| OnTheIssues.org excerpts: (click on issues for details)
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Budget & Economy
Dave Freudenthal: Remain fiscally conservative without dipping into savings.
Brad Henry: Increase the Rainy Day Fund from 10% to 15% of revenue.
Phil Bredesen: Adjust our expenses to match our income, like family budget.
Donald Carcieri: We cannot sustain the present level of spending.
Deval Patrick: Closed $9 billion budget gap.
Sean Parnell: Enforce budget discipline and invest for our future.
Bill Richardson: Hiring freeze & 7% budget cut in state agencies.
Joe Manchin III: CAREFULLY plan stimulus: in planning mode; not panic mode.
Jan Brewer: $5B budget deficit is wrong; right is doing the hard things.
Mark Parkinson: Constitutionally require set-aside for emergency fund.
Arnold Schwarzenegger: Painful spending cuts & temporary tax increases were needed.
David Paterson: Enforce spending cap, even by constitutional amendment.
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Civil Rights
Bill Richardson: Extend Domestic Partnership rights as anti-discrimination.
Mark Parkinson: Embrace diversity rather than rejecting new citizens.
David Paterson: Increased MWBE state contract participation from 4% to 24%.
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Corporations
Tim Pawlenty: Reduce business tax from 3rd highest corporate tax rate.
Ed Rendell: We have grown our economy by cutting business taxes.
Donald Carcieri: Regulatory Review Task Force to reclaim business revolution.
Mark Sanford: Cut corporate income tax by raising cigarette tax.
David Paterson: Replace failed Empire Zone program with Excelsior Program.
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Crime
Ed Rendell: Fund education well, and we can cut incarceration costs.
Dave Freudenthal: $50M for separate facilities for juveniles.
Sean Parnell: Fill public safety officer & trooper vacancies.
Joe Manchin III: Accelerated parole system for non-violent offenders.
Pat Quinn: Alternative sentencing for low-level non-violent offenders.
Pat Quinn: Sold unused state prison to federal prison agency.
Arnold Schwarzenegger: Allow private prisons to compete, to spend less on prisons.
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Drugs
Brad Henry: Invest in drug courts: put low-risk offenders on better path.
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Education
Dave Freudenthal: Base cuts on valuation of projects, & keep building schools.
Jim Gibbons: Empower local school boards and parents.
Jim Gibbons: End cookie-cutter approach & end union influence.
Brad Henry: Don't siphon resources from our classrooms.
Phil Bredesen: New reforms: student achievement to evaluate teacher.
Donald Carcieri: Strong advocate of expanding Charter Schools.
Gary Herbert: Continue to increase funding for public schools.
Sean Parnell: Performance Scholarship: fund tuition for good H.S. grades.
Mitch Daniels: Lift backward-looking limits on charter schools.
Joe Manchin III: $540 million in ongoing school construction.
Pat Quinn: Race to the Top: Invest in elementary & secondary education.
Sonny Perdue: Tie teacher pay to student achievement.
Jan Brewer: We lead in school choice: district, private, or charter.
Mark Parkinson: World-class public school system is investment in future.
Arnold Schwarzenegger: Until now, children were trapped in low-performing schools.
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Energy & Oil
Ed Rendell: 18% of retail electricity from clean and renewable resources.
Ed Rendell: Focus on win-win efforts: stem global warming & create jobs.
Dave Freudenthal: We have doubled the take-away capacity of natural gas.
Jim Gibbons: Build facilities to generate solar, wind & geothermal power.
Donald Carcieri: Make R.I. the leader in development of offshore wind power.
Gary Herbert: Develop natural gas resources while protecting local culture.
Gary Herbert: No importation of foreign nuclear waste into Utah.
Sean Parnell: Strike balance between ocean protection and oil production.
Sean Parnell: Outer Continental Shelf will create 35,000 jobs and $72B.
Bill Richardson: Green Jobs Cabinet: lead renewable energy export.
Mitch Daniels: Make IN a leader in electric vehicles & solar power industry.
Joe Manchin III: Stand up for our coal miners and their families.
Pat Quinn: $400M for IL as center of Midwestern high-speed rail network.
Pat Quinn: Invest in both clean coal and wind power.
Jan Brewer: Bring top solar manufacturers to Arizona with tax incentives.
Mark Parkinson: Bring wind farms and green jobs to Kansas.
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Environment
Dave Freudenthal: One year moratorium on eminent domain for wind power-lines.
