title 24 to require mandatory legislative approval for the extension of any emergency declaration by the Governor or State Department of Public Health beyond 30 days, thereby guaranteeing accountability from all government branches. -A license fee holiday of two years for small businesses, along with reductions in other business- related fees and taxes. |
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