Erika Kolenich's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
Key
Official Position: Candidate addressed this issue directly by taking the Political Courage Test.
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Erika Kolenich has provided voters with clear stances on key issues by responding to the 2020 Political Courage Test.
West Virginia Gubernatorial 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? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support the prohibition of public funds for organizations that perform abortions? | ||
| Recognizing that abortion is a sensitive issue and that people can hold good-faith views on all sides, we believe that government should be kept out of the matter, leaving the question to each person for their conscientious consideration. | |||
| Yes | 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? | ||
| No | c) Do you support reducing personal property taxes? | ||
| If reduction of salaries and pensions are needed to balance the budget, I would support the same. However, I would start with administration. Additionally, I would not take away pensions already paid into. | |||
| 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? | ||
| No | f) Do you support creating an intermediate state court of appeals? | ||
| g) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| No | a) Do you support capital punishment for certain crimes? | ||
| Yes | 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? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support the use of private prisons in West Virginia? | ||
| No | e) Do you support mandatory minimum sentences for non-violent drug offenders? | ||
| f) 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? | ||
| No | d) Do you support requiring welfare applicants to pass a drug test in order to receive benefits? | ||
| No | e) Do you support an increase of the minimum wage of West Virginia? | ||
| f) Do you support requiring employers to provide paid family leave? | |||
| g) Do you support providing financial relief to businesses AND/OR corporations negatively impacted by the state of national emergency for COVID-19? | |||
| h) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| No | a) Do you support adopting federal education standards in West Virginia? | ||
| b) Do you support state funding for charter schools? | |||
| Yes | c) Do you support increasing teacher salaries AND/OR benefits in West Virginia? | ||
| No | d) Should immigrants unlawfully present in the United States who graduate from West Virginia high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities? | ||
| e) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| No | 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? | ||
| c) Do you support increasing state funding for clean drinking water initiatives? | |||
| d) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| No | a) Do you generally support gun-control legislation? | ||
| No | 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: | |||
| a) Should the state government increase funding for treatment facilities to combat opioid abuse? | |||
| No | b) Do you support Medicaid expansion through West Virginia'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? | ||
| No | f) Do you support requiring businesses to provide paid medical leave during public health crises, such as COVID-19? | ||
| g) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in West Virginia's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in West Virginia's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| No | c) Do you support greater efforts by West Virginia state government in closing the pay gap between men and women? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support expanding anti-discrimination laws to include hair textures and protective hairstyles? | ||
| e) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| Respect for individual rights and liberties is essential for the success of West Virginia. Freedom to live our lives in the way each person deems best for themselves is the cornerstone to effective Government. Protecting those rights is the most important role of the State. | |||
| The repeal of all non-violent drug related crimes. Far too many of West Virginia's tax dollars are spent pursuing, prosecuting and incarcerating non-violent "offenders" of victimless crimes. These policies should be eradicated and all such "offenders" released and pardoned. |
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