Sean Parnell: Feds misuse ESA listings to delay resource development.
Pat Quinn: Leave no child inside.
Arnold Schwarzenegger: $11B for water bonds to invest in future water flow.
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Families & Children
Mitch Daniels: Nothing more contemptible than failing to pay child support.
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Free Trade
Bob McDonnell: Compete more vigorously to attract jobs from abroad.
Mark Parkinson: Export planes, energy, & wheat to China, India, & Brazil.
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Government Reform
Jim Gibbons: 6% salary reductions for all state workers.
Donald Carcieri: Reduce our reliance on government.
Mark Sanford: End unlimited and undisclosed campaign donations.
Mark Sanford: Change rules of governorship and state officers.
Bill Richardson: Whistleblower protections, & ban corporate donations.
Joe Manchin III: Public financing pilot for state Supreme Court races.
Pat Quinn: Limits on campaign contributions and much more disclosure.
Sonny Perdue: Make government more responsive, efficient, & value-driven.
David Paterson: Comprehensive ethics reform about what is legal and rampant.
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Health Care
Dave Freudenthal: Health reform is not creeping socialism; let's try a pilot.
Brad Henry: Insure Oklahoma program: coverage for many more Oklahomans.
Gary Herbert: Increase transparency, access, and choice.
Sean Parnell: Federal health care legislation diminishes our freedom.
Pat Quinn: Independent review of denial of care by insurance companies.
Pat Quinn: Allow women of color & low-income access to mammograms.
Sonny Perdue: $70M for moral obligation to serve those with disabilities.
Jan Brewer: We don't want federal help; sue to remain independent.
Mark Parkinson: Enact a real public smoking ban.
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Homeland Security
Dave Freudenthal: $1.9M for Military Assistance Trust Fund.
Donald Carcieri: Gratitude to armed forces for defending our freedoms.
Gary Herbert: Pay tribute to those answering the nation's call to serve.
Sean Parnell: Revenue bonds for Veteran's Housing Loan Program.
Pat Quinn: Supports the Illinois Military Family Relief Trust Fund.
Jan Brewer: Name Arizona as training site for F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.
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Immigration
Jan Brewer: Feds refuse to pay for costs of illegal immigration.
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Jobs
Tim Pawlenty: Jobs Creation Bill: R&D tax credit; 20% corporate tax cut.
Ed Rendell: Pass Work Sharing legislation: part-time unemployment.
Donald Carcieri: Americans' top priority: put people back to work.
Pat Quinn: I want to be the "Building Governor".
Jan Brewer: Governor's Jobs Cabinet: un-shackle job creators.
Arnold Schwarzenegger: $500M jobs package, plus $10K homebuyer tax credits.
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Local Issues
Deval Patrick: Saved $250M by abolishing the Turnpike Authority.
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Principles & Values
Bob McDonnell: Create a Commonwealth of Opportunity for all Virginians.
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Social Security
Dave Freudenthal: $48M for state retirement fund, but employees must pay more.
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Tax Reform
Tim Pawlenty: Get Minnesota out of the top ten states in taxes.
Ed Rendell: Eliminate 74 exemptions & reduce sales tax from 6% to 4%.
Jim Gibbons: No new taxes and no expansion of state government.
Donald Carcieri: Property tax increases can be avoided.
Gary Herbert: Don't stifle citizens & businesses with new tax burdens.
Sean Parnell: Suspend the state motor fuel tax since we have enough money.
Bill Richardson: Any tax increase must expire in 3 years or less.
Mitch Daniels: Raising taxes is the worst thing possible in a recession.
Bob McDonnell: I will veto any bill or budget which raises taxes.
Pat Quinn: Shift from property tax to taxing ability to pay.
Jan Brewer: Increase tax revenue now; pro-growth tax cuts later.
Mark Parkinson: Raise cigarette and sales tax to meet $400M budget gap.
Arnold Schwarzenegger: Our economy is 21st century & our tax system is 20th century.
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Technology
Brad Henry: Biotech and nanotech startups transform our lives.
Phil Bredesen: Memphis Research Consortium: life science research center.
Donald Carcieri: The new I-Way connects life-science academics with research.
Sean Parnell: $500M capital budget for 5-year infrastructure plan.
Pat Quinn: Ban texting while driving.
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Welfare & Poverty
Ed Rendell: Cut waste & fraud in welfare & food stamps.
Pat Quinn: Maintain human services even during the Great Recession.
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