Project Vote Smart - Assembly Member Dierdre K. 'Dede' Scozzafava

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Assembly Member Dierdre K. 'Dede' Scozzafava (NY)
Current Office: State Assembly Current District: 122 Party: Republican, Conservative, Independence, Working Families				Biographical Voting Record Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)Interest Group Ratings Position Papers Speeches and Public Statements Campaign Finances



What is the Political Courage Test? This candidate has responded to a different Political Courage Test. 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 2006 National Political Awareness Test Please Note The Political Courage Test asks candidates which items they will support if elected. It does not ask them to indicate which items they will oppose. Through extensive research of public polling data, we discovered that voters are more concerned with what candidates would support when elected to office, not what they oppose. If a candidate does not select a response to any part or all of any question, it does not necessarily indicate that the candidate is opposed to that particular item. Project Vote Smart does not permit the use of its name or programs in any campaign activity, including advertising, debates, and speeches. Abortion Issues Budget and Tax Issues Campaign Finance and Governmental Reform Issues Crime Issues Education Issues Employment and Affirmative Action Issues Environment & Energy Issues Gun Issues Health Issues Welfare and Poverty Issues Legislative Priorities

Abortion Issues
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Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding abortion.
	a) Abortions should always be illegal.
X	b) Abortions should always be legal.
	c) Abortions should be legal only within the first trimester of pregnancy.
	d) Abortions should be legal when the pregnancy resulted from incest or rape.
	e) Abortions should be legal when the life of the woman is endangered.
	f) Prohibit public funding of abortions and to organizations that advocate or perform abortions.
	g) Require clinics to give parental notification before performing abortions on minors.
	h) Other or expanded principles

Budget and Tax Issues
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State Budget: Indicate the funding levels (#1-6) you will support for the following general categories. Select one level per category.
Slightly Increase	a) Education (Higher)
Slightly Increase	b) Education (K-12)
Slightly Increase	c) Emergency preparedness
Slightly Increase	d) Environment
Slightly Increase	e) Health care
Maintain Status	f) Law enforcement
Slightly Increase	g) Transportation and highway infrastructure
Slightly Decrease	h) Welfare
	i) Other or expanded categories
State Taxes: Indicate the tax levels (#1-6) you will support. Select one level per tax.
Maintain Status	a) Alcohol taxes
Maintain Status	b) Capital gains taxes
Maintain Status	c) Cigarette taxes
Maintain Status	d) Corporate taxes
Slightly Decrease	e) Gasoline taxes
Slightly Decrease	f) Income taxes (incomes below $75,000)
Slightly Decrease	g) Income taxes (incomes above $75,000)
Slightly Decrease	h) Sales taxes
Maintain Status	i) Vehicle taxes
	j) Other or expanded categories
Undecided	k) Should the state sales taxes be extended to Internet sales?
No	l) Should accounts such as a rainy day fund be used to balance the state budget?
No	m) Should fee increases be used to balance the state budget?
Yes	n) Should the New York Legislature list discretionary spending item by item in the budget?
	o) Other or expanded principles

Campaign Finance and Governmental Reform Issues
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Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding campaign finance and government reform.
No	a) Do you support limiting the number of terms for New York governors?
No	b) Do you support limiting the number of terms for New York state senators and representatives?
c) Do you support limiting the following types of contributions to state legislative candidates?
	1) Individual
	2) PAC
	3) Corporate
	4) Political Parties
Yes	d) Do you support requiring full and timely disclosure of campaign finance information?
Yes	e) Do you support imposing spending limits on state level political campaigns?
Yes	f) Do you support adopting statewide standards for counting, verifying and ensuring accuracy of votes?
Yes	g) Do you support prohibiting media exit polling of voters until all polling locations in New York are closed?
Yes	h) Should New York recognize civil unions between same-sex couples?
i) Describe what you believe must be done to complete rebuilding efforts near Ground Zero in New York City. Please use forty (40) words or less.
No Answer
	j) Other or expanded principles
I would support a civl union -vs- a marriage-

