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Jonathan Paton's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)

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Official Position: Candidate addressed this issue directly by taking the Political Courage Test.
Inferred Position: Candidate refused to address this issue, but Vote Smart inferred this issue based on the candidate's public record, including statements, voting record, and special interest group endorsements.
Unknown Position: Candidate refused to address this issue, or we could not infer an answer for this candidate despite exhaustive research of their public record.
Additional Information: Click on this icon to reveal more information about this candidate's position, from their answers or Vote Smart's research.
Other or Expanded Principles & Legislative Priorities are entered exactly as candidates submit them. Vote Smart does not edit for misspelled words, punctuation or grammar.

Jonathan Paton refused to tell citizens where he stands on any of the issues addressed in the 2012 Political Courage Test, despite repeated requests from Vote Smart, national media, and prominent political leaders.

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Issue Positions

For Presidential and Congressional candidates who refuse to provide voters with their positions, Vote Smart has researched their public records to determine their likely responses. These issue positions are from 2012.

  • Barrett Marson. Paton Campaign Press Release: Arizona Right to Life Endorses Jonathan Paton for Congress. 31 July 2012. "'Protecting the rights of the unborn has always been a legislative priority of mine, and I will continue to lead on pro-life issues when I go to Congress.'" (paton2012.com)
  • Jonathan Paton. Where I Stand. 7 September 2012. "I have a solid pro-life record and believe in protecting life from beginning to end." (paton2012.com)
  • Jim Nintzel. Tuscon Weekly: The Right Stuff . 8 July 2010. "Another key difference: the war in Afghanistan. Paton wants to send at least 10,000 more troops to Afghanistan, while Kelly says he'd support whatever Gen. David Petraeus will recommend. But Miller favors withdrawing the troops." (www.tucsonweekly.com)
  • Jonathan Paton. Where I Stand. "We also owe it to those fighting for us to make sure they have the safest and most advanced equipment needed to do their jobs." (paton2012.com)
  • Jonathan Patton signed Americans for Americans for Tax Reform: The Taxpayer Protection Pledge. "I pledge to the taxpayers of the state of Arizona and to the American people that I will: ONE, oppose any and all efforts to increase the marginal income tax rate for individuals and business; and TWO, oppose any net reduction or elimination of deductions and credits, unless matched dollar for dollar by further reducing tax rates." (www.atr.org)
  • Jonathan Paton. The Kirkpatrick-Obama Record: $16 trillion in debt. 04 September 2012. "I am running for Congress to put an end to the blank check spending of President Obama and Ann Kirkpatrick and to restore fiscal sanity in Washington," Paton said. "Between Obamacare and the failed stimulus, each approved with the full support and vote of Ann Kirkpatrick, our national debt has ballooned and threatens our economic security." (paton2012.com)
  • Jonathan Paton. Where I Stand. 7 September 2012. "I believe in cutting, capping and balancing our federal budget. That's why I support a balanced budget amendment to prevent the spending addiction we've seen in Washington." (paton2012.com)
  • Despite exhaustive research, Vote Smart was unable to find information about this candidate's position.
  • Jonathan Paton. Video: Maricopa CD1 Debate, Maricopa, 7/21/2012. 21 July 2012. "Every single dollar that we spend right now in education, basically we're donating that money to Washington that they're giving to us back as Arizonans. ¦ Your school districts make better decisions than they do in Phoenix and than they make better decisions than they do in Washington, D.C. Why are we going through a massive bureaucracy in Washington, D.C.?" (youtu.be)
  • Jonathan Paton. Where I Stand. 7 September 2012. "America has untapped energy supplies, including right here in Arizona. We need an all-of-the-above energy policy that reduces the regulations and red tape that are preventing Arizona from using our own resources." (paton2012.com)
  • Jonathan Paton. Center for Arizona Policy: 2012 Survey Questions for Federal Candidates. Responded "Oppose" to the question: "Setting a government cap on carbon emissions, requiring companies to buy emissions credits, and allowing them to trade any leftover credits (called cap and trade)." (www.azvoterguide.com)
  • Jonathan Paton. Where I Stand. 7 September 2012. "Over-regulation is killing major industries in rural Arizona, such as agriculture, manufacturing, construction, mining, and forestry. If we are ever going to get jobs back in our economy, we need to get government out of the way." (paton2012.com)
  • Jonathan Paton. Video: Jonathan Paton, AZ Illustrated CD1 Republican Debate, Tuscon, 8/8/2012. 8 August 2012. "Ultimately, we need to hold people accountable, not the tools that they use. ¦ If we didn't have these [large capacity] magazines, they'd find another way of committing these crimes. ... I believe the Second Amendment guarantees all the other rights that we have, and to further infringe upon that would be counter to what our Founders intended." (youtu.be)
  • Jonathan Paton signed the Independent Women's Voice: ObamaCare Repeal Pledge. "I pledge, if elected, to vote for all bills which seek to REPEAL the health care bill, HR 3590, signed into law on March 23, 2010.* To that end, I would now and will in the next Congress endorse and vote for all measures, including discharge petitions, leading to its defunding, deauthorization, and repeal. I shall do so whether those measures are taken for the whole of the bill or those component parts that impose mandates, restrict patient and doctor choice and access, violate individual freedom and privacy, reduce healthy competition, increase costs, or raise taxes. *The healthcare bill is defined as consisting of: 1) The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (H.R. 3590), signed into law on March 23, 2010; and 2) The Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act (H.R. 4872), signed into law on March 30, 2010." (votesmart.org)
  • Jonathan Paton. Facebook: Wall. 15 June 2012. "Our former Governor Janet Napolitano just announced a new, outrageous Obama Administration policy allowing more than 800,000 illegal aliens to remain in the country legally and obtain work permits without Congressional approval. No debate. No law passed in Congress. Just one man usurping more and more power for himself against the will of the American people." (www.facebook.com)
  • Jonathan Paton. Where I Stand. 7 September 2012. "We need a major influx of national guardsmen on our border, completion of the double layer fence, more technology and more checkpoints. I believe that border security is national security, and we must proceed with urgency." (paton2012.com)
  • Jonathan Paton. Video: Jonathan Paton, AZ Illustrated CD1 Republican Debate, Tuscon, 8/8/2012. 8 August 2012. "I believe there have to be consequences for crossing that border illegally. ¦ You cannot give a legal path to citizenship for those who are here illegally. I don't support that. I never have." (youtu.be)
  • Jonathan Paton. Center for Arizona Policy: 2012 Survey Questions for Federal Candidates. Responded "Support" to the question: "Amending the United States Constitution to define marriage as only the union of one man and one woman." (www.azvoterguide.com)
  • Despite exhaustive research, Vote Smart was unable to find information about this candidate's position.
  • Barrett Marson. Paton Campaign Press Release: Jonathan Paton's Pledge: Protect and Preserve Medicare and Social Security. 15 August 2012. "'I pledge to the voters of Congressional District 1 that I will work to preserve and protect Medicare and Social Security,' Paton said. 'I oppose any legislation that makes changes to benefits or care for those at or near retirement, that cuts benefits or that privatizes either program. Seniors have paid into these programs for years, and we must fulfill our promise to them.'" (paton2012.com)
  • Jonathan Paton. Video: Jonathan Paton, Candidate Meet and Greet, Flagstaff, 8/18/12. 18 August 2012. "I will never agree with anything that takes away what seniors have put in throughout their whole lives. I think that's completely wrong." (youtu.be)
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.
The Political Courage Test asks candidates which items they will support if elected. It does not ask them to indicate which items they will oppose. Through extensive research of public polling data, we discovered that voters are more concerned with what candidates would support when elected to office, not what they oppose. If a candidate does not select a response to any part or all of any question, it does not necessarily indicate that the candidate is opposed to that particular item.

