Candidate Questionnaires

Candidate Questionnaire - Lt. Governor -Ben Z. Grant, Democrat

(No response received)

Candidate Questionnaire - Governor -Chris Bell

(No response received.)

State Candidate Questionnaire - House District 150 -Dot Nelson-Turnier, Democrat

1. Would you support requiring all electronic voting machines to print on paper for each voter a complete summary of their voting choices, which will become, after their inspection, the authoritative record of their vote?

Candidate Questionnaire - HD 146 -Borris Miles, Democrat 

1. Would you support requiring all electronic voting machines to print on paper for each voter a complete summary of their voting choices, which will become, after their inspection, the authoritative record of their vote?

Response:  Yes. It is unacceptable that here in the world’s most technologically advanced nation we do not have confidence in our own voting system. A verifiable paper trail is a first step toward restoring confidence that a person’s vote will count.

2. Would you support single payer universal health care?

Response:  Yes. Texas has the dubious distinction of leading the nation in the number of uninsured, and far too many of those uninsured are children. We must move toward a system that provides every American – there are nearly 50 million who do not have coverage – access to affordable basic health care.

3. In February 2003 Santa Fe, New Mexico enacted a minimum wage ordinance which raised the minimum wage to $8.50/hour for all business and non-profits with 25 or more employees. The wage will increase to $9.50/hour in 2006 and $10.50/hour in 2008. Would you support similar legislation and an escalator clause that would guarantee cost of living adjustments?

Response:  Yes, I support raising the minimum wage.

4. Would you support enactment of legislation providing for public financing of general election campaigns for elective office at the local, state and federal levels?

Response:  Yes.

5. Would you consider implementing a state income tax to be used to fund health care and public education?

Response:  Not sure. I am open to considering a number of options for changing the current system in Texas of funding public education and health care. Clearly, that current system is not working and is in fact breaking down.

6. Would you support a ban on the death penalty?

Response:  I support the death penalty in certain extreme cases (e.g., Timothy McVeigh), but am concerned it is disproportionably used against minorities and low-income persons who do not have adequate legal representation, and that some innocent Texans may have even been wrongly executed. I would support a temporary moratorium to review all death penalty convictions (using DNA testing, etc.), to ensure that no innocent person is sitting on death row.

7. Would you support increased funding for renewable energy and ending subsidies to the oil and gas industry?

Response:  Yes. For the sake of our national security and the environmental health of the nation, we must wean ourselves from foreign oil consumption and the use of fossil fuels.

8. Would you support programs to restore full funding for mental health/mental retardation adequate to provide food, shelter and medical/mental health treatment for the homeless?

Response:  Absolutely yes.

9. Would you be in favor of changing the Texas method of selecting electors to the Electoral College from "winner take all" to proportional representation by popular vote?

Response:  Not sure.

10. Would you support Instant Runoff Voting?

Response:  sure.

11. Would you support a substantial increase in teacher compensation? What other approaches would you take to improve the quality of public education in Texas?

Response:  Yes. Public education simply needs more funding. Enrollment is increasing by about 75,000 students per year, and current funding levels cannot keep up with that growth. We spend more per prison inmate in Texas than we do per student in our schools. We must change our priorities.

We need higher teacher pay to attract and retain quality teachers in our public schools, and allow them more flexibility to teach, instead of being handcuffed by standardized tests.

12. How would you improve the environment of Texas i.e. TCEQ accountability, grandfathering of refineries, power plants etc and clean air emissions standards?

Response:  Texas standards for emissions and pollution control are outdated, and must be brought in line with current standards. Any new power plants built in Texas should be required to adhere to the most current environmental standards. TCEQ needs more protection from the political pressure applied by the Republicans in charge in Austin, and more “teeth” in its enforcement power. In too many instances today, it is in the economic interest of polluters to simply pay small fines rather than comply with the law. Real consequences for their actions are likely to encourage compliance.

13. Are you dissatisfied with the way legislative districts are configured in Texas? If yes, what will you do about it?

Response:  I am dissatisfied with the current configuration of legislative districts in Texas. Low-income and minority Texans have clearly had their influence minimized with the current lines. Recent Congressional redistricting was nothing more than a mid-decade power grab, without precedent, which I hope the U.S. Supreme Court sees fit to overturn.

I will stand for legislative districts that fairly represent the interests of all Texans, and will not waver.

State Candidate Questionnaire - HD 127 -Diane Trautman, Democrat

1.    Would you support requiring all electronic voting machines to print on paper for each voter a complete summary of their voting choices, which will become, after their inspection, the authoritative record of their vote? 

Candidate Questionnaire - US Senate -Barbara Radnofsky

1. Would you support requiring all electronic voting machines to print on paper for each voter a summary of their voting choices, which will become, after their inspection, the authoritative record of their vote?

National Candidate Questionnaire - CD 02 -Gary Binderim, Democrat

1. Would you support requiring all electronic voting machines to print on paper for each voter a summary of their voting choices, which will become, after their inspection, the authoritative record of their vote?

Candidate Questionnaire - HD 144 -Janette Sexton, Democrat

1. Would you support requiring all electronic voting machines to print on paper for each voter a complete summary of their voting choices, which will become, after their inspection, the authoritative record of their vote?

Candidate Questionnnaire - CD 7 -Jim Henley, Democrat

Note: We mistakenly sent the State Candidate Questionnaire to some of the Congressional Candidates (although some of the questions are the same on both questionnaires).

Candidate Questionnaire - CD 10 -Pat Mynatt

Note: We mistakenly sent the State Candidate Questionnaire to some of the Congressional Candidates (although some of the questions are the same on both questionnaires).