Andrew Pilloud
Republican | Washington
Candidate Profile
Leans Conservative
BIOGRAPHY
Name
Andrew Pilloud
Party
Republican
Election Year
2022
Election
General
Race
State Rep., Dist. 34 - Pos. 2
Incumbent
No
Links
EDUCATION
Washington State University, Pullman, BS Computer Engineering, 2011
WORK & MILITARY
Google, Senior Software Engineer, 2018-Present
Igneous Systems, Member of Technical Staff, 2014-2018
EMC Isilon, Senior Software Engineer, 2010-2014
NASA, Intern, 2009-2010
AFFILIATIONS
FIRST Washington, Volunteer, Washington State University
Volunteer
POLITICAL OFFICES HELD
(Candidate did not provide)
POLITICAL OFFICES SOUGHT
Port Commissioner, 2013
State Representative, 2016
Race
ENDORSEMENTS
CONSERVATIVE (1)
Family Policy Institute of Washington Action
SELECTED CONTRIBUTIONS
CONSERVATIVE
GIVEN BY CANDIDATE (11)
Ann Davison Sattler (2021)
Bill Stinson (WA) (2014)
Darla Green (2017)
Doug Basler (2022)
Erin Smith Aboudara (2016)
RECEIVED BY CANDIDATE (4)
Gun Owners Action League of Washington (2016)
Local, County, and District Republican Organizations (2022)
Pamela Pollock (2013)
Sarina Forbes (2013)
OTHER INFORMATION
QUESTIONNAIRE
RIGHT TO LIFE
Under what circumstances should abortion be allowed?
I believe life begins at conception and an unborn child has a right to life. I believe one's rights end where another's begin and a mother has the right to bodily autonomy. A blanket ban on abortion infringes on the mother's rights, instead I would ask when abortion should not be allowed. I believe abortion should generally be prohibited after the child is potentially able to live outside the mother's womb, albeit with artificial aid. This was the standard in Roe v. Wade. Washington actually permits abortions much later in the pregnancy, at a point where the baby could survive on its own.
Abortion providers, including Planned Parenthood, should not receive funds from federal, state, or local governments (including Title X grants).
Agree
I support 'aid in dying' laws which legalize assisted suicide and euthanasia.
Agree
ECONOMY
What changes, if any, should be made to the tax code?
Washington's tax code is unique, for most consumers there is Sales Tax and Property Tax. There are concerns about the fairness of our current tax code, but I don't believe that is corrected with an income tax and I oppose income taxes for individuals. I would vote to repeal the capital gains tax recently passed. Washington also has the Business and Occupation tax (B&O) tax, a revenue tax on businesses. This tax has significant carve outs for large businesses and many of our largest businesses are able to work around it with complex business structures to move their revenue out of the state for tax purposes. In effect this is a tax on small business and it could use reform.
What government spending would you reduce in order to balance the budget?
Our state budget is balanced as required by law. There are only a few things our state government must fund: Education, Reformatory and penal institutions, Institutions for disabled youth, mentally ill or developmentally disabled, Courts, Elections, Board of Health and Vital Statistics, Department of Agriculture, Reserve fund. Outside of these mandatory items most of our State budget is consumed by social programs. These are popular programs but they will require changes to fully fund the mandatory programs. This doesn't mean elimination of services. For example a number of programs address homelessness, a problem that would be significantly reduced if we were instead funding for programs to care for the mentally ill and developmentally disabled. We can reduce spending overall by addressing causes rather than symptoms. The federal deficit is a backdoor tax on those holding US dollars that shows up as inflation. As long as the dollar is the world's primary reserve currency this allows us to tax the world to pay for our spending. Unfortunately inflation is now out of control, our federal representatives need to address this.
Taxpayer-funded public education should be guaranteed through college.
Disagree
I don't believe college is the answer for all students and I don't think the traditional college experience should be taxpayer funded. We should explore options including community college, apprenticeships and trade schools to make sure every student has the opportunity to succeed in our increasingly knowledge driven economy.
RELIGIOUS LIBERTY
Individuals and businesses should be required to provide services even if it would violate their moral and/or religious beliefs.
Disagree
I believe those engaged in business have a right to choose who they do business with. There are times when a businesses moral or religious beliefs might become discrimination, I draw the line at stocked goods vs custom services. For example, a florist should not be able to discriminate in the sales of goods, they must sell flowers they stock to a gay couple, but may apply discretion with services, they don't have to make a custom gay pride arrangement.
Under what circumstances can government close churches?
I don't believe a blanket closure targeting churches is ever appropriate, this is protected under the First Amendment. There are cases where government can close a church without targeting the church, closing an unsafe building for example. I also believe governments have significant emergency authority around emergencies, such as the ability to order evacuations or shelter in place. I believe our government exceeded its authority when selectively targeting Covid mandates and that the state legislature should have more involvement in extended emergencies.
