Thomas Petros' Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
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North Dakota State Legislative Election 2010 Political Courage Test
| Pro-life | 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? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support requiring parental notification before an abortion is performed on a minor? | ||
| Yes | 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? | ||
| My answer to B depnds upon whether C and D are in play. I do not believe we should be putting women in jail but I also believe that we should treat abortion with a little more seriousness than it is now to help create a culture of life. | |||
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.
| Slightly Increase | a) Education (higher) | ||
| Greatly Increase | b) Education (K-12) | ||
| Slightly Increase | c) Environment | ||
| Greatly Increase | d) Health care | ||
| Maintain Status | e) Law enforcement | ||
| Slightly Increase | f) Transportation and highway infrastructure | ||
| Slightly Increase | g) Welfare | ||
| Maintain Status | a) Alcohol taxes | ||
| Slightly Increase | b) Cigarette taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | c) Corporate taxes | ||
| Slightly Increase | d) Gasoline taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | e) Property taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | f) Sales taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | g) Income taxes (low-income families) | ||
| Maintain Status | h) Income taxes (middle-income families) | ||
| Slightly Increase | i) Income taxes (high-income families) | ||
| j) Other or expanded categories | |||
| My support for welfare increases would be contingent on participation in job training. | |||
c) Do you support limits on the following types of contributions to candidates for state government?
| No | a) Do you support limits on the number of terms for North Dakota governors? | ||
| No | b) Do you support limits on the number of terms for North Dakota state legislators? | ||
| No | 1) Individual | ||
| Yes | 2) Political Action Committee | ||
| Yes | 3) Corporate | ||
| No | 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? | ||
| For A & B if someone is doing a good job then why make them step down. Experience should help all job performance including politicians. | |||
| 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? | ||
| Yes | e) Should a minor who sends sexually-explicit or nude photos by cell phone face criminal charges? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support a comprehensive ban on smoking in public places? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support the enforcement of federal immigration laws by state and local police? | ||
| for E, each case should be delt with on an individual basis. We should not ruin a young person's life for 1 mistake ir indiscretion. | |||
| 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? | ||
| No | 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? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support providing direct financial assistance to homeowners facing foreclosure? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support increasing state funding for affordable housing? | ||
| No | h) Do you support a sales tax exemption for clothing? | ||
| f) my support depends upon the plan and ability of the homeowner to obtain financial stability. If payments were missed because of sickness and injury, then help is appropriate. If payments are missed because they should have never been in the homein the first place, then no. | |||
| Yes | 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? | ||
| No | d) Do you support state funding for charter schools? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support the state government providing college students with financial aid? | ||
| No | f) Should illegal immigrants who graduate from North Dakota high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities? | ||
| c) I wouls support merit pay if there merit was decided by a committee of teachers and not just a principal. f) If a child was raised for may years in ND and graduated from high school (which implies they speak and write English--or should imply that) I would support the tuition waiver | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support state funding for the development of alternative energy? | ||
| Yes | 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? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support state funding for improvements to North Dakota'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 answer yes on A, B, C and D if it was clear what the state was getting out of the deal in terms of jobs and taxes. I do not support a give-away or just more corporate welfare disguised as economic development. | |||
| 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? | ||
| I support every persons right to own and pssess fire arms as long as they are qualified and pass the background checks (developed and determined by law enforcement or in consulatation with law enforcement-not just legislators) and take the necessary training for fore arms safety. I support concealed carry permits but the training and screening should be more rigorous than it is now. | |||
| 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? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support monetary limits on damages that can be collected in malpractice lawsuits? | ||
| No | f) Do you support legalizing physician-assisted suicide in North Dakota? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support allowing doctors to prescribe marijuana to their patients for medicinal purposes? | ||
| I support A and B above because heath insurance regulation has been inadequate. I have mixed feelings about D. People go to emergency rooms for care when they need it. They are not (to my knowledge) turned away from the emergency rooms yet that is a tremendous cost to the medical community and public. So there should be some individual responsibility to allocate a portion of their own income to their health care needs. | |||
| Yes | a) Should marriage only be between one man and one woman? | ||
| Yes | b) Should North Dakota allow same-sex couples to form civil unions? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support state funding for stem cell research? | ||
| No | 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 North Dakota's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in North Dakota's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| d) This is a difficult topic fror me because if we really wanted to stop embryonic stem cell research I believe we would move to outlaw invitro fertilization clinics. Therefore, if fertilized ovums exist and are to be destroyed then by all means they should be used for something positive. | |||
| 1. Maintain and help grow the higher education system as an engine of economic development as well as education. 2. Help job growth and retrain unemployed workers. 3. Find means of investing the states surplus that will pay-off for the state in the years to come. For example, mandatory hearing screenings of all newborns would reduce developmental disabilities in the state and thus reduce special education costs. |
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