Vikki Goodwin's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
Office:
- State House (TX) - District 47, Democratic
On The Ballot: Running, Democratic for Lieutenant Governor (TX)
Key
Official Position: Candidate addressed this issue directly by taking the Political Courage Test.
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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.
Texas State Legislative Election 2024 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 (e.g. Medicaid) for organizations that perform abortions? | ||
| I believe women are fully capable of making their own private healthcare decisions, and it is not the role of government to make those decisions for us. Contraception should be readily available, and age-appropriate sex education should be provided to teenagers. Doctors should be able to counsel their patients on medical options that might be necessary. Too many women who want babies are being harmed by the current law which doesn't include exceptions. Rape and incest, and health of the mother, should certainly be exceptions to abortion restrictions, but again, women should be able to make these private healthcare decisions themselves. | |||
| No | a) In order to balance the budget, do you support limiting state government spending on social programs (e.g. SNAP, TANF)? | ||
| b) Do you support a decrease in income taxes in order to promote economic growth? | |||
| Yes | c) Do you support a wealth tax in order to pay for public programs in your state? | ||
| Texas has the eighth largest economy in the world. It's our human resources that enable this prosperity. And yet, many Texans who are employed still find themselves in need of social programs and supports. I'm in favor of a higher minimum wage which would decrease the need for social programs and supports. I'm also in favor of ensuring our retirement payments for teachers and state workers keep up with inflation. We have the means to ensure people who are unable to feed themselves or their families have the support to do so. We currently have a limit on spending on social programs in Texas, and we don't come close to reaching that limit. If we are investing properly in education and health care, allowing people access to primary care, we will continue to prosper and the safety nets will be needed only for the most dire of circumstances. Texas does not have income taxes, so that question is not applicable. | |||
| No | a) Do you support capital punishment for violent crimes? | ||
| No | 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? | ||
| No | e) Do you support mandatory minimum sentences for nonviolent drug offenders? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support the legalization of marijuana for recreational use? | ||
| Even one innocent person being executed unjustly is one too many. I don't believe in the death penalty because too often mistakes are made and juries aren't always right. I think marijuana should be treated like alcohol with regulations, but not illegal. More research should be done on the effects of marijuana and potential uses to replace opioids for pain treatment. While we should penalize violent criminals to the full extent of the law, we need to work on crime prevention and ways to reduce recidivism. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support state government spending as a means of promoting economic growth (e.g. grants, tax incentives)? | ||
| b) Do you support reducing state government regulations on the private sector (e.g. for business or the environment)? | |||
| Yes | c) Do you support an increase of the minimum wage in Texas? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support government spending on affordable housing projects in Texas? | ||
| Some regulations may be redundant, too burdensome or unnecessary, while other regulations are necessary for health and safety reasons. Reducing regulations depends on the specific circumstances. It is clear that the current minimum wage of $7.25 an hour is not adequate to support an individual. A living wage should allow someone to feed himself and keep a roof overhead. We should increase the minimum wage. | |||
| No | a) Do you support adopting federal education standards (e.g. Common Core) in Texas? | ||
| b) Do you support state funding for charter schools? | |||
| Yes | c) Do you support increasing teacher salaries AND/OR benefits in Texas? | ||
| Yes | d) Should immigrants in the United States who graduate from Texas high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities, regardless of immigration status? | ||
| No | e) Do you support removing diversity, equity and inclusion offices on public college and university campuses? | ||
| Greater funding of our public schools would allow for smaller class sizes, which would reduce the need for alternative education models. I support small specialty charter schools that are filling a gap, but not necessarily a charter school that is in the same model as a traditional public school and doesn't have a unique offering. Charter schools have expanded too rapidly, and they don't always serve the students as well as traditional public schools. We are currently funding the two types of schools differently and they are not on a level playing field. This is problematic for the funding system as a whole. Youth living in Texas should be educated to the greatest degree possible to ensure they are college, career or military ready. We should not punish immigrant children who are here with their parents by charging them higher tuition in college. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support state funding for the development of renewable energy (e.g. solar, wind, geo-thermal)? | ||
| No | b) Do you support state governments allowing permits for drilling on public lands? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support increasing state funding for clean drinking water initiatives? | ||
| The devastation of the land and water in West Texas is a direct result of our oil industry and improper regulation and lack of enforcement. Swaths of land are no longer suitable for anything due to the oil industry. Springs that used to exist have dried up. Excessive amounts of methane and greenhouse gases pour into the air. We can and must do better. We don't necessarily have to stop producing oil and gas, but we can do it in a way that protects the environment. We aren't doing that now. | |||
| Yes | a)Do you support limiting campaign contributions from corporations, unions, and individuals? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support the use of an independent or bipartisan commission for redistricting? | ||
| Yes | 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? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support the implementation of ranked choice voting in Texas? | ||
| I have tried to cap campaign contributions in Texas to 50 times what Congressional candidates can take. Even that didn't pass into law. We must restrict campaign contributions if we want to have elected officials who aren't beholden to special interests. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you generally support gun-control legislation (e.g. red flag laws, closing the boyfriend loophole)? | ||
| Yes | b) Should background checks be required on gun sales between private citizens at gun shows? | ||
| c) Do you support the right to concealed carry in Texas? | |||
| We can't accept school shootings, church shootings, grocery store shootings, as just something that happens. There are sensible gun regulations that the majority of people agree with, and we should take steps toward better regulation of guns for a safer society. Our children shouldn't live in fear of the next school shooter. | |||
| Yes | a) Should the state government increase funding for treatment facilities to combat opioid abuse? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support a government-run (e.g. single-payer) healthcare program such as Medicare-for-All? | ||
| Yes | c) Should an individual have the right to choose to die (e.g. those with a terminal illness) through euthanasia? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support mandating vaccinations (e.g. for school or employment)? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support expanding paid family AND/OR medical leave benefits (e.g. maternity leave)? | ||
| Yes | f) Should the government be able to regulate the cost of prescription drugs? | ||
| Yes | a) Do you support inclusion of sexual orientation in Texas' anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in Texas' anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support greater efforts by Texas' state government in closing gender, racial, and other wage gaps? | ||
| My top three priorities are around public school funding, water, and housing affordability. First, I believe it's critical that we increase funding for our public schools, and have a mechanism to automatically increase funding in years with inflation, with a cap. Second, as Texas continues to grow, meeting the water and energy needs requires better planning and infrastructure building. The Texas Water Development Board has received funding, and needs to improve the state water plan. There are a number of conservation measures we can utilize, some of which require legislation, such as ensuring HOAs don't ban xeriscaping. Third, home ownership should be in reach of more families, but salaries haven't kept up with the cost of rent and home ownership. I have a bill, the Fair Rent Incentive Act, which would put downward pressure on rent prices allowing renters to save money to use toward a down payment on a home. |
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