Louise Potter's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
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North Dakota State Legislative Election 2010 Political Courage Test
| Pro-life | a) Do you consider yourself pro-choice or pro-life? | ||
| Yes | b) Should abortion be legal only within the first trimester of pregnancy? | ||
| Yes | c) Should abortion be legal when the pregnancy resulted from incest or rape? | ||
| Yes | d) Should abortion be legal when the life of the woman is endangered? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support requiring parental notification before an abortion is performed on a minor? | ||
| No | f) Do you support requiring parental consent before an abortion is performed on a minor? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support sexual education programs that include information on abstinence, contraceptives, and HIV/STD prevention methods? | ||
| No | h) Do you support abstinence-only sexual education programs? | ||
| I do not agree with requiring parental consent before an abortion because that could require the girl to get consent from an abusive parent or a parent that commited incest or rape. I could not ask a girl to do that. | |||
1) State SpendingIndicate what state funding levels (#1-6) you support for the following general categories. Select one level per category; you may use a number more than once.2) State TaxesIndicate what state tax levels (#1-6) you support for the following general categories. Select one level per category; you may use a number more than once.
| Slightly Increase | a) Education (higher) | ||
| Slightly Increase | b) Education (K-12) | ||
| Slightly Increase | c) Environment | ||
| Slightly Increase | d) Health care | ||
| Maintain Status | e) Law enforcement | ||
| Slightly Increase | f) Transportation and highway infrastructure | ||
| Maintain Status | g) Welfare | ||
| Greatly Increase | h) Other or expanded categories | ||
| Maintain Status | a) Alcohol taxes | ||
| Slightly Increase | b) Cigarette taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | c) Corporate taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | d) Gasoline taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | e) Property taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | f) Sales taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | g) Income taxes (low-income families) | ||
| Maintain Status | h) Income taxes (middle-income families) | ||
| Maintain Status | i) Income taxes (high-income families) | ||
| I would support increases for alternative energy. I think that ND is behind in our commitment to wind and biodiesal. We should be out in front in these areas since we have both in abundance. We need to make the most of our assets. | |||
| I support the decrease in property taxes from the 2009 session and I want to make that permanent. I would like to see further state support of the public schools to further reduce property taxes. This has been a priority of mine from my first election in 2002. We finally got some traction here and I am delighted. North Dakota's property taxes are still too high. | |||
c) Do you support limits on the following types of contributions to candidates for state government?
| No | a) Do you support limits on the number of terms for North Dakota governors? | ||
| No | b) Do you support limits on the number of terms for North Dakota state legislators? | ||
| No | 1) Individual | ||
| No | 2) Political Action Committee | ||
| Yes | 3) Corporate | ||
| No | 4) Political Party | ||
| Yes | d) Should candidates for state office be encouraged to meet voluntary spending limits? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support requiring full and timely disclosure of campaign finance information? | ||
| At the present state candidates only report contributions to their campaigns. I support reporting expenditures too. This would be full disclosure. We expect this with our government, why not our campaigns? I do not support term limits. It is too hard now to find qualified people to run for office. | |||
| No | a) Do you support capital punishment for certain crimes? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support alternatives to incarceration for certain non-violent offenders, such as mandatory counseling or substance abuse treatment? | ||
| Yes | c) Should the possession of small amounts of marijuana be decriminalized? | ||
| No | d) Should a minor accused of a violent crime be prosecuted as an adult? | ||
| No | e) Should a minor who sends sexually-explicit or nude photos by cell phone face criminal charges? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support a comprehensive ban on smoking in public places? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support the enforcement of federal immigration laws by state and local police? | ||
| As a tax payer I do not want to pay for people to be jailed for small amounts of marijuana. Jails are expensive. Tax payers don't need to pay for this. | |||
| No | a) Do you support reducing government regulations on the private sector? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support increased state funding for job-training programs that re-train displaced workers? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support expanding access to unemployment benefits? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support providing financial incentives to the private sector for the purpose of job creation? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support increased spending on infrastructure projects for the purpose of job creation? | ||
| No | f) Do you support providing direct financial assistance to homeowners facing foreclosure? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support increasing state funding for affordable housing? | ||
| Yes | h) Do you support a sales tax exemption for clothing? | ||
| ND was one of the few states that did not see abusive and questionable lending practices with homebuyers. If we did have abusive lending practices I would support providing financial assistance to homeowners. We did not so, I do not support financial assistance for foreclosure. | |||
| No | a) Do you support national education standards? | ||
| No | b) Do you support requiring public schools to administer high school exit exams? | ||
| No | c) Do you support using a merit pay system for teachers? | ||
| No | d) Do you support state funding for charter schools? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support the state government providing college students with financial aid? | ||
| f) Should illegal immigrants who graduate from North Dakota high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities? | |||
| I have not seen a good merit pay system yet. I think we could work toward this so there could be buy-in from teachers and school boards. It should be a collaborative effort. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support state funding for the development of alternative energy? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support state funding for the development of traditional domestic energy sources (e.g. coal, natural gas, oil)? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support providing financial incentives to farms that produce biofuel crops? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support state funding for improvements to North Dakota's energy infrastructure? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support state funding for open space preservation? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support enacting environmental regulations aimed at reducing the effects of climate change? | ||
| We have supported coal, oil, natural gas very well in the past. I want to see increased support for alternative energy. This is our future in ND and we need to get firmly behind alternative energy. This has been difficult due to strong resistance from the traditional energy people. We need to look to our future and celebrate our past. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support requiring background checks on gun sales between private citizens at gun shows? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support allowing individuals to carry concealed guns? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support requiring a license for gun possession? | ||
| I do support restrictions on the purchase and possession of certain types of guns. I do not think the general public needs to have Uzis. I support background checks and certain waiting periods. I think we need to think seriously about persons with serious mental illness purchasing guns. We all have a drivers license and license plates and we do not question this practice. I see no harm in requiring a license for gun possession. | |||
| a) Do you support a universally-accessible, publicly-administered health insurance option? | |||
| Yes | b) Do you support expanding access to health care through commercial health insurance reform? | ||
| c) Do you support interstate health insurance compacts? | |||
| Yes | d) Should individuals be required to purchase health care insurance? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support monetary limits on damages that can be collected in malpractice lawsuits? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support legalizing physician-assisted suicide in North Dakota? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support allowing doctors to prescribe marijuana to their patients for medicinal purposes? | ||
| The more I read, the more I understand that there seems to be a useful purpose medically for marijuana. No one could be more surprised than myself. Marijuana seems much less harmful than many legal prescribed drugs that people take today. I believe we need to go with well respected research in this area. Questions a & c, I believe ND should participate fully in what is required by the federal government. | |||
| a) Should marriage only be between one man and one woman? | |||
| Yes | b) Should North Dakota allow same-sex couples to form civil unions? | ||
| No | c) Do you support state funding for stem cell research? | ||
| No | d) Do you support state funding for embryonic stem cell research? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support the state's use of affirmative action? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in North Dakota's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in North Dakota's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| Question a, I believe marriage between persons should be an governed the church and our government does not need to be involved. | |||
| 1. Continuing the battle for property tax relief by insuring that the state meets its obligation to educate our children, reducing the need for local funds (property taxes) for further property tax reduction. 2. I am a strong advocate of policies that help seniors live in their own homes as long as possible. 3.The future of our state depends upon rapid development of our extraordinary portfolio of wind energy, biomass and bidodiesel resources, and the continued support of clean coal technologies and natural gas production. 4. Education, K-Higher Ed. Support of public schools and our public university system is crucial. |
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