Michael Bagdes-Canning
Green | Pennsylvania
Candidate Profile
Liberal
BIOGRAPHY
Name
Michael Bagdes-Canning
Party
Green
Election Year
2016
Election
General
Race
State Rep., Dist. 64
Incumbent
No
Links
EDUCATION
Slippery Rock University of PA, Slippery Rock, BS, 1978
Clarion University of PA, Clarion, MS, 2003
WORK & MILITARY
Wilkes County Board of Education, Interrelated Resource Teacher, 3
Grove City Area School District, Reading Specialist, 29
AFFILIATIONS
Wilkes Association of Educators, President, Grove City Area Education Association
Vice President, Building Representative, Beyond Extreme Energy, member
Marcellus Outreach Butler, Planning Group / Community Organizer, Green Party of Pennsylvania
member, World Wide Marriage Encounter, Presenting Team (with Karen)
Direct Support Fund Mountain Watershed Association, Grant Committee member, Edgy Elders
POLITICAL OFFICES HELD
Vice President, Cherry Valley Borough, 1989-present
POLITICAL OFFICES SOUGHT
Butler County Commissioner, 2015
Race
Previous Races
ENDORSEMENTS
LIBERAL (1)
Keystone Progress PAC
REPORTED BY CANDIDATE (2)
Green Party of Pennsylvania
Keystone Progress PAC
OTHER INFORMATION
QUESTIONNAIRE
OTHER IMPORTANT ISSUES
Congress should repeal the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare).
Neutral
Congress should repeal the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare).
Neutral
Election of judges by the people for a definite term of office is the best way to select judges.
Strongly Disagree
Election of judges by the people for a definite term of office is the best way to select judges.
Strongly Disagree
More restrictive gun control laws are needed to protect public safety.
Neutral
More restrictive gun control laws are needed to protect public safety.
Neutral
Government should enforce laws designed to protect the border and to prevent illegal entry into the country.
Strongly Disagree
Government should enforce laws designed to protect the border and to prevent illegal entry into the country.
Strongly Disagree
People should be able to vote without photo identification.
Strongly Agree
People should be able to vote without photo identification.
Strongly Agree
Religious liberty is at risk in the United States.
Agree
Religious liberty is at risk in the United States.
Agree
Human life begins at conception and deserves legal protection at every stage until natural death.
Strongly Agree
Human life begins at conception and deserves legal protection at every stage until natural death.
Strongly Agree
Free enterprise and the right to private property turn mankind's natural self-interest into the most productive economic system there is.
Strongly Disagree
Free enterprise and the right to private property turn mankind's natural self-interest into the most productive economic system there is.
Strongly Disagree
There should be a strict constitutional spending limit for state and local governments that would tie the rate of spending to the rate of population growth plus the rate of inflation.
Strongly Disagree
There should be a strict constitutional spending limit for state and local governments that would tie the rate of spending to the rate of population growth plus the rate of inflation.
Strongly Disagree
Marijuana should be legalized and regulated like tobacco and alcohol.
Strongly Agree
Marijuana should be legalized and regulated like tobacco and alcohol.
Strongly Agree
Judeo-Christian values established a framework of morality which permitted our system of limited government.
Agree
Judeo-Christian values established a framework of morality which permitted our system of limited government.
Agree
The founders established pure democracy in the Constitution because they believed that it is the best form of government to ensure the safety and equitable treatment of all citizens.
Strongly Disagree
The founders established pure democracy in the Constitution because they believed that it is the best form of government to ensure the safety and equitable treatment of all citizens.
Strongly Disagree
Free-market competition for education dollars, rather than a government monopoly, would create a better education for all students.
Strongly Disagree
Free-market competition for education dollars, rather than a government monopoly, would create a better education for all students.
Strongly Disagree
Where minor children are involved, divorce laws should be reformed to include mutual consent of both parents and an increased waiting period, unless there is fault or abuse.
Disagree
Where minor children are involved, divorce laws should be reformed to include mutual consent of both parents and an increased waiting period, unless there is fault or abuse.
Disagree
The Ten Commandments should not be displayed in public school buildings.
Agree
The Ten Commandments should not be displayed in public school buildings.
Agree
Business owners should be required by law to bake cakes, provide flower arrangements, etc., for same-sex weddings, even when these activities would infringe on their sincerely-held religious beliefs.
Agree
Business owners should be required by law to bake cakes, provide flower arrangements, etc., for same-sex weddings, even when these activities would infringe on their sincerely-held religious beliefs.
Agree
Our state should participate in the nationwide Common Core standards for high-school graduation.
Strongly Disagree
Our state should participate in the nationwide Common Core standards for high-school graduation.
