William Linnell II'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.
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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.
William Linnell II 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.
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 2008 Political Courage Test
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. | |||
| X | b) Abortions should always be legal. | ||
| X | c) Abortions should be legal only within the first trimester of pregnancy. | ||
| X | d) Abortions should be legal when the pregnancy resulted from incest or rape. | ||
| X | e) Abortions should be legal when the life of the woman is endangered. | ||
| f) Abortions should be subject to a mandatory waiting period. | |||
| g) Require clinics to give parental notification before performing abortions on minors. | |||
| I've wrestled with this issue, and come to the conclusion that it must be left up to women. Historically, women have not had control of their bodies as they should have. I'd like to see more emphasis on contraception and education, so that abortions are safe, legal, and rare. | |||
State Budget: Indicate what state funding levels (#1-6) you support for the following general categories. Select one level per category, you can use a number more than once.State Taxes: Indicate what state tax levels (#1-6) you support for the following general categories. Select one level per category, you can use a number more than once.
| Slightly Increase | a) Education (Higher) | ||
| Slightly Increase | b) Education (K-12) | ||
| Maintain Status | c) Emergency preparedness | ||
| Greatly Increase | d) Environment | ||
| Greatly Increase | e) Health care | ||
| Slightly Increase | f) Law enforcement | ||
| Slightly Increase | g) Transportation and highway infrastructure | ||
| Slightly Decrease | h) Welfare | ||
| Slightly Increase | a) Alcohol taxes | ||
| Greatly Increase | b) Cigarette taxes | ||
| Slightly Increase | c) Corporate taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | d) Gasoline taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | e) Income taxes (incomes below $75,000) | ||
| Maintain Status | f) Income taxes (incomes above $75,000) | ||
| Slightly Decrease | g) Property taxes | ||
| Slightly Increase | h) Sales taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | i) Vehicle taxes | ||
| Undecided | 1) Should state sales taxes be extended to Internet sales? | ||
| No | 2) Should accounts such as a "rainy day" fund be used to balance the state budget? | ||
| Undecided | 3) Should fee increases be used to balance the state budget? | ||
| No | 4) Should state funding to local school districts be reduced to help balance the state budget? | ||
| We need to address the generational incentives to staying on welfare, and beware of entitlements. | |||
| Tax reform is only effective when it is paired with spending reform. We should pay more attention to citizens' need for tax relief. | |||
| We should make sure we don't give away resources such as our drinking water too cheaply. | |||
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?
| Yes | a) Do you support the current limit of terms for Maine governors? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support the current limit of terms for Maine state senators and representatives? | ||
| Yes | 1) Individual | ||
| Yes | 2) PAC | ||
| Yes | 3) Corporate | ||
| Yes | 4) Political Parties | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support requiring full and timely disclosure of campaign finance information? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support imposing spending limits on state-level political campaigns? | ||
| No | f) Should Maine participate in the federal REAL ID program? | ||
| I would favor limiting contributions to individuals only. | |||
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) Establish the death penalty in Maine. | |||
| X | c) Support programs to provide prison inmates with vocational and job-related skills and job-placement assistance when released. | ||
| X | d) Implement penalties other than incarceration for certain non-violent offenders. | ||
| e) Minors accused of a violent crime should be prosecuted as adults. | |||
| f) Support state and local law enforcement officials enforcing federal immigration laws. | |||
| X | g) Support hate crime legislation. | ||
| Put more resources into stopping gang activity. I have particular insight as I work part-time for the Department of Corrections. | |||
Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding education.
| X | a) Support state funding of universal pre-K programs. | ||
| b) Support federal education standards and testing requirements for K-12 students (No Child Left Behind). | |||
| X | c) Support state education standards and testing requirements for K-12 students. | ||
| d) Support requiring public schools to administer high school exit exams. | |||
| X | e) Allow parents to use vouchers to send their children to any public school. | ||
| f) Allow parents to use vouchers to send their children to any private or religious school. | |||
| g) Provide state funding to increase teacher salaries. | |||
| X | h) Support using a merit pay system for teachers. | ||
| X | i) Provide state funding for tax incentives and financial aid to help make college more affordable. | ||
| j) Support allowing illegal immigrant high school graduates of Maine to pay in-state tuition at public universities. | |||
| I would like to address education earlier, with alternative education reaching into elementary schools, to meet students' needs sooner. | |||
Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding employment.
