Sandy Jerstad's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
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South Dakota State Legislative Election 2010 Political Courage Test
| a) Do you consider yourself pro-choice or pro-life? | |||
| b) Should abortion be legal only within the first trimester of pregnancy? | |||
| c) Should abortion be legal when the pregnancy resulted from incest or rape? | |||
| d) Should abortion be legal when the life of the woman is endangered? | |||
| Yes | e) Do you support requiring parental notification before an abortion is performed on a minor? | ||
| f) Do you support requiring parental consent before an abortion is performed on a minor? | |||
| g) Do you support sexual education programs that include information on abstinence, contraceptives, and HIV/STD prevention methods? | |||
| h) Do you support abstinence-only sexual education programs? | |||
| I consider myself pro-life but also believe the government should not be making decisions regarding one's personal body and family planning. I believe abortions can and should be reduced through education. | |||
1) State SpendingIndicate what state funding levels (#1-6) you support for the following general categories. Select one level per category; you may use a number more than once.2) State TaxesIndicate what state tax levels (#1-6) you support for the following general categories. Select one level per category; you may use a number more than once.3) Budget StabilizationIndicate which proposals you support (if any) for balancing South Dakota's budget.
| Slightly Increase | a) Education (higher) | ||
| Greatly Increase | b) Education (K-12) | ||
| Slightly Increase | c) Environment | ||
| Slightly Increase | d) Health care | ||
| Slightly Increase | e) Law enforcement | ||
| Greatly Increase | f) Transportation and highway infrastructure | ||
| Maintain Status | g) Welfare | ||
| Slightly Increase | a) Alcohol taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | b) Cigarette taxes | ||
| Slightly Increase | c) Corporate taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | d) Gasoline taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | e) Property taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | f) Sales taxes | ||
| Yes | a) Tapping into South Dakota's "rainy day" fund | ||
| Yes | b) Reducing tax credits for high-cost construction projects | ||
| Yes | c) Issuing the early release of certain non-violent offenders | ||
| No | d) Increasing tuition rates at public universities | ||
| No | e) Instituting mandatory furloughs and layoffs for state employees | ||
| No | f) Reducing benefits for Medicaid recipients | ||
| No | g) Privatizing certain government services | ||
| I believe we are spending far too much on prisons and incarcerating people. We need to have better programs for drug and alcohol abuse, and get those people working and back home with supervison. We need more funding for our highway patrol and EMT programs. | |||
| We need to equalize our taxes: while most items are charged a 6% tax, all motor vehicles are charged only 3%. This is tax equality which does not serve our state well. We need to move that fee up to 6% with everything else. | |||
| Our government work force has expanded by 1500 people in the last 8 years while our population has remained stable. This needs to be reversed. Government should be held to a spending formula of 3% or inflation, whichever is less. Also, we need to end the practice of no-bid contracts, to save millions of dollars. | |||
c) Do you support limits on the following types of contributions to candidates for state government?
| Yes | a) Do you support limits on the number of terms for South Dakota governors? | ||
| No | b) Do you support limits on the number of terms for South Dakota state legislators? | ||
| Yes | 1) Individual | ||
| Yes | 2) Political Action Committee | ||
| Yes | 3) Corporate | ||
| Yes | 4) Political Party | ||
| Yes | d) Should candidates for state office be encouraged to meet voluntary spending limits? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support requiring full and timely disclosure of campaign finance information? | ||
| f) Other or expanded principles | |||
| No | a) Do you support capital punishment for certain crimes? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support alternatives to incarceration for certain non-violent offenders, such as mandatory counseling or substance abuse treatment? | ||
| Yes | c) Should the possession of small amounts of marijuana be decriminalized? | ||
| No | d) Should a minor accused of a violent crime be prosecuted as an adult? | ||
| No | e) Should a minor who sends sexually-explicit or nude photos by cell phone face criminal charges? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support allowing law enforcement officials to stop and ticket motorists for seat belt violations? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support the enforcement of federal immigration laws by state and local police? | ||
| Our law enforcement officers already have enough to do, so I don't believe they should be focused on immigration offenses. However, they should follow the law when they become aware of it. Minors need to have different rules than adults in most cases, because their understanding of life and the law are immature. | |||
| No | a) Do you support reducing government regulations on the private sector? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support increased state funding for job-training programs that re-train displaced workers? | ||
| No | c) Do you support expanding access to unemployment benefits? | ||
| d) Do you support providing financial incentives to the private sector for the purpose of job creation? | |||
| e) Do you support increased spending on infrastructure projects for the purpose of job creation? | |||
| f) Do you support providing direct financial assistance to homeowners facing foreclosure? | |||
