Tony Schiavi's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
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Tony Schiavi has provided voters with clear stances on key issues by responding to the 2016 Political Courage Test.
Massachusetts State Legislative Election 2016 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? | ||
| Yes | h) Do you support the prohibition of public funds for organizations that perform abortions? | ||
| f. I think it would depend on the age of the minor and whether or not they would be, based on their age and maturity to be able to understand the decision they are making. | |||
1) Budget Stabilization:Indicate which proposals you support (if any) for balancing Massachusetts'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.
| Yes | a) Tapping into Massachusetts's "rainy day" fund | ||
| No | b) Decreasing funding for public universities | ||
| No | c) Reducing state employee salaries AND/OR pensions | ||
| Yes | d) Instituting mandatory furloughs AND/OR layoffs for state employees | ||
| No | e) Reducing benefits for Medicaid recipients | ||
| Maintain Status | a) Education (higher) | ||
| Slightly Increase | b) Education (K-12) | ||
| Slightly Increase | c) Environment | ||
| Maintain Status | d) Health care | ||
| Slightly Increase | e) Law enforcement/corrections | ||
| Greatly Increase | f) Transportation/infrastructure | ||
| Slightly Increase | g) Welfare | ||
| Slightly Increase | a) Alcohol taxes | ||
| Slightly Increase | b) Cigarette taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | c) Corporate taxes | ||
| Greatly Decrease | d) Small business taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | e) Gas/Oil taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | f) Property taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | g) Sales taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | h) Income taxes (low-income families) | ||
| Maintain Status | i) Income taxes (mid-income families) | ||
| Maintain Status | j) Income taxes (high-income families) | ||
| k) Do you support applying sales taxes to all online purchases? | |||
| l) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| I believe in reforms as the best way to cover gaps that might occur in balancing the budget, either before it is passed or after - I have done this successfully as the Chief Executive of a Town. Using the rainy day fund should be a decision of last resort.....it is not a proper and sustainable way to manage the budget and should be reserved for more dire circumstances, when no other courses of action are available. | |||
| We also need to ensure proper funding for veterans services and would advocate for slightly increased funding in this category as well. | |||
a) Do you support limits on the following types of contributions for state candidates?
| Yes | 1) Individual | ||
| Yes | 2) Political Action Committee | ||
| No | 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? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support requiring a government-issued photo identification in order to vote at the polls? | ||
| 2. Regarding PAC contributions - I think they ought to have limits on spending b- I am somewhat in favor of limiting the amount that could be spent for different state level offices to level the playing field and not have a system where money matters more than the candidate. e. I would favor this to ensure fair voting, but I believe voting is such an important right, that it would have to be fool proof - even one registered voter not being able to vote for whatever reason would be one to many. Not sure that can be done | |||
| 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) Do you support legalizing the possession of small amounts of marijuana? | ||
| Yes | 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? | ||
| No | 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 Massachusetts? | ||
| c. Massachusetts has already de-criminalized up to one ounce of Marijuana. That is enough | |||
| Yes | 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? | ||
| No | 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? | ||
| Yes | 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? | ||
| No | j) Should employers be able to ask about applicants' criminal history before interviewing them? | ||
| k) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| No | a) Do you support the national Common Core State Standards initiative? | ||
| No | b) Do you support a merit pay system for teachers? | ||
| Yes | c) Is the tenure process for public school teachers producing effective teachers? | ||
| No | 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? | ||
| No | f) Do you support the state government providing college students with financial aid? | ||
| No | g) Should illegal immigrants who graduate from Massachusetts high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities? | ||
| e. Charter School have a place in our education continuim for our children, however current funding formulas are taking money from our public schools which educate 98 % of our children - what I want to see is study at Charter School funding formulas and find a more equitable way to fund them so as not to take money from traditional public schools. | |||
| Yes | 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)? | ||
| No | c) Do you support state funding for improvements to Massachusetts's energy infrastructure? | ||
| No | d) Do you support state funding for open space preservation? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support government regulations of greenhouse gas emissions? | ||
| No | f) Do you support increased regulations of the hydraulic fracturing ("fracking") industry? | ||
| d - most communities handle open space preservation through the Community Preservation Act and through land trusts which I believe is how to best protect open space. There is a state match to those towns that have adopted the CPA, so there is some state funding going to it already | |||
| 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? | ||
| Yes | c) Should citizens be allowed to carry concealed guns? | ||
| Yes | d) Should a license be required for gun possession? | ||
| I am pro 2d amendment and common sense legislation - I am not in favor of additional regulations on law abiding gun owners or being more restrictive than we already are - b. if someone has a legal license to purchase a firearm already, there ought to be consistency with what gun stores have to comply with. | |||
| 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")? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support requiring individuals to purchase health care insurance? | ||
| No | 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: | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support same-sex marriage? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in Massachusetts's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in Massachusetts's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| c. I did not support the Transgender Bathroom bill as it was proposed and passed however due to privacy concerns specifically to locker rooms and other protections. | |||
| My top three issues are continuing to battle the Opiate Epidemic by working on education and early intervention, address the impacts to health care and public safety, diversion and treatment and establishing more after care treatments options. Second and third really go together and that is working on affordable housing and jobs for Cape Cod and the Islands - they have to be worked on together and include ensuring that the proper infrastructure exists to support those. We need to ensure we have a diverse housing stock needed for young people, working families and seniors. |
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