Jay Clough's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
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Jay Clough has demonstrated Political Courage by telling citizens where he stands on the issues he may face if elected.
Washington State Legislative Election 2012 Political Courage Test
| Pro-choice | a) Do you generally support pro-choice or pro-life legislation? | ||
| No | b) Should abortions be illegal after 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 the prohibition of public funds for abortion procedures? | ||
| No | h) Do you support the prohibition of public funds for organizations that perform abortions? | ||
| Due to my personal religious beliefs, I'm pro life, as far as this issue would affect my family. But, this issue was decided about 40 years ago, by the Supreme Court. My personal belief is that Women don't turn to politicians for advice about birth control, mammograms, cancer screenings or treatments. Politicians should not be involved in a woman's personal medical decisions about her pregnancy. | |||
1) State Spending:Using the key, indicate 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 Taxes:Using the key,indicate 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.3) Budget Stabilization:Indicate which proposals you support (if any) for balancing Washington's budget.
| Greatly Increase | a) Education (higher) | ||
| Greatly Increase | b) Education (K-12) | ||
| Maintain Status | c) Environment | ||
| Slightly Increase | d) Health care | ||
| Maintain Status | e) Law enforcement/corrections | ||
| Slightly Increase | f) Transportation/infrastructure | ||
| Maintain Status | g) Welfare | ||
| h) Other or expanded categories: | |||
| Slightly Decrease | a) Alcohol taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | b) Cigarette taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | c) Gas/Oil taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | d) Property taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | e) Sales taxes | ||
| f) Other or expanded categories: | |||
| Yes | a) Tapping into Washington's "rainy day" fund | ||
| No | b) Increasing tuition rates at public universities | ||
| No | c) Reducing or eliminating public worker collective bargaining | ||
| No | d) Reducing state employee salaries AND/OR pensions | ||
| No | e) Instituting mandatory furloughs AND/OR layoffs for state employees | ||
| No | f) Reducing benefits for Medicaid recipients | ||
| Increasing tuition at universities makes post secondary education unreachable for middle class families. The more educated your workforce, the more productive they are, and the higher wages they earn and can spend in the economy. Reducing wages and eliminating public workers, takes money out of the economy, and puts more people on public assistance and unemployment, compounding the problem. These public employees spend their paychecks in our local businesses. Reducing medicaid benefits, puts more people into our emergency rooms where care is much more expensive and tax payers pay for that in the form of taxes and increased insurance premiums. | |||
a) Do you support limits on the following types of contributions for state candidates?
| Yes | 1) Individual | ||
| Yes | 2) Political Action Committee | ||
| Yes | 3) Corporate | ||
| Yes | 4) Political Party | ||
| Yes | b) Should candidates for state office be encouraged to meet voluntary spending limits? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support requiring full and timely disclosure of campaign finance information? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support the use of an independent AND/OR bipartisan commission for redistricting? | ||
| No | e) Do you support requiring a government-issued photo identification in order to vote at the polls? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support requiring a two-thirds vote of the legislature in order to approve all future tax increases? | ||
| e) This would unevenly restrict elderly, student, and minority votes, (the groups that are least likely to have these forms of identification). Only 35% of registered voters voted in the Primary, we should be looking for ways to increase voting, not decrease it disproportionately in one specific group of voters. Voter fraud is extremely rare, carries a high punishment for a very low return on risk. (one vote increase vs. 5 years in prison) f) I believe that if the people vote to require a 2/3 majority for all tax increases, then the State should respect the voters' decision. | |||
| Yes | 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) Do you support decriminalizing the possession of small amounts of marijuana? | ||
| No | d) Do you support legalization and regulation of small amounts of marijuana for individuals 21 and older? | ||
| No | e) Should a minor accused of a violent crime be prosecuted as an adult? | ||
| No | f) Should a minor who sends sexually-explicit or nude photos by cell phone face criminal charges? | ||
| No | g) Do you support the enforcement of federal immigration laws by state and local police? | ||
| c) d) I'm uncomfortable with medical marijuana laws being used as a back door to legalization. We should put these types of questions to voters, as Washington is doing, and if the proponents can make an effective case, then it will be legalized, and if they can't, it won't. I trust our voters. e) Children should not be charged as adults. Their brains are not fully developed and it has been proven that decision making is impaired in adolescence. f) Ruining a child's life for a prank, or poor decisions is wrong. Educate Parents to teach kids about the dangers. | |||
