Phil Fortunato
Republican | Washington
Candidate Profile*
Conservative
*Additional information appears below for educational purposes; however, only data received prior to the candidate deadline was considered during Panel Evaluation.
BIOGRAPHY
Name
Phil Fortunato
Party
Republican
Election Year
2022
Election
General
Race
State Senator, Dist. 31
Incumbent
Yes
Links
EDUCATION
Rutgurs U Cook College, New Brunswick, NJ, 76
WORK & MILITARY
Small business, Owner, 3
AFFILIATIONS
Knights of Columbus, Past GK & Former DD, Buckley & Wilkeson Eagles
POLITICAL OFFICES HELD
47th District State Rep, 99-00
31st District Senate, 2017-2023
POLITICAL OFFICES SOUGHT
31st District State Rep, 2014
Race
Previous Races
SCORECARDS
CONSERVATIVE ORGANIZATIONS
2021-2022
100%
2022
100%, 98% (cum.)â€
2020
83%, 75% (cum.)â€
2017
60%, 60% (cum.)â€
2021-2022
|100%
2022
|100%, 98% (cum.)â€
2020
|83%, 75% (cum.)â€
2017
|60%, 60% (cum.)â€
LIBERAL ORGANIZATIONS
2021
11%, 26% (cum.)â€
2020
0%, 4% (cum.)â€
2019
F
2021
|11%, 26% (cum.)â€
2020
|0%, 4% (cum.)â€
2019
|F
ENDORSEMENTS*
*These endorsements were received after the deadline and were not considered in the Panel Evaluations and are for additional educational purposes only.
CONSERVATIVE (7)
*National Rifle Association (NRA) PVF
National Federation of Independent Businesses (NFIB) Washington
Family Policy Institute of Washington Action
*Stand For Health Freedom
Senate Republican Campaign Committee
OTHER (8)
Association of Washington Business (AWB)
*Mainstream Republicans of Washington
Washington State Farm Bureau PAC
Associated General Contractors of Washington Build PAC
*Washington Hospitality Association
REPORTED BY CANDIDATE (1)
King & Pierce County Police Guilds, Human Life, Washington Arms Collectors, Many majors & city council members in the district
SELECTED CONTRIBUTIONS
CONSERVATIVE
GIVEN BY CANDIDATE (14)
Bill Boyce (2022)
Carmen Goers (2022)
Cathy McMorris Rodgers (2013)
Dino Rossi (2010)
Donald Trump (2019)
RECEIVED BY CANDIDATE (17)
Beth Daranciang (2022)
Brandon Beynon (2022)
Doug Basler (2022)
Gun Owners Action - Florida (2017)
Gun Owners Action League of Washington (2016)
LIBERAL
GIVEN BY CANDIDATE (0)
RECEIVED BY CANDIDATE (8)
American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees (2018)
International Association of Firefighters (includes national, state & local affiliates) (2018)
International Brotherhood of Teamsters (2017)
International Fire Chiefs Association (2022)
Retired Firefighters of Washington (2017)
OTHER INFORMATION
Key Votes from Vote Smart.
QUESTIONNAIRE
RIGHT TO LIFE
Under what circumstances should abortion be allowed?
Non Viable fetus which affects life of the Mother
Abortion providers, including Planned Parenthood, should not receive funds from federal, state, or local governments (including Title X grants).
Strongly Agree
I support 'aid in dying' laws which legalize assisted suicide and euthanasia.
Strongly Disagree
Voted against the bills in the legislature
ECONOMY
What changes, if any, should be made to the tax code?
Rather than "Tax the Rich" I prefer to reduce the taxes across the board the give a greater benefit to low income people. I sponsored legislation to exempt prepared food and clothes from sales tax, 87% benefit to low income. Sponsored multiple bills to lower or exempt seniors from property tax. Sponsored legislation the exempt parents that Home School and send their kids to private school from school levy portion of property tax. Proposed exempting all baby products for children under 5 from sales tax. Sponsored Legislation to dedicate the existing sales tax from Motor Vehicle sales to Road account.
What government spending would you reduce in order to balance the budget?
Eliminate all the funding for the endless list of commissions Sponsored legislation to give bonuses to state employees that find government waste
Taxpayer-funded public education should be guaranteed through college.
