David Chang's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
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Hawaii State Legislative Election 2010 Political Courage Test
| Pro-life | a) Do you consider yourself pro-choice or pro-life? | ||
| No | b) Should abortion be legal only within the first trimester of pregnancy? | ||
| No | c) Should abortion be legal when the pregnancy resulted from incest or rape? | ||
| No | 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? | ||
| Yes | 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? | ||
| h) Do you support abstinence-only sexual education programs? | |||
| We need to have balance between education programs and also what is appropriate for the children at their level. It is the parents' choice on how to educate their children. If abstinence only is their choice, then we need to honor that choice and empower the parents. | |||
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.3) Budget StabilizationIndicate which proposals you support (if any) for balancing Hawaii's budget.
| Maintain Status | a) Education (higher) | ||
| Maintain Status | b) Education (K-12) | ||
| Maintain Status | c) Environment | ||
| Maintain Status | d) Health care | ||
| Maintain Status | e) Law enforcement | ||
| Maintain Status | f) Transportation and highway infrastructure | ||
| Maintain Status | g) Welfare | ||
| Maintain Status | a) Alcohol taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | b) Cigarette taxes | ||
| Greatly Decrease | c) Corporate taxes | ||
| Greatly Decrease | d) Gasoline taxes | ||
| Greatly Decrease | e) Property taxes | ||
| Greatly Decrease | f) Sales taxes | ||
| Greatly Decrease | g) Income taxes (low-income families) | ||
| Greatly Decrease | h) Income taxes (middle-income families) | ||
| Slightly Decrease | i) Income taxes (high-income families) | ||
| No | a) Tapping into Hawaii's "rainy day" fund | ||
| No | b) Issuing the early release of certain non-violent offenders | ||
| No | c) Increasing tuition rates at public universities | ||
| Yes | d) Instituting mandatory furloughs and layoffs for state employees | ||
| No | e) Reducing benefits for Medicaid recipients | ||
| Yes | f) Privatizing certain government services | ||
| No | g) Legalizing and regulating gambling | ||
| We need to do an audit of each agency to determine where we can save money before we start to cut costs. We need to be efficient in our spending and avoid any misuse or waste. Once we can see how we can decrease costs, then we can work to decrease government spending. I also believe we should transfer more money to charter schools. | |||
| Hawaii has the highest taxes in the nation. Our GET is the most regressive tax in the nation. We need to lower taxes to spur economic growth and increase jobs. This will increase revenue without increasing taxes. We need to help small business thrive, not just survive, especially since small business creates 70% of our jobs. | |||
| We need to streamline our government services and maximizing the private-public partnership for more efficient and effective programs. Other states have privatized many departments and have offered the same services while saving 60%-70% in costs. | |||
c) Do you support limits on the following types of contributions to candidates for state government?
| Yes | a) Do you support limits on the number of terms for Hawaii governors? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support limits on the number of terms for Hawaii state legislators? | ||
| No | 1) Individual | ||
| No | 2) Political Action Committee | ||
| No | 3) Corporate | ||
| No | 4) Political Party | ||
| No | 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? | ||
| Public-financed campaigns would only favor those people with name recognition, not necessarily the best candidate. When people believe in a cause and the candidates values, they should be able to show their support without restrictions. The taxpayers are already burdened with high taxes, they do not need to be taxed more to finance campaigns. | |||
| 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? | ||
| No | c) Should the possession of small amounts of marijuana be decriminalized? | ||
| Yes | d) Should a minor accused of a violent crime be prosecuted as an adult? | ||
| Yes | e) Should a minor who sends sexually-explicit or nude photos by cell phone face criminal charges? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support the enforcement of federal immigration laws by state and local police? | ||
| Criminals should know that there are crimes egregious enough that warrant the death penalty. If used effectively, it would be a deterrent to certain types of behavior. We must teach minors the importance of living lives that give back to the community, not take away. | |||
| Yes | 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? | ||
| 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? | ||
| 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? | |||
| Unemployment benefits are very useful when falling on hard times and looking for new work. From personal experience there are people that take advantage of unemployment benefits. We need to hold people accountable to using unemployment benefits as a temporary solution, not a permanent one. An increase in government spending would be an increase in taxes or inflation. We need to balance government spending with private sector growth. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support national education standards? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support requiring public schools to administer high school exit exams? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support using a merit pay system for teachers? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support state funding for charter schools? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support the state government providing college students with financial aid? | ||
| No | f) Should illegal immigrants who graduate from Hawaii high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities? | ||
| Our keiki's future starts with a quality education. We must reform our education system and put the children first. We must prepare our students for the real world. Charter schools have been very successful and a majority did not have to furlough despite the fact they receive less money than public schools. They have successfully involved the teachers, parents, and students to work together for the betterment of our children. My family immigrated to America legally and I believe we need to hold up the standard to all people living in the US. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support state funding for the development of alternative energy? | ||
| 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 Hawaii's energy infrastructure? | ||
| 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? | ||
| Hawaii is more than 90% dependent on foreign fossil fuel, making Hawaii the most oil dependent state in America. Remaining dependent on the volatile oil market threatens our environment, and our energy and economic security. We must be aggressive in creating more of our own clean alternative sources of energy in an environmentally responsible way that makes economic sense and moves our state toward greater self-sufficiency. This will create jobs by expanding and keeping up to $5 billion dollars circulating in our local economy. Hawaii's beautiful natural environment is a treasure that must be preserved for future generations. | |||
| No | 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? | ||
| We must be careful on who is able to purchase and use weapons, but we must also protect 2nd Amendment rights. Responsible citizens should have the right to protect themselves. | |||
| No | 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? | ||
| No | 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? | ||
| No | f) Do you support legalizing physician-assisted suicide in Hawaii? | ||
| No | g) Do you support allowing doctors to prescribe marijuana to their patients for medicinal purposes? | ||
| We must reduce healthcare costs and bring the doctors back to Hawaii. We need to focus on medical liability tort reform to help cut the rising cost of medical services and encourage more doctors to stay and practice in Hawaii. | |||
| Yes | a) Should marriage only be between one man and one woman? | ||
| No | b) Should Hawaii 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? | ||
| e) Do you support the state's use of affirmative action? | |||
| f) Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in Hawaii's anti-discrimination laws? | |||
| g) Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in Hawaii's anti-discrimination laws? | |||
| There are already laws addressing discrimination on sexual orientation and gender identity. Marriage should between a man and a woman. We can expand the current reciprocal rights and benefits. | |||
| Hawaii's residents have the highest tax burden in the country. Hawaii is ranked 48 out 50 states in top states for business. Lower taxes and regulation must be offset by growing our economic tax base and eliminating government waste for more efficient management of public resources. I want to create a user-friendly government that will foster the development of a diversified economic base. We need a reformed education system that puts our keiki first. We need to empower teachers, create a supportive environment conducive to learning, and reduce overhead to ensure that money is spent directly at the classroom level. |
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