John Dahlgren's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
On The Ballot: Running, Democratic for State House (MI) - District 34
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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.
Michigan State Legislative Election 2024 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 (e.g. Medicaid) for organizations that perform abortions? | ||
| Denying a pregnant person the right to do with their body as they wish gives a corpse more rights than a pregnant person. It's all about bodily autonomy. If you lose control over your own body then what other rights will you lose? | |||
| No | a) In order to balance the budget, do you support limiting state government spending on social programs (e.g. SNAP, TANF)? | ||
| No | b) Do you support a decrease in income taxes in order to promote economic growth? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support a wealth tax in order to pay for public programs in your state? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support the state government providing tax incentives to promote the sale of vehicles produced by General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler? | ||
| A. I support looking at all programs and making sure they're effective and using the money wisely. B. Decreasing income taxes doesn't promote economic growth. Having good infrastructure and a good quality of life DOES promote economic growth. c. Yes! D. I support incentives for EVs from all companies. | |||
| No | a) Do you support capital punishment for violent 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? | ||
| No | e) Do you support mandatory minimum sentences for nonviolent drug offenders? | ||
| A. I used to support capital punishment but we've had too many people in death row found innocent. Putting one innocent person to death is one too many. B. In rare instances decided by a judge and psychologist should someone under 18 be tried as an adult. C. I support cooperation between agencies but I do not support local/state agencies working on their own to enforce federal laws. D. Absolutely not. Take the profit motive out of incarceration. Prisoners are not slaves and we should not use them as slave labor. E. No mandatory sentences at all. Give the power back to the judges. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support state government spending as a means of promoting economic growth (e.g. grants, tax incentives)? | ||
| No | b) Do you support reducing state government regulations on the private sector (e.g. for business or the environment)? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support an increase of the minimum wage in Michigan? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support government spending on affordable housing projects in Michigan? | ||
| A. I support state spending to promote economic growth but we need to use it wisely. I personally prefer to help businesses already in the state grow and expand rather than trying to outspend another state to land a company. B. Regulations are written in blood. That being said I have no issues with regulations being reviewed to see if they actually are a benefit or if maybe they've outlived their usefulness or are simply onerous. C. Immediate increase to $15.00 an hour with a phased in increase to $20 an hour by 2030 and then tie it to the Cost of Living Index used by Social Security. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support adopting federal education standards (e.g. Common Core) 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 in the United States who graduate from Michigan high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities, regardless of immigration status? | ||
| A. At a minimum we should adopt the federal standards. Then we should build on that and make our education system the best in the nation. B. I do not support spending money on private schools whether parochial or secular. Public money for public schools C. Increase salaries, decrease class sizes, provide incentives for longevity and educational growth, whatever we can do to keep the best and attract the brightest. D. 99% of immigrant children who graduate from a US high school did not come here on their own. We should not penalize the child for the regressions of their parents. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support state funding for the development of renewable energy (e.g. solar, wind, geo-thermal)? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support state governments allowing permits for drilling on public lands? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support increasing state funding for clean drinking water initiatives? | ||
| A. We should do whatever we can to capture as much renewable energy as we can. Once we get it to a mature industry it won't need public funding. B. In very limited circumstances would I support drilling on public lands C. Water is a necessity of life. In the wealthiest country in history we should not be subjecting our citizens to unclean or unfit water. | |||
| Yes | a)Do you support limiting campaign contributions from corporations, unions, and individuals? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support the use of an independent or bipartisan commission for redistricting? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support requiring a government-issued photo identification in order to vote at the polls? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support automatic voter registration? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support the implementation of ranked choice voting in Michigan? | ||
| A. The wealthy have too much influence over our political and governmental institutions--be it corporations or individuals or organizations. PACs and SuperPACs are changing the way America votes and they shouldn't be allowed. B. Yes, take the redrawing of the districts out of the hands of elected officials. Make all districts as close to evenly distributed between democrat and republican as possible. C. Yes but with a caveat...make it as easy as possible to get a photo ID. Set up kiosks in every major retail location in the state and have them cost Five dollars or less. D. Yup. Everyone born in the US automatically gets registered to vote on their 18th birthday. We keep track of drivers licenses we should be able to keep track of this too. E. Yes. Ranked choice voting is the best way to have candidates represent ALL of their constitutients raather than simply a slim majority of them | |||
| Yes | a) Do you generally support gun-control legislation (e.g. red flag laws, closing the boyfriend loophole)? | ||
| Yes | b) Should background checks be required on gun sales between private citizens at gun shows? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support the right to concealed carry in Michigan? | ||
| A. I don't want to keep guns out the hands of people I want to keep guns out of the hands of people who will abuse them or use them recklessly. Stronger laws are necessary including one for gun locks. Every new gun should be sold with biometric lock keyed to the fingerprint of the person buying it. B. Universal, mandatory background checks for ALL gun sales. Everywhere. And not some cursory background check but a full-fledged background check. C. With a caveat...expanded background check, weapon is registered, must be proven to be a necessity. | |||
| Yes | a) Should the state government increase funding for treatment facilities to combat opioid abuse? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support a government-run (e.g. single-payer) healthcare program such as Medicare-for-All? | ||
| Yes | c) Should an individual have the right to choose to die (e.g. those with a terminal illness) through euthanasia? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support mandating vaccinations (e.g. for school or employment)? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support expanding paid family AND/OR medical leave benefits (e.g. maternity leave)? | ||
| Yes | f) Should the government be able to regulate the cost of prescription drugs? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support the decriminalization of paid surrogacy? | ||
| I support single-payer health care. If an individual wants to then buy more coverage, then they should have that right. However we should remove the profit motive from health care. No one should be forced to decide between health and rent or food. I support increasing funding for addiction as well as for mental health care. It should be as easy to get mental health care as it is to get physical health care. I support mandating vaccinations for schooling pre-k through high school. I propose expanding medical and parental leave to be at least on par with European countries. Surrogacy should not be criminalized. It's terrible that it currently is that way. Euthanasia should be available for those few who request it and have been certified as able to understand the ramifications by more than one doctor. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support 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's state government in closing gender, racial, and other wage gaps? | ||
| No discrimination period except against bigots. | |||
| I have three priorities: 1. I propose a 3-year moratorium on rate increases for power companies until they can bring a plan to the legislature to for strengthening the power grid capabilities. 2. Clean, safe, palatable and inexpensive water for every citizen in Michigan. 3. Eliminate medical debt for all Michigan citizens through the TRIAD Act--TRaumatic Illness and Disease Act. A. Work with a non-profit to buy medical debt for pennies and then forgive it B. Ensure every Michigander who comes down with an traumatic illness or disease gets proper healthcare while being able to maintain their home and savings C. A wealth tax will cover the cost. |
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