Derek Lewis' Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
Office:
- State House (KY) - District 90, Republican
On The Ballot: Running, Republican for State House (KY) - District 90
Key
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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.
Kentucky State Legislative Election 2020 Political Courage Test
| Pro-life | a) Do you generally support pro-choice or pro-life legislation? | ||
| No | b) Do you support legalizing abortion when the pregnancy resulted from incest or rape? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support the prohibition of public funds for organizations that perform abortions? | ||
| I have a 100% Pro-Life voting record. | |||
| No | a) In order to balance the budget, do you support reducing state employee salaries AND/OR pensions? | ||
| No | b) In order to balance the budget, do you support an income tax increase on any tax bracket? | ||
| Yes | c) Should local governments be able to levy taxes? | ||
| Out of control spending should always be examined before any consideration of a tax increase. Additionally, I don't believe in a top-down, one-size-fits-all is a good way to approach tax policy. For this reason and because I am a proponent of local control, local governments should have the option to levy taxes but a mechanism should be in place for citizens to challenge any tax increase. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support a limit on campaign contributions to state candidates? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support the regulation of indirect campaign contributions from corporations and unions? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support the use of an independent AND/OR bipartisan commission for redistricting? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support requiring a government-issued photo identification in order to vote at the polls? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support automatic voter registration? | ||
| f) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| 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? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support the enforcement of federal immigration laws by state and local police? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support the use of private prisons in Kentucky? | ||
| No | e) Do you support mandatory minimum sentences for non-violent drug offenders? | ||
| Yes | f) Should theft of under $1,000 be considered a misdemeanor? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support the legalization of medicinal marijuana? | ||
| D. Only in the case that our public institutions can't reasonably accommodate the prison population. E. If they are dealing thow the book at them. If it's a matter of sunstance abuse/addiction, treatment programs should be considered. Locking those with addiction up without providing treatment options is poor fiscal and societal policy. G. Medicinal, not recreational. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support state government spending as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support lowering state income taxes as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support reducing government regulations on the private sector? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support requiring welfare applicants to pass a drug test in order to receive benefits? | ||
| No | e) Do you support an increase of the minimum wage of Kentucky? | ||
| No | f) Do you support requiring employers to provide paid family leave? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support providing financial relief to businesses AND/OR corporations negatively impacted by the state of national emergency for COVID-19? | ||
| D. I agree on principal, but we must ensure this policy would be effective and cost-efficient. Other states have struggled with this. E. This is poor economic policy and would only hurt those on a fixed-income. Inflation would absorb any potential purchasing power and many would likely face higher taxes/potentially disqualifying those that need public assistance from being eligible for certain public programs. | |||
| No | a) Do you support adopting federal education standards in Kentucky? | ||
| No | b) Do you support state funding for charter schools? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support increasing teacher salaries AND/OR benefits in Kentucky? | ||
| No | d) Should immigrants unlawfully present in the United States who graduate from Kentucky high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities? | ||
| No | e) Do you support prohibiting corporal punishment in all Kentucky schools? | ||
| f) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support state funding for the development of renewable energy (e.g. solar, wind, geo-thermal)? | ||
| No | b) Do you support government regulations of greenhouse gas emissions? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support increasing state funding for clean drinking water initiatives? | ||
| d) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| No | a) Do you generally support gun-control legislation? | ||
| No | b) Should background checks be required on gun sales between private citizens at gun shows? | ||
| No | c) Should teachers be allowed to bring guns into the classroom after passing gun safety training? | ||
| No | d) Should a license be required for gun ownership? | ||
| C. Not totally against it, but would have to see what training would detail, safe storage of firearm, etc. Local control plays a significant part as well. | |||
| Yes | a) Should the state government increase funding for treatment facilities to combat opioid abuse? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support Medicaid expansion through Kentucky's health care programs? | ||
| No | c) Do you support requiring individuals to purchase health care insurance? | ||
| No | d) Do you support legislation that grants citizens the right to choose to die through euthanasia? | ||
| No | e) Do you support eliminating religious exemptions for vaccinations? | ||
| No | f) Do you support requiring businesses to provide paid medical leave during public health crises, such as COVID-19? | ||
| E. I don't believe citizens should be mandated to take any new, unproven vaccine with limited medical trials-- such as a vaccine for COVID-19. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in Kentucky's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| No | b) Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in Kentucky's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support greater efforts by Kentucky state government in closing the pay gap between men and women? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support expanding anti-discrimination laws to include hair textures and protective hairstyles? | ||
| D. Would have to read the actual legislation, but natural hair texture should not be discriminated against. | |||
| In the following area, please explain in a total of 100 words or less, any additional priorities of your campaign that have not been covered in these questions. | |||
| Economic development/diversification through pro-business policies. Infrastructure repairs/improvements, including roads, bridges, water/sewer projects, as well as internet capabilities. Improving quality and standard of living in Eastern Kentucky. | |||
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