Linda Serrato's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
Office:
- State House (NM) - District 45, Democratic
On The Ballot: Running, Democratic for State House (NM) - District 45
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.
New Mexico 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? | ||
| Pregnant patients deserve to make decisions about their health in consultation with their doctors and any trusted family members. Rather than focus on restricting women, we should be focused on reducing unwanted pregnancies and empowering working families to make the best decisions for them. | |||
| Yes | 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? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support eliminating the state tax on Social Security benefits? | ||
| No | d) Do you support tax credits to promote the purchase of electric vehicles? | ||
| Any changes to state employee salaries or pensions must be done in consultation with the unions representing these organizations. In addition, any reduction in benefits, salaries or pensions related to COVID-19 should be temporary changes to protect the strides workers have already made. I need more information regarding incentives for electric cars. I would like to see some evidence that these tax credits result in less gas-powered cars on the road before supporting it. | |||
| 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? | ||
| f) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| 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 New Mexico? | ||
| No | e) Do you support mandatory minimum sentences for non-violent drug offenders? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support the legalization of recreational marijuana? | ||
| g) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| a) Do you support state government spending as a means of promoting economic growth? | |||
| b) Do you support lowering state income taxes as a means of promoting economic growth? | |||
| 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 New Mexico? | ||
| 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? | ||
| The first three questions are hugely dependent on specific proposals. I support reducing government regulations on the private sector when consumer protections are upheld, incentives are created to increase local hiring and changes make our state more sustainable and equitable. I support adjusting the state income tax so that higher earners are paying their fair share. I support temporary increases to state spending in the face of COVID-19 and to create social safety nets for our working families. | |||
| a) Do you support adopting federal education standards in New Mexico? | |||
| Yes | b) Do you support state funding for charter schools? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support increasing teacher salaries AND/OR benefits in New Mexico? | ||
| No | d) Should immigrants unlawfully present in the United States who graduate from New Mexico high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities? | ||
| I believe we need to ensure our students can compete for universities in and out of New Mexico. Charter schools can be the best solution for some families but public schools are vital to our communities and ensuring all children - no matter their means, backgrounds, or proclivity toward specific topics- can become the best they can be. Our state must work with our teachers unions, schools and students to manage this complicated balance. | |||
| 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? | ||
| When water is a limited resource in New Mexico, the polar caps are melting and wildfires in the west are clouding our skies, we must do everything we can to sustain our Earth for subsequent generations. | |||
| 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? | ||
| I believe in the Second Amendment because hunting is part of our New Mexico culture; however, our children deserve to feel safe at school, at church and at the movies. Public safety doesn't mean more firearms but a trust in our community to put each other first. Rather than bringing more firearms into schools, we need to fund support services to identify students struggling before they rely on guns as a solution. | |||
| Yes | a) Should the state government increase funding for treatment facilities to combat opioid abuse? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support Medicaid expansion through New Mexico's health care programs? | ||
| 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? | ||
| 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? | ||
| The federal government must do more to ensure the United States is a leader in healthcare. This pandemic has shown the limits in our healthcare system and we need national healthcare that is accessible, affordable and universal. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in New Mexico's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in New Mexico's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support greater efforts by New Mexico state government in closing the pay gap between men and women? | ||
| No | d) Do you support the inclusion of the phrase "In God We Trust" on all public buildings and license plates? | ||
| e) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| At this point in the pandemic, national solutions have left working families and Main St. businesses behind in COVID recovery and they're recovery is stunted when compared to large corporations. We need to reinvest in social safety nets for our small businesses and our working families. | |||
| I believe we need worker first policies like a living wage statewide, Paid Family Leave and Paid Sick Leave for organizations with more than 50 employees. In addition, we need to invest in us by building our infrastructure such as statewide broadband, improved education and localized renewable energy. This way we can create local businesses and attract modern businesses to invest here too. |
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