Joe DeStefano's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
Office:
- State Assembly (NY) - District 3, Republican, Conservative, Independence, Reform
On The Ballot: Running, Conservative, Republican for State Assembly (NY) - District 3
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.
Joe DeStefano did not provide voters with positions on key issues covered by the 2022 Political Courage Test, despite repeated requests from Vote Smart and voters like you.
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 York State Legislative Election 2020 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 for organizations that perform abortions? | ||
| d) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| No | a) In order to balance the budget, do you support reducing state employee salaries AND/OR pensions? | ||
| No | b) In order to balance the budget, do you support an income tax increase on any tax bracket? | ||
| Reduce wasteful spending; eliminate corruption and pay-to-play in Albany | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support a limit on campaign contributions to state candidates? | ||
| No | 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? | ||
| Yes | 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: | |||
| Yes | 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? | ||
| Yes | 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 York? | ||
| No | e) Do you support mandatory minimum sentences for non-violent drug offenders? | ||
| No | f) Do you support eliminating cash bail for all crimes? | ||
| g) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| No | a) Do you support state government spending as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support lowering state income taxes as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support reducing government regulations on the private sector? | ||
| Yes | 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 York? | ||
| 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? | ||
| Yes | h) Do you support the legalization of mobile sports betting and wagering? | ||
| i) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| No | a) Do you support adopting federal education standards in New York? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support state funding for charter schools? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support increasing teacher salaries AND/OR benefits in New York? | ||
| Yes | d) Should immigrants unlawfully present in the United States who graduate from New York high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities? | ||
| e) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support state funding for the development of renewable energy (e.g. solar, wind, geo-thermal)? | ||
| No | b) Do you support government regulations of greenhouse gas emissions? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support increasing state funding for clean drinking water initiatives? | ||
| d) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| 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? | ||
| Yes | c) Should teachers be allowed to bring guns into the classroom after passing gun safety training? | ||
| No | d) Should a license be required for gun ownership? | ||
| e) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| Yes | a) Should the state government increase funding for treatment facilities to combat opioid abuse? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support Medicaid expansion through New York's health care programs? | ||
| No | 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? | ||
| No | 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? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support suspending rent payments for at least 90 days during public health crises, such as COVID-19? | ||
| h) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in New York's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in New York's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support greater efforts by New York state government in closing the pay gap between men and women? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support requiring all public female-designated restrooms to provide free feminine hygiene products? | ||
| e) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| Return budget powers granted to Gov. Cuomo on an emergency basis during the COVID-19 pandemic back to the elected legislature Repeal the dangerous new bail laws Amend the state constitution to create independent ethics committees not controlled by the governor, legislators and the very people who they're ruling on Support law enforcement; oppose Defund the Police | |||
| Repeal the dangerous new bail laws |
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