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding abortion.

a) Abortions should always be illegal.
b) Abortions should always be legal.
c) Abortions should be legal only within the first trimester of pregnancy.
d) Abortions should be legal when the pregnancy resulted from incest or rape.
e) Abortions should be legal when the life of the woman is endangered.
f) Prohibit public funding of abortions and to organizations that advocate or perform abortions.
g) Require clinics to give parental notification before performing abortions on minors.
h) Require doctors to tell women considering an abortion that the fetus can feel pain after 20 weeks.
i) Other or expanded principles

State Budget: Indicate the funding levels (#1-6) you will support for the following general categories. Select one level per category.State Taxes: Indicate the tax levels (#1-6) you will support. Select one level per tax.

a) Education (Higher)
b) Education (K-12)
c) English Language Learning Program
d) Emergency preparedness
e) Environment
f) Health care
g) Law enforcement
h) Transportation and highway infrastructure
i) Welfare
j) Other or expanded categories
a) Alcohol taxes
b) Capital gains taxes
c) Cigarette taxes
d) Corporate taxes
e) Gasoline taxes
f) Income taxes (incomes below $75,000)
g) Income taxes (incomes above $75,000)
h) Property taxes
i) Sales taxes
j) Vehicle taxes
k) Other or expanded categories
l) Should the state sales taxes be extended to Internet sales?
m) Should accounts such as a “rainy day” fund be used to balance the state budget?
n) Should fee increases be used to balance the state budget?
o) Other or expanded principles

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding campaign finance and government reform.c) Do you support limiting the following types of contributions to state legislative candidates?

a) Do you support the current limit of terms for Arizona governors?
b) Do you support limiting the number of terms for Arizona state senators and representatives?
1) Individual
2) PAC
3) Corporate
4) Political Parties
d) Do you support requiring full and timely disclosure of campaign finance information?
e) Do you support imposing spending limits on state level political campaigns?
f) Do you support adopting statewide standards for counting, verifying and ensuring accuracy of votes?
g) Do you support prohibiting media exit polling of voters until all polling locations in Arizona are closed?
h) Should Arizona recognize civil unions between same-sex couples?
i) Other or expanded principles

