Joe Ellington, Jr.'s Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
Office:
- State House (WV) - District 38, Republican
On The Ballot: Running, Republican for State House (WV) - District 38
Key
Official Position: Candidate addressed this issue directly by taking the Political Courage Test.
Inferred Position: Candidate refused to address this issue, but Vote Smart inferred this issue based on the candidate's public record, including statements, voting record, and special interest group endorsements.
Unknown Position: Candidate refused to address this issue, or we could not infer an answer for this candidate despite exhaustive research of their public record.
Additional Information: Click on this icon to reveal more information about this candidate's position, from their answers or Vote Smart's research.
Other or Expanded Principles & Legislative Priorities are entered exactly as candidates submit them. Vote Smart does not edit for misspelled words, punctuation or grammar.
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.
West Virginia State Legislative Election 2010 Political Courage Test
| Pro-life | a) Do you consider yourself pro-choice or pro-life? | ||
| No | b) Should abortion be legal only within the first trimester of pregnancy? | ||
| Yes | c) Should abortion be legal when the pregnancy resulted from incest or rape? | ||
| Yes | 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? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support requiring parental consent before an abortion is performed on a minor? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support sexual education programs that include information on abstinence, contraceptives, and HIV/STD prevention methods? | ||
| No | h) Do you support abstinence-only sexual education programs? | ||
| b) only legal within first and early second trimesters. | |||
1) State SpendingIndicate what state funding levels (#1-6) you support for the following general categories. Select one level per category- you can 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 can use a number more than once.3) Budget StabilizationIndicate which proposals you support (if any) for balancing West Virginia's budget.
| Maintain Status | a) Education (higher) | ||
| Maintain Status | b) Education (K-12) | ||
| Maintain Status | c) Environment | ||
| Greatly Decrease | d) Health care | ||
| Greatly Increase | e) Law enforcement | ||
| Greatly Increase | f) Transportation and highway infrastructure | ||
| Eliminate | g) Welfare | ||
| Greatly Decrease | h) Other or expanded categories | ||
| Greatly Increase | a) Alcohol taxes | ||
| Greatly Increase | b) Cigarette taxes | ||
| Greatly Decrease | c) Corporate taxes | ||
| Greatly Decrease | d) Gasoline taxes | ||
| Greatly Decrease | e) Property taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | f) Sales taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | g) Income taxes (low-income families) | ||
| Slightly Decrease | h) Income taxes (middle-income families) | ||
| Slightly Decrease | i) Income taxes (high-income families) | ||
| Slightly Decrease | j) Other or expanded categories | ||
| No | a) Tapping into West Virginia's "rainy day" fund | ||
| No | b) Issuing the early release of certain non-violent offenders | ||
| No | c) Increasing tuition rates at public universities | ||
| No | d) Instituting mandatory furloughs and layoffs for state employees | ||
| Yes | e) Reducing benefits for Medicaid recipients | ||
| Yes | f) Privatizing certain government services | ||
| decrease or eliminate entitlement programs. | |||
| lower our taxes relative to our surrounding states in order to attract people and industry. | |||
| e) There is much abuse with the medicaid program with a lot of money wasted. There needs to be some form of reform with consequence for abuse. The money is there, just not being used appropriately. | |||
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 West Virginia governors? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support limits on the number of terms for West Virginia 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? | ||
| d) Incumbents have too large a financial advantage over newcomers that modest limits on spending could level the playing field. | |||
| Yes | 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 drug/alcohol treatment? | ||
| No | c) Should the possession of small amounts of marijuana be decriminalized? | ||
| Yes | d) Should minors accused of a violent crime be prosecuted as adults? | ||
| Yes | e) Should minors who send sexually-explicit or nude photos by cell phone face criminal charges? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support the enforcement of federal immigration laws by state and local police? | ||
| e) Depends on circumstances. f) Most definitely. I support the enforcement of all our laws. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support reducing government regulations on the private sector? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support stricter safety regulations for the mining industry? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support increased state funding for job-training programs that re-train displaced workers? | ||
| No | d) Do you support expanding access to unemployment benefits? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support providing financial incentives to the private sector for the purpose of job creation? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support increased spending on infrastructure projects for the purpose of job creation? | ||
| No | g) Do you support providing direct financial assistance to homeowners facing foreclosure? | ||
| I would support programs aimed at job creation and helping people provide for themselves. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support national education standards? | ||
| No | b) Do you support requiring public schools to administer high school exit exams? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support using a merit pay system for teachers? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support state funding for charter schools? | ||
| No | e) Do you support the state government providing college students with financial aid? | ||
| No | f) Should illegal immigrants who graduate from West Virginia high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities? | ||
| e) State universities are already subsidized by the state. In this day and age anyone who wants to go to college or university is able to obtain loans to cover expenses. If a person wants something bad enough they will find a way to achieve that goal as with anything in life. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support state funding for the development of alternative energy? | ||
| Yes | 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 West Virginia's energy infrastructure? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support state funding for open space preservation? | ||
| No | f) Do you support enacting environmental regulations aimed at reducing the effects of climate change? | ||
| c) I dont believe in using food for energy; byproducts and waste yes. f) I do not support the current efforts for cap and trade, however I do believe we should be good stewards of this environment. b) WV is a major source of coal for this country and we should be doing everything we can to promote this resource for the benefit of our longterm survival as a state and country. | |||
| 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? | ||
| reasonable, common sense restrictions for public safety. I am a very ardent supporter of our right to keep and bear arms. The U.S. constitution is very clear on this and I dont accept alternative interpretations from plain English. | |||
| Yes | 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? | ||
| No | d) Should individuals be required to purchase health care insurance? | ||
| Yes | 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 West Virginia? | ||
| No | g) Do you support allowing doctors to prescribe marijuana to their patients for medicinal purposes? | ||
| Yes | h) Do you support increasing West Virginia's tax on beer to expand substance abuse programs? | ||
| a) our medicaid program needs to be revamped. The state should focus on providing basic universal care through our health clinics and not through our emergency rooms. | |||
| Yes | a) Should marriage only be between one man and one woman? | ||
| Yes | b) Should West Virginia allow same-sex couples to form civil unions? | ||
| c) Do you support state funding for stem cell research? | |||
| No | d) Do you support state funding for embryonic stem cell research? | ||
| No | e) Do you support the state's use of affirmative action? | ||
| No | f) Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in West Virginia's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| No | g) Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in West Virginia's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| d) I have no problem with private funding for research under strict ethical guidelines for the benefit of mankind. e) I believe affirmative action is a form of discrimination that actually hurts the individuals it supposedly tries to help. f) and g) I believe a person's sexual orientation or identity is between them and their creator and should stay there. For example, if a person's sexual orientation or preference is to be a child predator, I would not like the idea of letting that person teach in our elementary schools and have no legal ability to prevent that from happening. | |||
| I intend to represent the wishes of my constituents and support or oppose legislation accordingly. In addition, I believe in adherring to the WV constitution and the duties required by it. Personally, I would like to see our state get back to basics and improve the business climate in WV and personal quality of life and liberty for our citizens through lower taxation, reduced spending on entitlements and upgrading infrastructure. |
Vote Smart does not permit the use of its name or programs in any campaign activity, including advertising, debates, and speeches.