| Many of these questions should be answered "it depends." I believe our state gov't should assist wind companies, and they will provide many new jobs. I don't believe our state should assist foreign oil companies as they pump gas through our state. Homeowners should be helped to a point if they have honestly worked hard to save their home. | |||
| No | a) Do you support national education standards? | ||
| No | b) Do you support requiring public schools to administer high school exit exams? | ||
| No | c) Do you support lowering the age of compulsory school attendance from eighteen to sixteen? | ||
| No | d) Do you support using a merit pay system for teachers? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support state funding for charter schools? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support the state government providing college students with financial aid? | ||
| No | g) Should illegal immigrants who graduate from South Dakota high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities? | ||
| States should invest in charter schools if they do so carefully and make sure the leadership is great and goals are being met. They can be particularly helpful in some communitites, such as Indian country. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support state funding for the development of alternative energy? | ||
| No | b) Do you support state funding for the development of traditional domestic energy sources (e.g. coal, natural gas, oil)? | ||
| No | c) Do you support providing financial incentives to farms that produce biofuel crops? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support state funding for improvements to South Dakota's energy infrastructure? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support state funding for open space preservation? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support enacting environmental regulations aimed at reducing the effects of climate change? | ||
| Energy is one of the top priorities in our state and nation. We need to improve efficiency at all levels, get a national grid, work at eliminating our dependence on foreign oil, give more incentives to companies and individuals to develop and use clean energy sources, such as wind, geo-thermal, and ethanol. We need to encourage the national government to take the cap off ethanol use. Most if not all of our vehicles could be powered by ethanol. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support requiring background checks on gun sales between private citizens at gun shows? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support allowing individuals to carry concealed guns? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support requiring a license for gun possession? | ||
| I grew up hunting with my dad. I totally support guns for recreational and even protective use. The problem is when guns fall into the wrong hands. That is why registration and background checks are so important. While supporting gun owner rights, I also support common sense regulation. Otherwise, we are moving back towards the wild west days, when arguments were settled with guns on a regular basis. | |||
| No | a) Do you support a universally-accessible, publicly-administered health insurance option? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support expanding access to health care through commercial health insurance reform? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support interstate health insurance compacts? | ||
| Yes | d) Should individuals be required to purchase health care insurance? | ||
| e) Do you support monetary limits on damages that can be collected in malpractice lawsuits? | |||
| No | f) Do you support legalizing physician-assisted suicide in South Dakota? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support allowing doctors to prescribe marijuana to their patients for medicinal purposes? | ||
| While I oppose public access to growing their own marijuana, doctors prescribing it from a drug store is no different than a doctor prescribing oxicoton. In addition, I believe some form of limits on malpractice should be laid out, but arbitrary limits could hurt certain victims. Great care must be taken to protect individuals while not over-awarding lawyers. Since those without health insurance have been letting us pay for them, I believe it is time to require insurance to help equalize the burden of health care. Insurance companies should be allowed to increase their premiums based on the CPI. | |||
| a) Should marriage only be between one man and one woman? | |||
| b) Should South Dakota allow same-sex couples to form civil unions? | |||
| Yes | c) Do you support state funding for stem cell research? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support state funding for embryonic stem cell research? | ||
| e) Do you support the state's use of affirmative action? | |||
| Yes | f) Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in South Dakota's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in South Dakota's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| Government has crossed the line into religious belief with gender discrimination. I believe in marriage between a man and a woman, and I had a wonderful one before my husband died at 54. But I believe the state should recognize a union between the same gender for purposes of taxes and individual rights. Embryonic stem cells in SD are discarded if not used for fertilization. That does not make sense to me, when they could be used to help save lives and improve our ability to take care of many ill people, including diabetics, spinal cord injuries, MS, and others. | |||
| I will continue to work on more adequate funding for K-12 and higher ed. I will also continue to work on passing rules for pre-K. Funding can be obtained by ending no-bid contracts, or selling three airplances, or holding government to 3% or CPI spending, whichever is less. I plan to work to rescind a law which limits liability for those who abuse children. |
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