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding crime.

a) Increase state funds for construction of state prisons and hiring of additional prison staff.
b) Support the death penalty in Arizona.
c) Support programs to provide prison inmates with vocational and job-related skills and job-placement assistance when released.
d) End parole for repeat violent offenders.
e) Implement penalties other than incarceration for certain non-violent offenders.
f) Decriminalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana.
g) Strengthen penalties and sentences for drug-related crimes.
h) Minors accused of a violent crime should be prosecuted as adults.
i) Require that crimes based on race, ethnic background, religious belief, sex, age, disability, or sexual orientation be prosecuted as hate crimes.
j) Increase state funding for community centers and other social agencies in areas with at-risk youth.
k) Increase state funding for state and local emergency agencies to prevent or respond to terrorism.
l) Strengthen sex-offender laws.
m) Support the restriction of the sale of products used to make methamphetamine (e.g. tablets containing pseudophedrine, ephedrine and phenylpropanolamine).
n) Other or expanded principles

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding education.

a) Support national standards and testing of public school students.
b) Provide parents with state-funded vouchers to send their children to any public school.
c) Provide parents with state-funded vouchers to send their children to any private or religious school.
d) Increase state funds for school capital improvements (e.g. buildings and infrastructure).
e) Increase funds for hiring additional teachers.
f) Support teacher testing and reward with merit pay.
g) Endorse voluntary prayer in public schools.
h) Support requiring public schools to administer high school exit exams.
i) Provide state funding to increase teacher salaries.
j) Increase funding for Head Start programs.
k) Provide state funding for tax incentives and financial aid to help make college more affordable.
l) Support sexual education programs that include information on abstinence, contraceptives, and HIV/STD prevention methods.
m) Support abstinence-only sexual education programs.
n) Other or expanded principles

Employment: Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding employment.Affirmative Action: Should race, ethnicity or gender be taken into account in state agencies’ decisions on:

a) Increase funding for state job-training programs that retrain displaced workers and teach skills needed in today’s job market.
b) Reduce state government regulations on the private sector in order to encourage investment and economic expansion.
c) Provide low interest loans and tax credits for starting, expanding, or relocating businesses.
d) Provide tax credits for businesses that provide child care for children in low-income working families.
e) Increase state funds to provide child care for children in low-income working families.
f) Include sexual orientation in Arizona's anti-discrimination laws.
g) Increase the state minimum wage.
h) Other or expanded principles
a) Public employment
b) State college and university admissions
c) State contracting
d) Other or expanded principles

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding the environment and energy.

a) Promote increased use of alternative fuel technology.
b) Support increased production of traditional domestic energy sources (e.g. coal, natural gas, and oil).
c) Use state funds to clean up former industrial and commercial sites that are contaminated, unused, or abandoned.
d) Increase funding for improvements to Arizona’s power generating and transmission facilities.
e) Support funding for open space preservation.
f) Enact environmental regulations even if they are stricter than federal law.
g) Other or expanded principles

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding guns.

a) Maintain and strengthen the enforcement of existing state restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns.
b) Ease state restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns.
c) Repeal state restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns.
d) Allow citizens to carry concealed guns.
e) Require background checks on gun sales between private citizens at gun shows.
f) Require a license for gun possession.
g) Other or expanded principles

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding health.

a) Ensure that citizens have access to basic health care through managed care, insurance reforms, or state-funded care where necessary.
b) Transfer current Medicaid recipients into managed care programs.
c) Limit the amount of punitive damages that can be awarded in medical malpractice lawsuits.
d) Support patients' right to sue their HMOs.
e) Guaranteed medical care to all citizens is not a responsibility of state government.
f) Legalize physician assisted suicide in Arizona.
g) Allow doctors to prescribe marijuana to their patients for medicinal purposes.
h) Criminalize the sale or purchase of a human egg for research.
i) Other or expanded principles

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding immigration.

a) Deploy Arizona's National Guard to the border to stop illegal immigration.
b) Criminalize the employment of an illegal immigrant in Arizona.
c) Expand Arizona's trespassing laws to include undocumented immigrants.
d) Build a ground-based radar system, or smart fence, along the border.
e) Other or expanded principles

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding welfare.

a) Support increased work requirements for able-bodied welfare recipients.
b) Increase funding for employment and job training programs for welfare recipients.
c) Increase access to public transportation for welfare recipients who work.
d) Redirect welfare funding to faith-based and community-based private organizations.
e) Use federal TANF (Temporary Assistance to Needy Families) funds to extend health and child care subsidies to the working poor.
f) Support marriage promotion programs for welfare recipients.
g) Eliminate government-funded welfare programs.
h) Other or expanded principles
Please explain in a total of 75 words or less, your top two or three priorities if elected. If they require additional funding for implementation, please explain how you would obtain this funding.

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