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.
Our current employment based healthcare system is broken. This is a problem created by the federal tax code. I don't believe a government option is the solution. I think there is significant value to society in keeping Medicaid, access to routine medical care reduces the load on emergency services.
Under what circumstances (if any) should a government, school, or employer be allowed to require vaccinations?
I face a vaccine mandate at work and am currently locked out of the office as a result of my unwillingness to disclose my vaccination records. However, I believe employers have the right to require fully authorized vaccines as a condition of employment. Employers should be liable for adverse affects resulting from their mandates and should be prohibited from unreasonable or discriminatory mandates. Governments, schools, and other institutions receiving public funding should have stricter standards, including the requirement for accommodations on the basis of strongly held personal beliefs.
NATIONAL SECURITY
What should the United States do to help eradicate the threat of Islamic terrorism?
Did not answer
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.
Choose not to answer
IMMIGRATION
The U.S. should do more to physically secure the southern border.
Choose not to answer
Who should be allowed to immigrate to the U.S. and under what circumstances?
Did not answer
EDUCATION
I support school choice, including voucher programs, tax credits, charter schools, private schools, and home schools.
Strongly Agree
One size fits all education is failing our students. Education dollars should follow the student, even if they don't attend traditional public schools.
VALUES
Judeo-Christian values established a framework of morality which is necessary for our system of limited government.
Agree
Our government requires those involved to have a system of morality for it to succeed, but not exclusively Judeo-Christian values. The first amendment prohibits the establishment of a state religion but does not prohibit religious values from shaping our nation.
I support adding gender identity as a specially protected class in non-discrimination laws.
Disagree
There are cases where we treat men and women differently on the basis of biological differences. Activists are calling for us to ignore those differences and treat them consistent with their identity even when that has a negative impact on cisgender men and women. We should not expand protections to redefine gender but there are cases where trans individuals experience discrimination not based in biology, we should address that.
Marriage is a God-ordained, sacred and legal union of one man and one woman. No government has the authority to alter this definition
Disagree
Marriage is both a legal construct and a God-ordained, sacred union. They are separate concepts with the same name.
I agree with Critical Race Theory (CRT) which asserts that the institutions in the United States are fundamentally racist.
Strongly Disagree
It is important to educate our children on racism and eradicate it from institutions but it is inaccurate to describe all white people as oppressors or describe our institutions as racist. Many racists now claim they are "antiracist", reverse racism is still racism.
Briefly describe your spiritual beliefs and values.
I believe in Jesus.
ELECTIONS AND VOTING
People should be able to vote without photo identification.
Neutral
There needs to be some safeguard to verify identity, photo identification is only one option.
What laws would you propose to change present voting practices?
Voter registrations never expire. I would propose reinstating the requirement that a voter must periodically vote to maintain the active status of their voter registration. Voters in inactive status would need to request a ballot. This would significantly reduce crime of opportunity posed by indiscriminately mailing ballots for people who have long since moved. We should also work with other states to ensure a voter is not registered in multiple states.
EQUALITY
Is racism a threat to domestic security in the United States? Why or why not?
Did not answer
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.
Climate change is real. Choose nuclear power and technology to save our planet instead of carbon taxes that raise the price of gas and groceries.
I support the use of hydraulic fracking to extract oil and natural gas resources.
Agree
We need energy independence.
ABOUT YOU
What do you think is the general purpose of government?
I want a government that respects individuals and the community.
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?
Conservative
Please provide publicly available information, including interviews and media reports, validating your answer to the previous question (other than your website).
Did not answer
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?
Did not answer
CRIMINAL JUSTICE & PUBLIC SAFETY
Police officers should be personally immune from prosecution for conduct consistent with departmental policy (qualified immunity) while on duty.
Agree
My sister is a deputy, I've heard stories about the difficulty of the job and we should protect our officers while performing their duty. However I think there should be exceptions, the police should not be immune from reckless or unreasonable behavior even if they were following policy.
I support redirecting funds from police departments to mental health and community programs.
Disagree
Our police departments are already underfunded.
2ND AMENDMENT
What restrictions on gun ownership are needed to protect public safety?
The second amendment protects the right to revolution. There should not be restrictions on ownership including type of gun, magazine capacity, or functionality. Individuals should be able to purchase weapons of war. There should be reasonable protections to limit criminal access to guns. This could include background checks, requiring unattended firearms be secured from theft, and a mechanism to temporarily suspend rights for those who are a threat to others. I don't believe owning a firearm should be significantly more difficult than voting.
Victims of gun violence should be able to sue firearms dealers and manufacturers.
Disagree
