Matt Mattingly'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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Matt Mattingly has provided voters with clear stances on key issues by responding to the 2016 Political Courage Test.
Maine State Legislative Election 2016 Political Courage Test
| Pro-life | a) Do you generally support pro-choice or pro-life legislation? | ||
| Yes | 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? | ||
| e) Do you support requiring parental notification before an abortion is performed on a minor? | |||
| 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? | ||
| Yes | h) Do you support the prohibition of public funds for organizations that perform abortions? | ||
| Questions regarding parental notification are not as simple as stated. If the minor is pregnant due to incest than the requirement mandating notification would need to be addressed. Not all situations are the same therefore require mature judgement in each situation. | |||
1) Budget Stabilization:Indicate which proposals you support (if any) for balancing Maine's budget.2) State Spending: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.3) State Taxes: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.
| No | a) Tapping into Maine's "rainy day" fund | ||
| No | b) Decreasing funding for public universities | ||
| c) Reducing state employee salaries AND/OR pensions | |||
| d) Instituting mandatory furloughs AND/OR layoffs for state employees | |||
| e) Reducing benefits for Medicaid recipients | |||
| a) Education (higher) | |||
| b) Education (K-12) | |||
| c) Environment | |||
| d) Health care | |||
| e) Law enforcement/corrections | |||
| f) Transportation/infrastructure | |||
| g) Welfare | |||
| a) Alcohol taxes | |||
| b) Cigarette taxes | |||
| c) Corporate taxes | |||
| d) Small business taxes | |||
| e) Gas/Oil taxes | |||
| f) Property taxes | |||
| g) Sales taxes | |||
| h) Income taxes (low-income families) | |||
| i) Income taxes (mid-income families) | |||
| j) Income taxes (high-income families) | |||
| k) Do you support applying sales taxes to all online purchases? | |||
| Questions C,D and E are not straight forward and need details. The questions do not address budgetary issues the state might be facing or current economic conditions. The answers must be based on solid policy and not extraneous influence. | |||
| Questions a through g must be answered in perspective with appropriate data and supporting details. Simply adopting a stance without proper evidence is the best way to make decisions that will negatively impact the state. | |||
| Questions A through K must have supporting evidence in order to draw any conclusion that a tax is either too high, too low are just right. To develop a conclusion without proper evidence is an example of poor leadership. | |||
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 | ||
| No | 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? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support requiring a government-issued photo identification in order to vote at the polls? | ||
| No | f) Do you support maintaining the provisions of the Maine Clean Election Act? | ||
| Running for office is a personal decision and being so, it should be funded by individuals and not at the expense of those who may or may not agree with my own personal opinions. | |||
| 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) Do you support legalizing the possession of small amounts of marijuana? | ||
| d) Should a minor accused of a violent crime be prosecuted as an adult? | |||
| Yes | e) Do you support the enforcement of federal immigration laws by state and local police? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support delaying the seizure of assets by law enforcement officials until after a conviction? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support additional funding for programs intended to reduce drug addiction in Maine? | ||
| Question d needs to have specific details in order to make any legitimate determination. All prosecutions should be made on a case by case basis and not a one size fits all legal system. | |||
| No | a) Do you support government spending as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support lowering taxes as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support reducing government regulations on the private sector? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support increased state funding for job-training programs that re-train displaced workers? | ||
| e) Do you support expanding access to unemployment benefits? | |||
| Yes | f) Do you support requiring welfare applicants to pass a drug test in order to receive benefits? | ||
| No | g) Do you support providing financial incentives to the private sector for the purpose of job creation? | ||
| No | h) Do you support providing direct financial assistance to homeowners facing foreclosure? | ||
| No | i) Do you support an increase of the minimum wage? | ||
| Yes | j) Should employers be able to ask about applicants' criminal history before interviewing them? | ||
| E - question needs details before any proper conclusion can be made such as: What does expanding access mean? | |||
| No | a) Do you support the national Common Core State Standards initiative? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support a merit pay system for teachers? | ||
| No | c) Is the tenure process for public school teachers producing effective teachers? | ||
| Yes | d) Should parents be allowed to use vouchers to send their children to any school? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support state funding for charter schools? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support the state government providing college students with financial aid? | ||
| g) Should illegal immigrants who graduate from Maine high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities? | |||
| h) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| No | a) Do you support state funding for the development of renewable energy (e.g. solar, wind, thermal)? | ||
| 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 Maine's energy infrastructure? | ||
| No | d) Do you support state funding for open space preservation? | ||
| No | e) Do you support government regulations of greenhouse gas emissions? | ||
| No | f) Do you support increased regulations of the hydraulic fracturing ("fracking") industry? | ||
| g) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| No | a) Do you generally support gun-control legislation? | ||
| No | 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? | ||
| e) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| 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) Do you support Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare")? | ||
| No | e) Do you support requiring individuals to purchase health care insurance? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support monetary limits on damages that can be collected in malpractice lawsuits? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support allowing doctors to prescribe marijuana to their patients for medicinal purposes? | ||
| h) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| a) Do you support same-sex marriage? | |||
| b) Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in Maine's anti-discrimination laws? | |||
| c) Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in Maine's anti-discrimination laws? | |||
| The government should make no laws of differentiation. Everyone should be treated the same. Marriage is not the right of the government to determine or effect. | |||
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