Paul Gammel's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
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Paul Gammel has refused to provide voters with positions on key issues covered by the 2016 Political Courage Test, despite repeated requests from Vote Smart and voters like you.
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.
Minnesota State Legislative Election 2014 Political Courage Test
| Pro-choice | a) Do you generally support pro-choice or pro-life legislation? | ||
| b) Should abortions be illegal after the first trimester of pregnancy? | |||
| c) Should abortion be legal when the pregnancy resulted from incest or rape? | |||
| d) Should abortion be legal when the life of the woman is endangered? | |||
| e) Do you support requiring parental notification before an abortion is performed on a minor? | |||
| f) Do you support requiring parental consent before an abortion is performed on a minor? | |||
| No | g) Do you support the prohibition of public funds for abortion procedures? | ||
| No | h) Do you support the prohibition of public funds for organizations that perform abortions? | ||
| I don't think it's the governments job to decide when a young couple should have to start a family. Healthcare is a very important issue for our community and I think that it's important to have family planning resources in our community to educate people. | |||
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 Minnesota's budget.
| Slightly Increase | a) Education (higher) | ||
| Slightly Increase | b) Education (K-12) | ||
| Slightly Increase | c) Environment | ||
| Slightly Increase | d) Health care | ||
| Slightly Increase | e) Law enforcement/corrections | ||
| Greatly Increase | f) Transportation/infrastructure | ||
| Slightly Increase | g) Welfare | ||
| Maintain Status | a) Alcohol taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | b) Cigarette taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | c) Corporate taxes | ||
| Slightly Increase | d) Gas/Oil taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | e) Property taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | f) Sales taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | g) Income taxes (low-income families) | ||
| Maintain Status | h) Income taxes (mid-income families) | ||
| Maintain Status | i) Income taxes (high-income families) | ||
| No | a) Tapping into Minnesota's "rainy day" fund | ||
| No | b) Increasing tuition rates at public universities | ||
| No | 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 | ||
| We need to reduce poverty in Minnesota by educating our children and getting resources to the families that need them most. Those services need to include food, shelter, job training and job certification programs. | |||
| We are looking at a surplus right now so raising taxes on people should not be necessary. We do need to look at corporate tax breaks and loopholes to see if these need to be adjusted. The reality is that companies that are succeeding do not need tax breaks. We do need to increase our gas tax which will give us the resources to re-invest in our roads and put together a plan that will be useful and efficient for the next 20-30 years. My opponent even voted against filling potholes and that's just not right. | |||
| My opponent chose not to do his job when it came to composing a budget he just knew he didnt like the governors plan. All of these proposals are detrimental to people of Minnesota, these are all counter productive. I oppose any attacks on workers rights to bargain or changing the benefits. Contracts are bargained in good faith and are not to be renegotiated by the legislature. We have seen first hand what shutting down our state and cutting frontline services does for Minnesotans. Instead of people just running for governemnt why don't we focus on people running government well. | |||
a) Do you support limits on the following types of contributions for state candidates?
| Yes | 1) Individual | ||
| Yes | 2) Political Action Committee | ||
| Yes | 3) Corporate | ||
| Yes | 4) Political Party | ||
| b) Should candidates for state office be encouraged to meet voluntary spending limits? | |||
| Yes | c) Do you support requiring full and timely disclosure of campaign finance information? | ||
| Yes | 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? | ||
| If we want to have a government composed of real people then we need to have spending and donation limits. If we want to have a government run for and by the people we need to have disclosure in our campaign finance. Without limits and disclosure our government will become less transparent. Transparency is what people want and it is what they should get. Redistricting should happen when there is enough change to warrant it not every district needs to change in Minnesota every ten years. | |||
| 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? | ||
| c) Do you support legalizing the possession of small amounts of marijuana? | |||
| Yes | 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 the enforcement of federal immigration laws by state and local police? | ||
| Incarceration rates across the state are low but still costly, non-violent offenders can get the services they need in community settings and I support having counseling and treatment be conditions associated with the penalty. We have a naturalization process in the US and that process should be followed by anyone striving to become a citizen. If we have laws they should be enforced, if we need to change our laws to reflect our current values and beliefs as a society then let's address them. We need to end gridlock in Washington D.C. | |||
| 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? | ||
| c) Do you support expanding access to unemployment benefits? | |||
| No | d) Do you support providing financial incentives to the private sector for the purpose of job creation? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support government spending as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support providing direct financial assistance to homeowners facing foreclosure? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support an increase of the minimum wage? | ||
| I support reducing regulations when it is reasonable and responsible to do so. If we can bail out billion dollar companies then we can certainly bail out the middle class when times get tough too, we need to bring people into the middle class not let people fall out of it when they are working so hard to succeed. | |||
| a) Do you support the national Common Core State Standards initiative? | |||
| No | b) Do you support a merit pay system for teachers? | ||
| No | c) Is the tenure process for public school teachers producing effective teachers? | ||
| No | d) Should parents be allowed to use vouchers to send their children to any school? | ||
| No | e) Do you support state funding for charter schools? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support the state government providing college students with financial aid? | ||
| Yes | g) Should illegal immigrants who graduate from Minnesota high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities? | ||
| Tenure or not producing effective teachers is a continual process that requires effort and support from the administration. Public funds should be used for public schools, if a person wants to send their child to a private school that is fine but they will have to pay for it. Merit pay is a system that is geared towards not improving the job done but the cronyism that our workforce needs to avoid. Children who graduate from our schools in Minnesota should be eligible to continue their education at public universities as an in-state student. | |||
| 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 state funding for improvements to Minnesota's energy infrastructure? | ||
| d) Do you support state funding for open space preservation? | |||
| e) Do you support government regulations of greenhouse gas emissions? | |||
| f) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| No | a) Do you support restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns? | ||
| No | b) Should background checks be required on gun sales between private citizens at gun shows? | ||
| Yes | c) Should citizens be allowed to carry concealed guns? | ||
| No | d) Should a license be required for gun possession? | ||
| It is the responsibility of all gun owners to safely store, carry and sell all firearms. | |||
| 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? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act? | ||
| Yes | 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? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support allowing doctors to prescribe marijuana to their patients for medicinal purposes? | ||
| Our healthcare and health insurance systems in Minnesota need to continue to be improved upon. People deserve good affordable care and insurance where ever they live. | |||
| a) Do you support same-sex marriage? | |||
| b) Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in Minnesota's anti-discrimination laws? | |||
| c) Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in Minnesota's anti-discrimination laws? | |||
| A Citizen is a Citizen, a Minnesotan is a Minnesotan, we should take efforts to reduce discrimination where ever it exists. | |||
| We need to address the cost Minnesota students pay to attend college in Minnesota. High tution costs are making it difficult to pay loans back and really get started with your professional future. Increasing the amount of assistance to Minnesotan students would be a step in the right direction. A thoughtful and honest approach towards investing in our roads is critical to moving Minnesota forward. We have such a high need and desire to travel efficiently across the state. Business's and residents both deserve to drive on safe roads that can meet the needs of travelers today. |
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