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Ken Gordon'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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Other or Expanded Principles & Legislative Priorities are entered exactly as candidates submit them. Vote Smart does not edit for misspelled words, punctuation or grammar.

Ken Gordon did not provide voters with positions on key issues covered by the 2022 Political Courage Test, despite repeated requests from Vote Smart and voters like you.

What is the Political Courage Test?
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.

Massachusetts State Legislative Election 2020 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 for organizations that perform abortions?
I believe a woman's health care should be determined between the woman and her medical professional.
No a) In order to balance the budget, do you support reducing state employee salaries AND/OR pensions?
No b) In order to balance the budget, do you support an income tax increase on any tax bracket?
No c) Do you support increasing the state gas tax?
I do support a sur-tax on incomes of more than $1 million, when the surtax applies only to the income in excess of $1 million and not the first $1 million in income. Income does not mean assets.
Yes a) Do you support a limit on campaign contributions to state candidates?
Yes b) Do you support the regulation of indirect campaign contributions from corporations and unions?
Yes c) Do you support the use of an independent AND/OR bipartisan commission for redistricting?
No d) Do you support requiring a government-issued photo identification in order to vote at the polls?
Yes e) Do you support automatic voter registration?
Not only do I support caps on contribution, I also think there should be spending cap.
No a) Do you support capital punishment for certain crimes?
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 in Massachusetts?
No e) Do you support mandatory minimum sentences for non-violent drug offenders?
Yes f) Do you support prohibiting the use of chokeholds by law enforcement officers?
As to be, it depends on how old the child is, and the specific crime.
Yes a) Do you support state government spending as a means of promoting economic growth?
No b) Do you support lowering state income taxes as a means of promoting economic growth?
c) Do you support reducing government regulations on the private sector?
No d) Do you support requiring welfare applicants to pass a drug test in order to receive benefits?
e) Do you support an increase of the minimum wage of Massachusetts?
Yes f) Do you support requiring employers to provide paid family leave?
Yes g) Do you support providing financial relief to businesses AND/OR corporations negatively impacted by the state of national emergency for COVID-19?
I support SOME but not all government regulations on the private sector. OSHA safety regulations, for example, are very important. We have to look at them case by case. I support the payment of a reasonable minimum wage but in Massachusetts we just raised the minimum to $15 so I don't support a further raise now.
a) Do you support adopting federal education standards in Massachusetts?
No b) Do you support state funding for charter schools?
Yes c) Do you support increasing teacher salaries AND/OR benefits in Massachusetts?
Yes d) Should immigrants unlawfully present in the United States who graduate from Massachusetts high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities?
Yes e) Do you support allowing college athletes to be compensated for the use of their name, image, and likeness?
Massachusetts' education standards already exceed federal standards, so it doesn't bother me if we require these as minimums, it won't matter. Similar to how the minimum wage is $7.50 federally, but in Mass it is higher. I support paying teachers what they are worth. So I support increasing the majority of teachers' salaries but I think some teachers are compensated at market. Also, while I believe this as to teacher salaries, it is also the case we can't increase during this pandemic.
Yes a) Do you support state funding for the development of renewable energy (e.g. solar, wind, geo-thermal)?
Yes b) Do you support government regulations of greenhouse gas emissions?
Yes c) Do you support increasing state funding for clean drinking water initiatives?
We must made efforts to protect our planet.
Yes a) Do you generally support gun-control legislation?
Yes b) Should background checks be required on gun sales between private citizens at gun shows?
No c) Should teachers be allowed to bring guns into the classroom after passing gun safety training?
Yes d) Should a license be required for gun ownership?
You call this "gun-control legislation". I call it public safety legislation.
Yes a) Should the state government increase funding for treatment facilities to combat opioid abuse?
Yes b) Do you support Medicaid expansion through Massachusetts' health care programs?
Yes c) Do you support requiring individuals to purchase health care insurance?
Yes d) Do you support legislation that grants citizens the right to choose to die through euthanasia?
e) Do you support eliminating religious exemptions for vaccinations?
Yes f) Do you support requiring businesses to provide paid medical leave during public health crises, such as COVID-19?
I don't think we have to eliminate religious exemptions for vaccinations but I do believe that private day care facilities should not be required to accept unvaccinated children.
Yes a) Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in Massachusetts' anti-discrimination laws?
Yes b) Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in Massachusetts' anti-discrimination laws?
Yes c) Do you support greater efforts by Massachusetts state government in closing the pay gap between men and women?
These issues are fundamental.
I support a presumption during this COVID pandemic that anyone who is a front-line worker and contracts the virus is eligible for workers compensation without proving where they contracted the virus. I also believe that we must create an infrastructure to provide access to early education for Massachusetts' children and their families.
My top priority is a bill I have filed that would create subsidized early education opportunities for children age 12 weeks until they are eligible for kindergarten (unless disabled, then it continues, and unless kindergarten is not fulltime). The day care or pre-school would receive a sliding-scale subsidy for caring for the child, and therefore the family would receive a reduced rate. The subsidy would be funded in part by the employer and in part the general fund. The U.S. military has exactly this program and if the military can do it, Massachusetts can do it.

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