Crime Issues
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Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding crime.
	a) Increase state funds for construction of state prisons and hiring of additional prison staff.
	b) Support the death penalty in New York.
X	c) Support programs to provide prison inmates with vocational and job-related skills and job-placement assistance when released.
X	d) End parole for repeat violent offenders.
	e) Implement penalties other than incarceration for certain non-violent offenders.
X	f) Strengthen penalties and sentences for drug-related crimes.
	g) Minors accused of a violent crime should be prosecuted as adults.
X	h) Require that crimes based on race, ethnic background, religious belief, sex, age, disability, or sexual orientation be prosecuted as hate crimes.
X	i) Increase state funding for community centers and other social agencies in areas with at-risk youth.
X	j) Eliminate the statute of limitations for criminal sex cases.
	k) Eliminate the statute of limitations for civil lawsuits seeking damages in sex cases.
X	l) Support the restriction of the sale of products used to make methamphetamine (e.g. tablets containing pseudophedrine, ephedrine and phenylpropanolamine).
	m) Other or expanded principles

Education Issues
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Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding education.
	a) Support national standards and testing of public school students.
	b) Provide parents with state-funded vouchers to send their children to any public school.
	c) Provide parents with state-funded vouchers to send their children to any private or religious school.
X	d) Increase state funds for school capital improvements (e.g. buildings and infrastructure).
X	e) Increase funds for hiring additional teachers.
	f) Support teacher testing and reward with merit pay.
X	g) Endorse voluntary prayer in public schools.
	h) Support requiring public schools to administer high school exit exams.
	i) Provide state funding to increase teacher salaries.
X	j) Increase funding for Head Start programs.
X	k) Provide state funding for tax incentives and financial aid to help make college more affordable.
X	l) Support sexual education programs that include information on abstinence, contraceptives, and HIV/STD prevention methods.
	m) Support abstinence-only sexual education programs.
	n) Other or expanded principles

Employment and Affirmative Action Issues
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Employment: Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding employment.
X	a) Increase funding for state job-training programs that retrain displaced workers and teach skills needed in todays job market.
X	b) Reduce state government regulations on the private sector in order to encourage investment and economic expansion.
X	c) Provide low interest loans and tax credits for starting, expanding, or relocating businesses.
X	d) Provide tax credits for businesses that provide child care for children in low-income working families.
X	e) Increase state funds to provide child care for children in low-income working families.
X	f) Support the inclusion of sexual orientation in New York's anti-discrimination laws.
	g) Increase the state minimum wage.
	h) Other or expanded principles
We are currently in the third phase of raising the minimum wage. I voted for this legislation.
Affirmative Action: Should race, ethnicity or gender be taken into account in state agencies decisions on:
Undecided	a) Public employment
Undecided	b) State college and university admissions
Undecided	c) State contracting
d) Other or expanded principles
No Answer

Environment & Energy Issues
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Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding the environment and energy.
X	a) Promote increased use of alternative fuel technology.
X	b) Support increased production of traditional domestic energy sources (e.g. coal, natural gas, and oil).
X	c) Use state funds to clean up former industrial and commercial sites that are contaminated, unused, or abandoned.
X	d) Increase funding for improvements to New York's power generating and transmission facilities.
	e) Support funding for open space preservation.
	f) Enact environmental regulations even if they are stricter than federal law.
	g) Other or expanded principles

Gun Issues
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Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding guns.
	a) Maintain and strengthen the enforcement of existing state restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns.
X	b) Ease state restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns.
	c) Repeal state restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns.
	d) Allow citizens to carry concealed guns.
	e) Require background checks on gun sales between private citizens at gun shows.
	f) Require a license for gun possession.
	g) Other or expanded principles

Health Issues
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Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding health.
X	a) Ensure that citizens have access to basic health care through managed care, insurance reforms, or state-funded care where necessary.
	b) Transfer current Medicaid recipients into managed care programs.
X	c) Limit the amount of punitive damages that can be awarded in medical malpractice lawsuits.
X	d) Support patients' right to sue their HMOs.
	e) Guaranteed medical care to all citizens is not a responsibility of state government.
	f) Legalize physician assisted suicide in New York.
X	g) Allow doctors to prescribe marijuana to their patients for medicinal purposes.
	h) Other or expanded principles

Welfare and Poverty Issues
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Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding welfare.
X	a) Support increased work requirements for able-bodied welfare recipients.
X	b) Increase funding for employment and job training programs for welfare recipients.
X	c) Increase access to public transportation for welfare recipients who work.
	d) Redirect welfare funding to faith-based and community-based private organizations.
X	e) Use federal TANF (Temporary Assistance to Needy Families) funds to extend health and child care subsidies to the working poor.
	f) Support marriage promotion programs for welfare recipients.
	g) Eliminate government-funded welfare programs.
	h) Other or expanded principles

Legislative Priorities
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Please explain in a total of 75 words or less, your top two or three priorities if elected. If they require additional funding for implementation, please explain how you would obtain this funding.
No Answer

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