Ted Sirois' Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
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Maine State Legislative Election 2024 Political Courage Test
| Pro-life | 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? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support the prohibition of public funds (e.g. Medicaid) for organizations that perform abortions? | ||
| Oppose abortion on a minor without parental notice | |||
| Yes | a) In order to balance the budget, do you support limiting state government spending on social programs (e.g. SNAP, TANF)? | ||
| No | 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? | ||
| Eliminate sales tax that hurts low income families and encourages out of state purchasing. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support capital punishment for violent 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? | ||
| No | e) Do you support mandatory minimum sentences for nonviolent drug offenders? | ||
| I do not encourage incarceration of people guilty of non-violent crimes. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support state government spending as a means of promoting economic growth (e.g. grants, tax incentives)? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support reducing state government regulations on the private sector (e.g. for business or the environment)? | ||
| No | c) Do you support an increase of the minimum wage in Maine? | ||
| No | d) Do you support government spending on affordable housing projects in Maine? | ||
| Support incentives for private contractors to build small individual homes, not sprawling multi-unit apartment complexes. | |||
| No | a) Do you support adopting federal education standards (e.g. Common Core) in Maine? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support state funding for charter schools? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support increasing teacher salaries AND/OR benefits in Maine? | ||
| No | d) Should immigrants in the United States who graduate from Maine high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities, regardless of immigration status? | ||
| Tuition should be available to ALL students in highly needed vocational trades. | |||
| No | a) Do you support state funding for the development of renewable energy (e.g. solar, wind, geo-thermal)? | ||
| Yes | 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? | ||
| All forms of energy must be considered such as hydro, tidal, nuclear, solar, wind, biomass, and even the much-demonized fossil fuels when technology resolves their emission issues. To start with, Maine must eliminate the 100-megawatt cap on importing hydropower to subsidize the unsustainable wind and solar power industries for the benefit of certain businesses and their lobbyists. First and foremost, Maine must upgrade its electrical transmission infrastructure creating an interconnecting power grid accepting power from all sources throughout Maine and from outside. This effort must not be derailed by vocal special interests groups willing to sacrifice cheaper electrical rates and the jobs they would create for their own selfish self-interests. | |||
| 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? | ||
| No | d) Do you support automatic voter registration? | ||
| No | e) Do you support the implementation of ranked choice voting in Maine? | ||
| No | f) Do you support replacing the current Maine state flag with a new design? | ||
| We should eliminate all campaign support from out of state individuals and businesses. | |||
| No | 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? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support the right to concealed carry in Maine? | ||
| Revoke the imposed waiting period to buy a firearm. This would not have prevented this tragedy. Instead of going after citizens exercising their 2nd amendment rights, the legislature should work at preventing unauthorized persons from getting guns and punishing those who knowingly allow such people to get guns. We should also encourage gun retailers make their stores more �hardened� against afterhours break-ins or daytime strong-arm robberies. On mental health, Maine needs to return to having separate mental health facilities to deal with non-violent law breakers arrested due to substance abuse or mental health issues. Correctional officers should not be deal with such issues and mentally ill people should not be incarcerated with violent criminals. | |||
| Yes | a) Should the state government increase funding for treatment facilities to combat opioid abuse? | ||
| No | 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? | ||
| No | d) Do you support mandating vaccinations (e.g. for school or employment)? | ||
| No | 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? | ||
| No | g) Do you support banning the sale of flavored tobacco products in Maine? | ||
| No | a) Do you support inclusion of sexual orientation in Maine's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| No | b) Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in Maine's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| No | c) Do you support greater efforts by Maine's state government in closing gender, racial, and other wage gaps? | ||
| Sexual orientation and gender identity are personal choices. No one should get special protection for by making a choice. | |||
| My family immigrated to Maine in the sixties, and I entered the 6th grade speaking only French. Still, I graduated from Thornton Academy in 1972 with reading and math skills high enough for the US Navy�s advanced electronics program. I�ve since also achieved a master�s degree in education, with honors. I attribute these academic successes to Maine�s once highly esteemed educational system. Unfortunately, US News reports that reading & writing skills in Maine schools have plummeted from 19th to 43rd under our current administration. For the sake of our children, and for the future of Maine�we must fix this! |
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