Michael Bollentin's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
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Michael Bollentin has provided voters with clear stances on key issues by responding to the 2021 Political Courage Test.
New Jersey State Legislative Election 2021 Political Courage Test
| Pro-choice | a) Do you generally support pro-choice or pro-life legislation? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support legalizing abortion when the pregnancy resulted from incest or rape? | ||
| No | c) Do you support the prohibition of public funds for organizations that perform abortions? | ||
| My reasoning for not prohibiting public funds to abortions is simple, abortions fall under a womens reproductive health. Therefore, at its base, it is healthcare and we should be providing the best healthcare we can. The better the healthcare, the healthier the population. | |||
| No | a) In order to balance the budget, do you support reducing state employee salaries AND/OR pensions? | ||
| Yes | b) In order to balance the budget, do you support an income tax increase on any tax bracket? | ||
| State employees pensions have taken severe hits over the last few decades and are still recovering. While I would not see a problem with reducing salaries of unnecessarily highly paid individuals, my understanding is that most state employees are not paid enough. As for taxes, the only way to balance the budget is to re-evaluate tax and other revenue streams, a reasonable and properly evaluated tax increase on individuals whose incomes are in the millions would most likely be required. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support capital punishment for certain crimes? | ||
| Yes | b) Should an individual under 18 accused of a violent crime be prosecuted as an adult? | ||
| No | c) Do you support the enforcement of federal immigration laws by state and local police? | ||
| No | d) Do you support the use of private prisons in New Jersey? | ||
| No | e) Do you support mandatory minimum sentences for non-violent drug offenders? | ||
| These, as with all topics, are incredibly complex issues and require nuances responses. A simple yes or no is not an adequate answer. capital punishment and prosecuting minors should be the exceptions, not the norm. State and local police should be enforcing the state laws. However, I believe there are times when they need to work WITH the Federal agencies. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support state government spending as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support lowering state taxes on businesses as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support reducing government regulations on the private sector? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support an increase of the minimum wage of New Jersey? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support requiring employers to provide paid family leave? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support providing financial relief to businesses AND/OR corporations negatively impacted by the state of national emergency for COVID-19? | ||
| Again, a simple yes or no is not adequate as few things in the world are simply black and white. I believe that the investing in money in the proper places, like infrastructure, can boost the economy. However, any increases should be measured and be able to show a marked positive impact. As for regulations, there is a balance and trust that I am not sure exists anymore between the government regulations and the people, that needs to change. | |||
| No | a) Do you support adopting federal education standards in New Jersey? | ||
| No | b) Do you support state funding for charter schools? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support increasing teacher salaries AND/OR benefits in New Jersey? | ||
| Yes | d) Should immigrants unlawfully present in the United States who graduate from New Jersey high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support requiring instruction on racial discrimination, social justice, diversity, and inclusion in New Jersey public schools? | ||
| New Jersey has one of the best educational systems in the country, unless the federal standards meet or exceed what we have here, it would be detrimental. Charter schools are private schools and should be funded by private means. Many school districts struggle with their budgets and services, spreading the dismal state funding further would also be detrimental. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support state funding for the development of renewable energy (e.g. solar, wind, geo-thermal)? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support state government regulation of greenhouse gas emissions? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support increasing state funding for clean drinking water initiatives? | ||
| No | d) Do you support prohibiting single-use plastics in New Jersey like styrofoam, grocery bags and straws? | ||
| I believe New Jersey is uniquely positioned to be a national and global leader in advancing green initiatives. As previously stated, regulations need to be reasonable and measured. Clean water is a paramount issue, period. There is a misunderstanding about the harm plastics are doing to the environment, that is not to say they are not harmful at all, they absolutely are an issue but banning the use of certain plastics creates a hardship for a wide spectrum of businesses. With that said, I absolutely believe we should be working towards safe, more eco-friendly materials. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support the regulation of indirect campaign contributions from corporations and unions? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support the use of an independent AND/OR bipartisan commission for redistricting? | ||
| No | c) Do you support requiring a government-issued photo identification in order to vote at the polls? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support automatic voter registration? | ||
| Campaign finance reform is an area of interest to me. I feel that the duopoly stifles political growth and keeps us in perpetual downward spiral of divisiveness and reoccurring problems. One aspect to help level the playing field for political outsiders, like myself, is how campaigns are funded. Redistricting should absolutely be done by an unbiased, independent commission to reduce the likelihood of gerrymandering and other unfair gamesmanship that current occurs around the country. I believe in the integrity of our elections as is. Are there problems, absolutely. However, many of the claims of fraud, have been fraudulent themselves. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you generally support gun-control legislation? | ||
| Yes | b) Should background checks be required on gun sales between private citizens at gun shows? | ||
| Yes | c) Should a license be required for gun ownership? | ||
| The state is one of the highest rated states in regards to gun control and gun violence in general. I support measures that are common sense driven. I feel currently laws could use minor tweaks but massive reform is unnecessary. Our state legislature should not force the failures of other states to effect how were regulate our state, especially on issues where we are leaders in how things could be done. Lastly, the state already requires a license/permit to possess a firearm. | |||
| Yes | a) Should the state government increase funding for treatment facilities to combat opioid abuse? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support Medicaid expansion through New Jersey's health care programs? | ||
| Yes | c) Should an individual have the right to choose to die through euthanasia? | ||
| No | d) Do you support eliminating religious exemptions for vaccinations? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support requiring employers to provide paid medical leave? | ||
| Opioid abuse and other addictions should be treated as a mental health issue, which is one medical area we need to heavily reevaluate. The medicaid/medicare/social security income programs are fraught with problems and need overhauling. Regardless of religious perspective, euthanasia should be seen as a component and option to ones compassionate care. By not allowing someone who is in terminal or hospice care to make this incredible decision, we are forcing them to endure unnecessary pain and suffering; it is simple cruel and unusual punishment. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in New Jersey's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in New Jersey's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support greater efforts by the New Jersey state government in closing the pay gap between men and women? | ||
| No | d) Do you support legislation that would hold guardians liable for damages caused by their child's bullying offenses? | ||
| The state already has laws that adequately and clearly define what discrimination is, to include orientation and regarding gender. I support any common sense, well-researched driven legislation that will provide equality to citizens of the state. While I do believe there may be instances of gross negligence on the parents in bullying offense, creating a law to hold parents/guardians liable for damages is a dangerous president. Extreme instances should be handled on a case by case basis and the current laws should be employed when the standards of proof are met. | |||
| I do not have any single issue that holds priority over another. I understand that these are extremely complex issues, and none have a single solution or magic button fix. However, if the people election people who were more interested in doing what is truly best for the state citizens, we can turn things around. As a state assemblyperson, I will need to seek solutions that impact in a positive, long lasting way. Our issues are not ?Republican?, or ?Democrat? caused issues because both sides have been in power, yet, neither has been able, or truly willing, to fix them. | |||
| The keys to fixing the State start with identifying waste and redundancies and eliminating them. Balancing the State?s budget should the priority of ever state level elected official because it can have one of the broadest and most meaningful impacts to citizens. I feel our current government employs myopic views when it comes to addressing any problem. Current legislators do not look far enough down the road, into the land of unintended consequences. Which compounds issues later. I believe real progress can be accomplished with the proper visions and a long-term view, not the perpetual 2-year election cycle perspective. |
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