Strongly Disagree
This would increase the cost of college, since there would be no incentive to keep cost under control. We are already experiencing dramatic increases in tuition since the Obama administration took over college loans. Banks would not issue college loans for degrees that could not generate livelihoods that would allow for loan repayment. Taxpayers would be funding million college "degrees" in basket weaving.
RELIGIOUS LIBERTY
Individuals and businesses should be required to provide services even if it would violate their moral and/or religious beliefs.
Strongly Disagree
Voted against legislation that forces employers to provide abortion coverage.
Under what circumstances can government close churches?
Structural deficiency
HEALTHCARE
What most closely matches your view on healthcare: A) Healthcare for all should be guaranteed and funded by the government with no private healthcare option. (includes "universal healthcare," "medicare for all," etc.) B) Healthcare insurance funded by the government should be available for all who want it, along with private healthcare options. C) Medicaid and Medicare should remain available, but no other taxpayer-funded programs are necessary. D)Tax-payer funded health care should be abolished in all forms, and Medicaid and Medicare should be de-funded.
Medicaid and Medicare should remain available, but no other taxpayer-funded programs are necessary. While I agree they should be kept in place, they are in serious need of reform. My mother was checked into a hospital by my sister and diagnosed as dehydrated and malnourished. When I sister left, my mom pulled the IV out, called a taxi and went home. The Medicare bill was $6,600, that was 30 years ago and it still goes on today. The basic problem with medical insurance is that the person getting the service is not the person paying the bill. No one askes "How much?" they ask "is it covered?" I needed a medical procedure and asked how much if I paid cash. The cost ranged from $3,200 to $22,000. I ended up getting the procedure done by the same doctor I was going to use in the hospital in a private SugiCenter in the hospital building for $3,200. Over 80% of medical insurance claims are less than $300, doctor visits, prescriptions etc. You don’t buy car insurance to change your oil. You buy car insurance for a catastrophic event. Why do you expect your health insurance to pay for a $200 doctor visit? Before Obama Care messed things up Whole Foods (pre-Amazon buy out) gave each employee a $2,500 catastrophic medical plan and a $2,500 medical savings account. The employees had 100% coverage at a cost of less than $600/month. Much of the ridiculous costs are attributed to the cost of malpractice insurance. That is why in states that have medical tort reform are less expensive
Under what circumstances (if any) should a government, school, or employer be allowed to require vaccinations?
Extremally infectious disease with a vaccination that was tested and actually prevented the infection. Under the current conditions we have a virus that has a low chance of death (there have been 0 flu or pneumonia deaths since Covid) , can be passed vaccinated and unvaccinated people and does not prevent the transfer of the disease. People should not be fired because they chose not to be vaccinated.
NATIONAL SECURITY
What should the United States do to help eradicate the threat of Islamic terrorism?
First we need to secure the border. Much of the border focus is on Central American illegal immigration, but it is also an open door for terrorists. I have a grave concern with arming the Afghan Taliban with $80 billion in military hardware left by the Biden administration and the ability of them to now arm other terrorist organizations.
I support the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement to pressure Israel to withdraw from occupied territories, remove the separation barrier in the West Bank, allow full equality for Arab-Palestinian citizens of Israel, and promote the rights of Palestinian refugees.
Strongly Disagree
IMMIGRATION
The U.S. should do more to physically secure the southern border.
Strongly Agree
It is not only Central American illegal immigration with drugs and crime but potential terrorists coming into the country.
Who should be allowed to immigrate to the U.S. and under what circumstances?
In the past my Italian cousins needed to have a sponsor, a job offer and agree not to go on government assistance. We should encourage immigration but we want the best and brightest and not be accepting immigrants that are simply going to go on the welfare rolls.
EDUCATION
I support school choice, including voucher programs, tax credits, charter schools, private schools, and home schools.
Strongly Agree
I sponsored legislation that would allow parents of Homeschoolers or private schoolers to be exempt from school levies.
VALUES
Judeo-Christian values established a framework of morality which is necessary for our system of limited government.
Strongly Agree
I support adding gender identity as a specially protected class in non-discrimination laws.
Strongly Disagree
Marriage is a God-ordained, sacred and legal union of one man and one woman. No government has the authority to alter this definition
Strongly Agree
I agree with Critical Race Theory (CRT) which asserts that the institutions in the United States are fundamentally racist.
Strongly Disagree
Briefly describe your spiritual beliefs and values.
