Lynne Williams' Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
Office:
- State House (ME) - District 14, Democratic
On The Ballot: Running, Republican for State House (ME) - District 14
Key
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.
Candidates who qualify will be invited to take the 2024 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.
Maine State Legislative Election 2010 Political Courage Test
| Pro-choice | a) Do you consider yourself pro-choice or pro-life? | ||
| No | b) Should abortion be legal only within 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? | ||
| No | 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 sexual education programs that include information on abstinence, contraceptives, and HIV/STD prevention methods? | ||
| No | h) Do you support abstinence-only sexual education programs? | ||
| i) Other or expanded principles | |||
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 Maine's budget.
| Greatly Increase | a) Education (higher) | ||
| Slightly Increase | b) Education (K-12) | ||
| Maintain Status | c) Environment | ||
| Maintain Status | d) Health care | ||
| Maintain Status | e) Law enforcement | ||
| Slightly Increase | f) Transportation and highway infrastructure | ||
| Maintain Status | g) Welfare | ||
| Slightly Increase | h) Other or expanded categories | ||
| Maintain Status | a) Alcohol taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | b) Cigarette taxes | ||
| Greatly Increase | c) Corporate taxes | ||
| Slightly Increase | d) Gasoline taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | e) Property taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | f) Sales taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | g) Income taxes (low-income families) | ||
| Maintain Status | h) Income taxes (middle-income families) | ||
| Slightly Increase | i) Income taxes (high-income families) | ||
| Slightly Increase | j) Other or expanded categories | ||
| a) Tapping into Maine's "rainy day" fund | |||
| Yes | b) Issuing the early release of certain non-violent offenders | ||
| c) Increasing tuition rates at public universities | |||
| d) Instituting mandatory furloughs and layoffs for state employees | |||
| e) Reducing benefits for Medicaid recipients | |||
| f) Privatizing certain government services | |||
| I support slightly increased spending on support for fishing families, including purchase of easements and property to insure waterfront access and the continuation of the working waterfront. | |||
| I support a slight increase in the real estate transfer tax. | |||
| I support placement of non-violent drug offenders in treatment programs - which of course will have to funded, but will cost significantly less than incarcertion costs - and using the money saved by counties and the state from decreased incarceration rates to help fund higher education, particularly community colleges. I also support the legalization and taxation of marijuana. | |||
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 Maine governors? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support limits on the number of terms for Maine state legislators? | ||
| Yes | 1) Individual | ||
| Yes | 2) Political Action Committee | ||
| Yes | 3) Corporate | ||
| Yes | 4) Political Party | ||
| Yes | 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? | ||
| I support the continuation and full funding of the Maine Clean Elections Fund. I support banning leadership PACS, by which the legislators skirt the requirements of the the Clean Election law, and take public money while they raise private funds for these PACS. | |||
| 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) Should the possession of small amounts of marijuana be decriminalized? | ||
| No | d) Should a minor accused of a violent crime be prosecuted as an adult? | ||
| No | e) Should a minor who sends sexually-explicit or nude photos by cell phone face criminal charges? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support allowing sex offenders to petition for removal from the sex offender registry? | ||
| No | g) Do you support the enforcement of federal immigration laws by state and local police? | ||
| Clarification - possession of a small amount of marijuana for personal use has already been decriminalized in Maine - it is currently a civil violation. I support legalization of marijuana, where such possession is no longer any violation of either criminal or civil law. I support reform of our laws on solitary confinement. I support reform of the Maine Bail Code in order to give more of those arrested access to bail and also personalized - rather than standardized - conditions of release. | |||
| No | 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? | ||
| Yes | 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? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support increased spending on infrastructure projects for the purpose of job creation? | ||
| No | f) Do you support providing direct financial assistance to homeowners facing foreclosure? | ||
| Regarding foreclosure, I support providing legal support and assistance to those facing foreclosure, through pro bono participation by the Maine Bar. However, direct financial assistance is frrequently too little too late, and foreclosure happens eventually, just later, with the bank just ending up getting more money. | |||
| No | a) Do you support national education standards? | ||
| No | b) Do you support requiring public schools to administer high school exit exams? | ||
| No | 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? | ||
| Yes | f) Should illegal immigrants who graduate from Maine high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities? | ||
| I support continuing to lobby Congress for provide the promised full amount of funding for special education. I support investigating the use of downloaded text books to save money on text book costs. I support voluntary administrative consolidation of school districts. I support elimination of the requirement that every high school student take the SAT. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support state funding for the development of alternative energy? | ||
| 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 providing financial incentives to farms that produce biofuel crops? | ||
| No | d) Do you support state funding for improvements to Maine's energy infrastructure? | ||
| Yes | 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? | ||
| I support Maine getting out of ISO New England, the grid, and establishing regional publically owned power authorities, possibly in conjunction with the Maritimes. I support the repeal of the expedited wind power ordinance. I do not support the development of industrial wind farms on Maine's ridgelines. I support increased R and D support for tidal power. | |||
| Yes | 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? | ||
| e) Other or expanded principles | |||
| Yes | 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? | ||
| No | e) Do you support monetary limits on damages that can be collected in malpractice lawsuits? | ||
| No | f) Do you support placing health warnings on cellular phones? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support legalizing physician-assisted suicide in Maine? | ||
| Yes | h) Do you support allowing doctors to prescribe marijuana to their patients for medicinal purposes? | ||
| i) Other or expanded principles | |||
| No | a) Should marriage only be between one man and one woman? | ||
| Yes | b) Should Maine allow same-sex couples to form domestic partnerships? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support state funding for stem cell research? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support state funding for embryonic stem cell research? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support the state's use of affirmative action? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in Maine's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in Maine's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| h) Other or expanded principles | |||
| Reforming energy policy by getting the state to leave ISO New England and to form regional publicly owned power authorities as well as repealing the Expedited Wind Farm Law. Working with the criminal justice system to link sentencing to education by making educational programs accessible to both those incarcerated and those on probation. As noted above, if we incarcerated fewer non-violent offenders, and provided more substance abuse treatment, the savings could - and should - go towards increased educational access. Changing how development in the Unincorporated Territories is permitted. |
Vote Smart does not permit the use of its name or programs in any campaign activity, including advertising, debates, and speeches.