Mark Whitaker's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
On The Ballot: Running, Democratic for State House (UT) - District 18
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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.
Utah State Legislative Election 2012 Political Courage Test
| Pro-life | a) Do you generally support pro-choice or pro-life legislation? | ||
| Yes | b) Should abortions be illegal after the first trimester of pregnancy? | ||
| No | 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 the prohibition of public funds for abortion procedures? | ||
| Yes | h) Do you support the prohibition of public funds for organizations that perform abortions? | ||
| i) Other or expanded principles: | |||
1) State Spending:Using the key, 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.2) State Taxes:Using the key,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.3) Budget Stabilization:Indicate which proposals you support (if any) for balancing Utah's budget.
| Greatly Increase | a) Education (higher) | ||
| Greatly Increase | b) Education (K-12) | ||
| Greatly Increase | c) Environment | ||
| Slightly Increase | d) Health care | ||
| Slightly Decrease | e) Law enforcement/corrections | ||
| Maintain Status | f) Transportation/infrastructure | ||
| Slightly Increase | g) Welfare | ||
| Greatly Increase | h) Other or expanded categories: | ||
| Slightly Increase | a) Alcohol taxes | ||
| Slightly Increase | b) Cigarette taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | c) Corporate taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | d) Gas/Oil taxes | ||
| Eliminate | e) Property taxes | ||
| Eliminate | f) Sales taxes | ||
| Eliminate | g) Income taxes (low-income families) | ||
| Maintain Status | h) Income taxes (mid-income families) | ||
| Slightly Increase | i) Income taxes (high-income families) | ||
| Slightly Decrease | j) Other or expanded categories: | ||
| Yes | a) Tapping into Utah's "rainy day" fund | ||
| No | b) Increasing tuition rates at public universities | ||
| Yes | c) Reducing or eliminating public worker collective bargaining | ||
| No | d) Reducing state employee salaries AND/OR pensions | ||
| No | e) Instituting mandatory furloughs AND/OR layoffs for state employees | ||
| No | f) Reducing benefits for Medicaid recipients | ||
| [a) Education (higher)] Candidate placed "x" next to response. [b) Education (K-12)] Candidate placed "x" next to response. Lets close all the uranium mines in Utah and team up with companies such as Energy Solutions to clean up those sights. | |||
| Lets enact a Property Tax law that would eliminate property taxes after any owner has wholely owned his or her property for 10 years. | |||
| Lets create a new kind of reabilitation for drug users. Call it Taste Theorapy. | |||
a) Do you support limits on the following types of contributions for state candidates?
| No | 1) Individual | ||
| No | 2) Political Action Committee | ||
| Yes | 3) Corporate | ||
| No | 4) Political Party | ||
| Yes | b) Should candidates for state office be encouraged to meet voluntary spending limits? | ||
| c) Do you support requiring full and timely disclosure of campaign finance information? | |||
| No | d) Do you support the use of an independent AND/OR bipartisan commission for redistricting? | ||
| No | e) Do you support requiring a government-issued photo identification in order to vote at the polls? | ||
| f) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| 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 decriminalizing the possession of small amounts of marijuana? | ||
| 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 ban on cell phone use for drivers under eighteen years of age? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support the enforcement of federal immigration laws by state and local police? | ||
| h) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| Yes | 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? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support providing direct financial assistance to homeowners facing foreclosure? | ||
| No | g) Do you support increasing the number of liquor licenses statewide? | ||
| Lets do a case study on the effects of caffiene on people falling asleep while driving and Diabetes | |||
| No | a) Do you support the national Common Core State Standards initiative? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support a merit pay system for teachers? | ||
| Yes | c) Is the tenure process for public school teachers producing effective teachers? | ||
| Yes | 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? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support the state government providing college students with financial aid? | ||
| No | g) Should illegal immigrants who graduate from Utah high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities? | ||
| Lets open up more oppertunity for free education via the Internet | |||
| 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)? | ||
| No | c) Do you support increased regulations on hydraulic fracturing or "fracking"? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support state funding for improvements to Utah's energy infrastructure? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support state funding for open space preservation? | ||
| No | f) Do you support increased energy development on federal lands? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support enacting environmental regulations aimed at reducing the effects of climate change? | ||
| Lets be about any kind of legislation that will help us to develop a type of totally gas free car. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns? | ||
| Yes | b) Should background checks be required on gun sales between private citizens at gun shows? | ||
| No | c) Should citizens be allowed to carry concealed guns? | ||
| Yes | d) Should a license be required 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? | ||
| No | c) Do you support interstate health insurance compacts? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support Utah's participation in a "Healthcare Compact" that seeks to transform Medicare and Medicaid into block grants? | ||
| No | e) Do you support requiring individuals to purchase health care insurance? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support monetary limits on damages that can be collected in malpractice lawsuits? | ||
| No | g) Do you support allowing doctors to prescribe marijuana to their patients for medicinal purposes? | ||
| Lets properly define the "Preexisting Condition" and not let that be defined by preexisting drug use | |||
| Yes | a) Should marriage only be between one man and one woman? | ||
| No | b) Should same-sex couples be allowed to form civil unions? | ||
| No | c) Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in Utah's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| No | d) Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in Utah's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| Lets effectively maintain equality in the Military by requiring gays and lesbians to be Married to each other. | |||
| Education, Enviroment Uranium mines Lets Determine what to do with the block of 400S and Main Street. Is it possible to redevelop this area? Can we bring into the area the possibility of Itt Tech college expantion. 2. Lets build or renovate a place for teenage homeless boys and girls to stay safely in an excessabe area of Salt Lake. |
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