| X | a) Increase funding for state job-training programs that re-train displaced workers and teach skills needed in todays job market. | ||
| b) Reduce state government regulations on the private sector. | |||
| X | c) Provide low interest loans and tax credits for starting, expanding, or relocating businesses. | ||
| X | d) Provide tax credits for businesses that provide child care for children in low-income working families. | ||
| X | e) Increase state funds to provide child care for children in low-income working families. | ||
| X | f) Increase the state minimum wage. | ||
| g) Support laws that prevent employers from dismissing employees at will. | |||
| h) Support financial punishments for those who knowingly employ illegal immigrants. | |||
| X | i) Support increased work requirements for able-bodied welfare recipients. | ||
| X | j) Increase funding for employment and job training programs for welfare recipients. | ||
| Support unions. | |||
Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding the environment and energy.
| X | a) Promote increased use of alternative fuel technology. | ||
| b) Support increased production of traditional domestic energy sources (e.g. coal, natural gas, oil, etc). | |||
| c) Support providing financial incentives to farms that produce biofuel crops. | |||
| X | d) Use state funds to clean up former industrial and commercial sites that are contaminated, unused, or abandoned. | ||
| e) Support funding for improvements to Maine's power generating and transmission facilities. | |||
| X | f) Support funding for open space preservation. | ||
| X | g) Limit carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases linked to global warming. | ||
| X | h) Enact environmental regulations even if they are stricter than federal law. | ||
| No nukes. No new nuclear construction, and no license extensions for nuclear plants in or around Maine. Any form of energy is more effective than nuclear in displacing fossil fuels. The heating oil crisis will only be solved by insulation crews. I've drafted an energy plan for Maine, which could become a model for the rest of the country. My Liberty Energy Plan, inspired by the WWII Liberty ships, is readily available at http://captainlinnell.blogspot.com/ | |||
Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding guns.
| Undecided | a) Should background checks be required on gun sales between private citizens at gun shows? | ||
| Yes | b) Should citizens be allowed to carry concealed guns? | ||
| No | c) Should a license be required for gun possession? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support current levels of enforcement of existing state restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support current state restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns? | ||
| As long as there are violent gang members with guns, I want to be able to own a gun. Further, I have watched a coyote stalk a family member in my own back yard. I don't want to be defenseless. | |||
Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding health.
| X | a) Ensure that citizens have access to basic health care through managed care, insurance reforms, or state-funded care where necessary. | ||
| b) Guaranteed medical care to all citizens is not a responsibility of state government. | |||
| c) Support Dirigo Health in Maine. | |||
| d) Limit the amount of damages that can be awarded in medical malpractice lawsuits. | |||
| X | e) Allow patients to sue their HMOs. | ||
| X | f) Require hospitals and labs to release reports on infections that are a risk to public health, while not compromising patient confidentiality. | ||
| X | g) Legalize physician assisted suicide in Maine. | ||
| X | h) Support allowing doctors to prescribe marijuana to their patients for medicinal purposes. | ||
| There's enough waste, fraud and abuse in our current healthcare system to pay for universal health care. I think we can improve on Dirigo Health. | |||
['Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding social issues.', 'Legislative Priorities']
| Yes | a) Should Maine recognize civil unions between same-sex couples? | ||
| Yes | b) Should same-sex couples be allowed to marry? | ||
| Yes | c) Should Maine provide state-level spousal rights to same-sex couples? | ||
| No | d) Do you support a moment of silence in public schools? | ||
| Undecided | e) Do you support voluntary prayer in public schools? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support sexual education programs that include information on abstinence, contraceptives, and HIV/STD prevention methods? | ||
| No | g) Do you support abstinence-only sexual education programs? | ||
| Yes | h) Should the state government consider race and gender in state government contracting and hiring decisions? | ||
| Yes | i) Do you support affirmative action in public college admissions? | ||
| Yes | j) Should Maine continue affirmative action programs? | ||
| Yes | k) Do you support state funding of stem cell research? | ||
| Undecided | l) Do you support state funding of embryonic stem cell research? | ||
| Yes | m) Do you support allowing pharmacists who conscientiously object to emergency contraception to refuse to dispense it? | ||
| (m) Emergency contraception is a choice issue: just as a woman can choose it, an individual should be able to choose whether or not to sell it. However, if a pharmacist refuses to sell it, it should be posted publically, including on the outside of the store. | |||
| I would use my energy experience to rapidly make Maine energy independent, saving citizens thousands of dollars in heating costs, and creating thousands of jobs. I would encourage the development of a sustainable economy and environment, and universal health care. If elected, I would likely be the swing vote in the State Senate, and would use my position to make real change happen. | |||
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