| a) Do you support reducing government regulations on the private sector? | |||
| b) Do you support increased state funding for job-training programs that re-train displaced workers? | |||
| c) Do you support expanding access to unemployment benefits? | |||
| d) Do you support providing financial incentives to the private sector for the purpose of job creation? | |||
| e) Do you support increased spending on infrastructure projects for the purpose of job creation? | |||
| f) Do you support providing direct financial assistance to homeowners facing foreclosure? | |||
| g) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| a) Do you support the national Common Core State Standards initiative? | |||
| b) Do you support a merit pay system for teachers? | |||
| c) Is the tenure process for public school teachers producing effective teachers? | |||
| d) Should parents be allowed to use vouchers to send their children to any school? | |||
| e) Do you support state funding for charter schools? | |||
| f) Do you support the state government providing college students with financial aid? | |||
| g) Should illegal immigrants who graduate from Washington's high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities? | |||
| h) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support state funding for the development of alternative energy? | ||
| No | 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 state funding for improvements to Washington's energy infrastructure? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support state funding for open space preservation? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support enacting environmental regulations aimed at reducing the effects of climate change? | ||
| a) I support looking for ways to store energy. Until we do, continuing to invest in Wind and Solar is putting the cart before the horse. We must have a way to store the energy, because wind and solar are not "on demand" energy sources. b) These industries make record profits every year. They do not need our help. That kind of spending is wasteful when we could be investing in our small businesses. e) We must make sure that regulations do not stifle small business growth, unnecessarily. | |||
| No | a) Do you support restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns? | ||
| Yes | b) Should background checks be required on gun sales between private citizens at gun shows? | ||
| Yes | c) Should citizens be allowed to carry concealed guns? | ||
| No | d) Should a license be required for gun possession? | ||
| I stand firm in my support for lawful and safe gun owners. b) It is reasonable to ask a purchaser of a pistol to submit to a background check to ensure he/she isn't a criminal or mentally impaired. | |||
| Yes | 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? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support interstate health insurance compacts? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support requiring individuals 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 allowing doctors to prescribe marijuana to their patients for medicinal purposes? | ||
| a) A public option for those that cannot afford to purchase insurance in the private market, keeps those citizens out of emergency rooms, and makes them healthier and more productive. d) This is a truly Conservative issue of the belief in personal responsibility. When an affluent 20 or 30 something refuses to buy health insurance, because they don't feel they "need it", then has a catastrophic illness or injury, they shift the burden of healthcare costs onto everyone else. Citizens should not have to pay for the irresponsibility of those that can, but choose not to, purchase insurance. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support legalizing same-sex marriage? | ||
| Yes | b) Should same-sex couples be allowed to form civil unions? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in Washington's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in Washington's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| This issue will be decided by Washington voters, in November. Two consenting adults, who love each other and want social recognition of their commitment to each other, should be allowed to have the same opportunity that I had when I married my best friend. "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness." Who am I to deny the same rights to one group, while recognizing them for another? | |||
| We must complete targeted infrastructure projects in the 8th LD, to attract manufacturing, encourage high-tech industry development, and help our small businesses grow. We must continue to support our wine growers and wineries, through investments in research, and find ways to help them promote their wines nationally and abroad. We must fully fund education, as the State Constitution demands, and work with our classroom teachers and administrators to improve educational outcomes. We must lower the regulatory and tax burden on our small businesses in order to create an incubator that will encourage growth and job creation. |
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