Joseph Webster's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
Office:
- State House (PA) - District 150, Democratic
On The Ballot: Running, Democratic for State House (PA) - District 150
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.
Pennsylvania State Legislative Election 2020 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? | ||
| Abortion should be safe, legal and rare. A woman should have the right to make this choice with the advice and counsel of her family, her trusted advisors, her physician or her pastor. The government, politicians, should not be part of such a personal decision. The state has no business regulating anyone's private healthcare choices, a principle that the Supreme Court of the United States has recognized for half a century. We're not going back to a time when women were placed at risk because of the moral judgments of their government. | |||
| 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? | ||
| Pennsylvania doesn't tax wealth... Very wealthy individuals don't pay their fair share. Large corporations take advantage of large credits and loop holes and don't pay their fair share. That makes your tax and mine too high. We can, and should, create a more balanced tax system. And that would actually reduce taxes for most Pennsylvanians. | |||
| 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? | ||
| No | 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? | ||
| No | f) Do you support reducing the number of representatives in the Pennsylvania General Assembly? | ||
| No | g) Do you support limiting disaster declarations to 30 days unless approved by the legislature? | ||
| I strongly support fair districts: redistricting Pennsylvania's legislative districts so that voters pick their candidates and representatives and not the other way around. When that happens, and when that "sticks" for a few elections, we may want to consider or reconsider policies around things like the size of the legislature or the emergency powers laws in Pennsylvania. Not now. | |||
| No | a) Do you support capital punishment for certain 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 in Pennsylvania? | ||
| No | e) Do you support mandatory minimum sentences for non-violent drug offenders? | ||
| No | f) Do you support the legalization of recreational marijuana? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support requiring state and local law enforcement agencies to publicly disclose use-of-force data reports? | ||
| I strongly support decriminalization and clemency for those currently incarcerated for marijuana infractions. But I'm not sure whether Pennsylvania is ready for legalization -- yet. We don't know how to determine levels for impaired driving. We don't know whether or not to regulate potency levels in products and concentrates (unexpected consequences that have occurred in other states). A full discussion on this issue would require much time and space. I want a robust debate, professional testimony from medical professionals and law enforcement, and a public vote on bills currently pending before the House on this and related criminal justice issues. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support state government spending as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| No | b) Do you support lowering state income taxes as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| No | c) Do you support reducing government regulations on the private sector? | ||
| No | d) Do you support requiring welfare applicants to pass a drug test in order to receive benefits? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support an increase of the minimum wage of Pennsylvania? | ||
| Yes | 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? | ||
| Please see previous statement on taxes... Pennsylvania needs serious tax reform. Serious reform will reduce income tax for most Pennsylvanians. Everyone in Pennsylvania should have a living wage. It has been 11 years since Pennsylvania's minimum wage was raised, and that only happened because Congress raised the federal rate. Our General Assembly hasn't raised our state minimum wage in over 14 years. Ii believe that a higher minimum wage is LONG overdue, $15 is a good starting point and we need to index this wage to cost of living indexes so workers don't lose economic power over time. | |||
| No | a) Do you support adopting federal education standards in Pennsylvania? | ||
| No | b) Do you support state funding for charter schools? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support increasing teacher salaries AND/OR benefits in Pennsylvania? | ||
| Yes | d) Should immigrants unlawfully present in the United States who graduate from Pennsylvania high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities? | ||
| Immigration is primarily a federal issue... But I believe Pennsylvania should be strong and compassionate with regards to long term residents of our communities regardless of the status of their documentation. We should be proud of the opportunities Pennsylvania can provide. Pennsylvania ranks 47th in the nation in state funding for education. We have to fix education funding so that we can fully support our schools and our educators. Smart and fair investing in our schools boosts the economy, reduces crime, and fosters equality and mobility. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support state funding for the development of renewable energy (e.g. solar, wind, geo-thermal)? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support government regulations of greenhouse gas emissions? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support increasing state funding for clean drinking water initiatives? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support the taxation of natural gas drilling? | ||
| I support adding the Commonwealth to the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, the nation's first competitive carbon-credit market to increase clean emissions across the northeast states' energy-industry sector. I support it because of the long-term benefits it will bring to our environment, but also because it will bring sustainable growth to Pennsylvania's economy and preserve people's health for generations to come. | |||
| 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? | ||
| No | c) Should teachers be allowed to bring guns into the classroom after passing gun safety training? | ||
| Yes | d) Should a license be required for gun ownership? | ||
| No | e) Do you support mandatory minimum sentences on gun-related crimes? | ||
| Briefly: mandatory minimum sentencing has created a prison state in Pennsylvania. Gun-related crimes deserve stiff sentences. But judges and juries should make that determination in each case. I support universal background checks, a waiting period, ERPOs, the reporting of all lost or stolen guns and I support safety measures to make guns safe in the hands of children. It's also a personal hope that we can get military weapons off our streets. As a veteran, I have handled military style weapons and I know first-hand they don't belong on our streets or in our homes. They belong in the armory. | |||
| Yes | a) Should the state government increase funding for treatment facilities to combat opioid abuse? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support Medicaid expansion through Pennsylvania's health care programs? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support requiring individuals to purchase health care insurance? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support legislation that grants citizens the right to choose to die through euthanasia? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support eliminating religious exemptions for vaccinations? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support requiring businesses to provide paid medical leave during public health crises, such as COVID-19? | ||
| I believe it's economically better to provide preventative healthcare than to have to treat a serious health problem. Healthcare should be available and affordable for all Pennsylvanians and the legislature has a role to play in making this happen. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in Pennsylvania's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in Pennsylvania's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support greater efforts by Pennsylvania state government in closing the pay gap between men and women? | ||
| I believe that the social, political, and legal equality of all citizens is not up for debate and that transphobia has no place in our Commonwealth. Discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity debase, belittle, and in many instances, lead to acts of violence. We all deserve human dignity and respect. | |||
| I'm running to do my part to make good government possible. We must re-build citizen confidence and trust in government and in elected officials. We can't solve Pennsylvania's big problems without that confidence in our leaders. And the list of big problems is a long one... My legislative priorities include providing quality education, protecting the commonwealth's natural resources and environment, combating gun violence, and providing access to affordable healthcare in order to promote a healthy workforce and enhance economic growth. These are all economic issues. Our welfare and our children's welfare depends on good government. | |||
| Today, right now, we need health and safety measures for all Pennsylvanians in the face of a pandemic. We need economic recovery, and we need social justice. Austerity budgets won't accomplish that. They will create more job loss. New jobs, better education, better infrastructure, clean water and air, sustainable energy and agriculture, increased access to healthcare, and equity regardless of race, gender, or identity will all result if Pennsylvania can get out of the current mindset that "small is better." And economic growth results from linking each of these investments. Together. |
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