I take my faith very seriously and constantly struggle with political decisions. My wife and I say prayers every day with bible readings just to help to deal with this insane political climate. We are experiencing the effects of removing God from the classroom and the championing of abortion on our young people. What kind of evil is it that would cause a young person to gun down kids in a school. I can't help thinking that the lack of respect for human life with abortion and euthanasia has had an effect on them.
ELECTIONS AND VOTING
People should be able to vote without photo identification.
Strongly Disagree
What laws would you propose to change present voting practices?
I sponsored legislation that would require testing the registration system. Everyone wants to focus on counting the ballots but the real issue is illegal registrations that stuff the ballot box. I also drafted a "unique identifier" bill to use driver’s license number as your voter registration number. That number would follow you through the entire state no matter where you move. By tying it to the driver’s license number (if you didn't have a license the assigned number would become your driver’s license number) if you moved out of state and got a new license Washington would remove you from the voter rolls.
EQUALITY
Is racism a threat to domestic security in the United States? Why or why not?
Racism is a cancer in our society and the opposition is using it to divide and create a victimhood mentality in the minority communities while overlooking real racism. What do you say when someone (white) testifies that "climate change disproportionally affects people of color". When I asked how it affects people of color without affecting everyone else the answer was "people of color live near railroad tracks." You can say that lower income people live in less desirable areas, and that would make sense to me. How does race have anything to do with climate change? When I tried to amend the term Diversity, Equity and Inclusion to say Equality they objected.
Reparations should be given to people on the basis of race.
Strongly Disagree
ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT
Which comes closest to your view? A) Stricter environmental laws and regulations cost too many jobs and hurt the economy. B) Stricter environmental laws and regulations are worth the cost.
A) No one wants to pass a dirty nest on to their children. I am an environmental consultant and teach clean water act compliance. I see environmental laws that do nothing to benefit the environment and are really just social engineering and adding over $5000 to the cost of a house and everything else we buy. They have a war on plastic that increases the amount of plastic in the environment and increases costs. A war on fossil fuels, that are getting cleaner and cleaner to burn, while forcing people to electric cars that make us dependent on a single source of energy. Taking down the dams to save the salmon, even though only 2% of salmon runs are affected by the dams while predators account for 50-60%. Promoting costly wind (about 10 x what hydro costs) and solar (about 14 x cost of hydro) in the second worst state for solar, and dramatically impacting our agriculture.
I support the use of hydraulic fracking to extract oil and natural gas resources.
Strongly Agree
ABOUT YOU
What do you think is the general purpose of government?
Provide for transportation and infrastructure needed to promote commerce. Provide a social safety net for elderly and disabled people Provide for education, per our state constitution and protecting instead of infringing on individual rights
When you consider your views on a wide range of issues from economic and social matters to foreign policy and religious liberty, which of the following best describes you overall?
Very Conservative
Please provide publicly available information, including interviews and media reports, validating your answer to the previous question (other than your website).
Visit my Senator Phil Fortunato - Official Legislative Website https://philfortunato.src.wastateleg.org Fortunato Opening Prayer https://www.tvw.org/watch/? clientID=9375922947&eventID=2021041124&startStreamAt=140&stopStreamAt=205&autoStartStream=true Hosing afforablity https://tvw.org/video/the-impact-senate-panel-interview-on-housing-affordability-2022041017/ Housing affordability https://tvw.org/video/the-impact-senate-panel-interview-on-housing-affordability-2022041017/
Have you ever been convicted of a felony or been penalized in either civil or criminal court for sexual misconduct? If so, please explain.
No
What else would you like voters to know about you, including your legislative priorities?
My philosophy is simple less government is better that more government. My goal is to reduce taxes and regulations Protect your individual rights
CRIMINAL JUSTICE & PUBLIC SAFETY
Police officers should be personally immune from prosecution for conduct consistent with departmental policy (qualified immunity) while on duty.
Strongly Agree
I support redirecting funds from police departments to mental health and community programs.
Strongly Disagree
2ND AMENDMENT
What restrictions on gun ownership are needed to protect public safety?
No additional restrictions on law abiding citizens - some restrictions should be repealed. Many of the current laws, especially the Magazine ban that passed, are symbolism over substance and turn law abiding citizens into criminals. Felons who commit crimes with a gun should never be able to get their gun rights back.
Victims of gun violence should be able to sue firearms dealers and manufacturers.
Strongly Disagree
This is the same thing as saying we should be able to sue car manufacturers for drunk divers killing people.
