Sandra Hofman-Kingston's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
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Official Position: Candidate addressed this issue directly by taking the Political Courage Test.
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Sandra Hofman-Kingston has provided voters with clear stances on key issues by responding to the 2020 Political Courage Test.
Michigan 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? | ||
| Abortion is a terrible thing. Pro-choice, does NOT mean pro-abortion. No one is pro-abortion, they are just pro-my body/my choice. The real issue that needs to be tackled here is how do we PREVENT unwanted pregnancies and how do we SUPPORT young mothers/families after the baby is born. We need free universal childcare for all Michigan babies, food security, access to affordable and local physical and mental healthcare services, and economic justice policies that will make it possible for a child born into poverty to be able to eventually get out of poverty. | |||
| No | 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? | ||
| Michigan has 12 billionaires who control the vast majority of the wealth in our state. It is absurd. I support a wealth tax and economic justice that will distribute the wealth of OUR nation to all citizens and not just the already super-wealthy. | |||
| 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? | ||
| No | f) Do you support limiting the governor's power to declare a state of emergency? | ||
| Campaign finance laws need to be changed so that politicians stay accountable to their constituents rather than to their donors. There needs to be equity provisions put into campaign finance law that makes the playing field even for all candidates so that we can run campaigns based on our ideas and ideals rather than how much cash flow we have. Our Democracy is stronger when we ALL vote. We must make it easier to vote in anyway possible and we need to make sure that voting districts are determined based on a completely non-partisan basis. | |||
| No | 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? | ||
| 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 Michigan? | ||
| No | e) Do you support mandatory minimum sentences for non-violent drug offenders? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support banning the use of cellphones and other handheld communication devices while driving? | ||
| Capital punishment is barbaric. There are certain circumstances that would make it reasonable to prosecute those accused of violent crimes as adults but not in every situation, so it depends on the particular case. Prisons, like schools, should not be profit machines for corporations. These are critical public services that need to be separated from the for-profit sector. Non-violent drug offenders are over-represented in our prison system. We need to find a better way to handle this problem. There needs to be more hands-free options that affordable and available. | |||
| 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 Michigan? | ||
| 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? | ||
| Taxes on the super-wealthy are a necessary step to take to make sure that all Michigan families are able to live safely without fear of pain or fear of want. Thoughtful government regulations make business work better for everyone and should be used more often. We need a minimum LIVING WAGE. Family leave must become the norm in our country. I think SMALL local businesses should get priority for relief. We need to redefine what we mean by small business because the current language is way to broad. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support adopting federal education standards in Michigan? | ||
| No | b) Do you support state funding for charter schools? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support increasing teacher salaries AND/OR benefits in Michigan? | ||
| Yes | d) Should immigrants unlawfully present in the United States who graduate from Michigan high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support allowing college athletes to be compensated for the use of their name, image, and likeness? | ||
| The Common Core Curriculum offers our schools a research-based and comprehensive foundation for what our children need to learn in order to be productive, healthy, happy citizens. I think Charter schools should be closed. Teacher salaries and benefits have been a roadblock to improving our teacher ranks. Appropriate compensation for a college-educated professional teacher is an important step but we also have to improve teacher working conditions - which is the number 1 reason why teachers leave the education system (#2 is low pay). Collegiate athletes should be able to make money off of their own image. | |||
| 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? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support prohibiting the distribution of bottled water from the Great Lakes watershed outside the watershed? | ||
| I support the vision of the Green New Deal. It will bring jobs, make our lives healthier and safer, and will preserve and protect our natural resources. | |||
| 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? | ||
| Sensible gun legislation protects our 2nd amendment rights. If you chose to own a gun it should be licensed - no matter where you get it from or who you get it from. Gun safety training should be offered widely. | |||
| Yes | a) Should the state government increase funding for treatment facilities to combat opioid abuse? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support Medicaid expansion through Michigan'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? | ||
| No | f) Do you support requiring businesses to provide paid medical leave during public health crises, such as COVID-19? | ||
| We need medicare for all. Healthcare coverage shouldn't be contingent upon employment. Everyone should have access to it when they need it. Vaccinations are for the common good of all of our people and they are more effective when we all have them. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in Michigan's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in Michigan's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support greater efforts by Michigan state government in closing the pay gap between men and women? | ||
| The pay gap between men and women should have been addressed decades ago. It's about time we took this serious issue seriously. | |||
| I believe that social justice needs to be broadly addressed by our government. Our education system and our criminal justice system are two glaring examples of a lack of social justice. Both of these systems need to be examined and actions need to be taken that will promote equality and justice. We MUST listen to climate scientists and take actions to reverse the damage already done. We have lost so much already. We have to take this existential threat seriously. | |||
| Schools and prisons should not be privatized. They are critical public services. We need to establish a tax system that will provide for equitable funding for schools so that they are able to provide equitable services to all students. Taxing the super-rich in Michigan is a critical step that we must take, but we must also look into funding schools in a way that doesn't bring in more revenue for some schools based on local real estate market value. |
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