Sean Atchison's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
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Sean Atchison has provided voters with clear stances on key issues by responding to the 2020 Political Courage Test.
Washington 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? | ||
| In order of hierarchy, I would say end late term, bring down the choice window to as short as possible in the legislative climate, do not use federal funds. | |||
| 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? | ||
| There is a reality to our deficit situation that has worsened with covid-19. After a recovery effort, there will be a time when we must consider all options to address the deficit, which would include reduction in spending as well as ways to increase tax revenue. I would only support such a measure if it were tied to a timeline or deficit reduction goal in conjunction with spending cuts. Again, to be considered. | |||
| 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? | ||
| I consider our history. There should be equal opportunity to vote, but there should be some effort on the part of citizens to invoke this most sacred of duties. The ability to register to vote is everywhere that I can see, from the DMV to grocery stores where people are helping. I don't like the idea that people can vote as an afterthought with no effort to understand the issues, read the pamphlet, or even decide to register? This easement makes it much easier for those with no skin in the game to be manipulated. | |||
| 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 Washingon? | ||
| No | e) Do you support mandatory minimum sentences for non-violent drug offenders? | ||
| Yes | f) Should State Patrol agents be allowed to destroy firearms that have been confiscated in criminal investigations? | ||
| for B, there are extra considerations. That is not a black and white issue. For D, there needs to be KPI's tied to compensation for attaining goals of society, not maximizing revenue on head count. Work need to be done. For E, there is also a difference with intent to distribute and their contribution to the overall problem vs just a user. For F, there are plenty of good gun manufacturers to make guns for the legal citizens. I don't know what's been done with them now, but if they are sold for rev. for legal citizens, I'm good. | |||
| 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 Washington? | ||
| 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? | ||
| Yes | h) Do you support occupancy restrictions on domestic residences? | ||
| My answers to these are not absolute. I'm open to plans that might go against my answers with hard evidence that would need to be proved out through testing. As an example, state spending can promote economic growth, such as capital improvement projects that are done by the private sector. Bloating the IRS would not. Government regulation is needed to keep the rules of the game fair and equitable, but government should not be a player in the game or have any unnecessary oversight that has no net positive effect. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support adopting federal education standards in Washington? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support state funding for charter schools? | ||
| No | c) Do you support increasing teacher salaries AND/OR benefits in Washington? | ||
| Yes | d) Should immigrants unlawfully present in the United States who graduate from Washington high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities? | ||
| Education standards are a double edge sword, but minimum standards are needed for measurement. I'm fine with funding following the student, or at least a portion of it. D, with restrictions or commitment. There should be a commitment for illegal immigrant students with a commitment to obtain citizenship and serve some civic duty. | |||
| 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? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support restricting local waterway usage for commercial beverage production? | ||
| B, this is an instance of some regulation needed. Obviously you can't have a toxic smelting plant pouring tons of poison into the air. C, I don't know specific initiatives, but we need to ensure quality of drinking water in the state. Commercial usage of public water must come at a cost that takes into account the affect of scarcity of water if used for commercial purposes. I'm not against soda. | |||
| 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? | ||
| If there is no statistical evidence of SIGNIFICANT increased safety, that restriction should not apply. Most gun crimes are committed by people who are already in illegal possession of the firearm, therefore it is logical that restricting guns from those who do not commit crime makes no sense. | |||
| No | a) Should the state government increase funding for treatment facilities to combat opioid abuse? | ||
| No | b) Do you support Medicaid expansion through Washington'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? | ||
| for D, only in certain circumstances. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in Washington's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| No | b) Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in Washington's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| No | c) Do you support greater efforts by Washington state government in closing the pay gap between men and women? | ||
| A. It's already in there. | |||
| Ensuring the safety and security of the citizens is the primary function of government. I will focus on restoring that and enforcing the law without exception. Ensuring that the business climate is poised for a recovery from the covid 19 crisis by not looking at them as a revenue source only and over regulating them. Finally, the homeless problem in our area is out of hand and I think that is a direct result of not enforcing our laws and not having programs that incentivise lifestyle changes rather than enabling addiction. | |||
| I look forward to being a legislator that says no a lot. I think there are too many laws and regulations that are just badges for politicians looking to get re-elected. Finding ways to reduce costs and spend the peoples money in more efficient manners will be my priority. Ensuring that current laws are enforced, ensuring that there are Key Performance Indicators associated with every legislation that clearly show a measurable improvement or lack thereof. I don't want special programs that will cost us more money. These are hard times and we need to tighten the belt of Government. |
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