Strongly Disagree
Physician-assisted suicide should be legal.
Disagree
Physician-assisted suicide should be legal.
Disagree
The more people live by Judeo-Christian values, the less government is needed.
Disagree
The more people live by Judeo-Christian values, the less government is needed.
Disagree
Islamic law (Sharia) does not pose a threat to the United States and its Constitution.
Strongly Agree
Islamic law (Sharia) does not pose a threat to the United States and its Constitution.
Strongly Agree
Governments should define marriage as between one man and one woman; no other definition of marriage should be legalized or supported with public funds.
Strongly Disagree
Governments should define marriage as between one man and one woman; no other definition of marriage should be legalized or supported with public funds.
Strongly Disagree
It is the government’s responsibility to be sure everyone has health care and a livable income.
Strongly Agree
It is the government’s responsibility to be sure everyone has health care and a livable income.
Strongly Agree
Planned Parenthood should not receive funds from federal, state, or local governments.
Strongly Disagree
Planned Parenthood should not receive funds from federal, state, or local governments.
Strongly Disagree
What in the nature of mankind caused America’s Founders to carefully define, separate, and limit powers in the Constitution?
We see the nature the founders feared in politics today. The rich and powerful have subverted our democracy to favor themselves. Too often, the "golden rule" is applied. He who has the gold, rules.
What in the nature of mankind caused America’s Founders to carefully define, separate, and limit powers in the Constitution?
We see the nature the founders feared in politics today. The rich and powerful have subverted our democracy to favor themselves. Too often, the "golden rule" is applied. He who has the gold, rules.
Based on the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution, please arrange the following entities, starting with the highest source of authority, and continue the list in descending order of authority, skipping any that do not apply: Academia, Congress, Constitution, God, Industry, Media, Professional Sports, Supreme Court, Voters.
I didn't get this survey until the day before it was due. This is not something I've thought about and choose not to try to answer. I will say that there are several entities that should have no authority.
Based on the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution, please arrange the following entities, starting with the highest source of authority, and continue the list in descending order of authority, skipping any that do not apply: Academia, Congress, Constitution, God, Industry, Media, Professional Sports, Supreme Court, Voters.
I didn't get this survey until the day before it was due. This is not something I've thought about and choose not to try to answer. I will say that there are several entities that should have no authority.
Under what circumstances should abortion be allowed?
I am radically prolife. To me protecting life is paramount. I don't believe that abortion should be the birth control measure of choice. I also believe that feeding and adequate healthcare for children are social imperatives, that clean water, air, and soil are, too. I believe that protecting God's creation - including the climate - are moral decisions that should be addressed if we are to call ourselves "pro-life." If we protect the unborn only to introduce them to a planet so degraded that it cannot adequately support life, are we pro-life? If we protect the unborn here but support Saudi Arabia's bombing in Yemen are we really protecting the unborn - or just our unborn? Is it really true that we only care about protecting gestating babies living in Pennsylvania but not birthed babies living everywhere? That being said, the Supreme Court of the United States has said that abortion is legal. As a State Representative, I can't change that (and don't want to).
Under what circumstances should abortion be allowed?
I am radically prolife. To me protecting life is paramount. I don't believe that abortion should be the birth control measure of choice. I also believe that feeding and adequate healthcare for children are social imperatives, that clean water, air, and soil are, too. I believe that protecting God's creation - including the climate - are moral decisions that should be addressed if we are to call ourselves "pro-life." If we protect the unborn only to introduce them to a planet so degraded that it cannot adequately support life, are we pro-life? If we protect the unborn here but support Saudi Arabia's bombing in Yemen are we really protecting the unborn - or just our unborn? Is it really true that we only care about protecting gestating babies living in Pennsylvania but not birthed babies living everywhere? That being said, the Supreme Court of the United States has said that abortion is legal. As a State Representative, I can't change that (and don't want to).
Briefly describe your spiritual beliefs and values.
I'll use two quotes: The first, from Jesus: "'Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with thy whole mind.' This is the greatest and the first commandment. And the second is like it, 'Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.' On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets." The second, from Wendell Berry: "I am speaking of the life of a man who knows that the world is not given by his fathers, but borrowed from his children; who has undertaken to cherish it and do it no damage, not because he is duty-bound, but because he loves the world and loves his children."
Briefly describe your spiritual beliefs and values.
I'll use two quotes: The first, from Jesus: "'Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with thy whole mind.' This is the greatest and the first commandment. And the second is like it, 'Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.' On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets." The second, from Wendell Berry: "I am speaking of the life of a man who knows that the world is not given by his fathers, but borrowed from his children; who has undertaken to cherish it and do it no damage, not because he is duty-bound, but because he loves the world and loves his children."
Considering all issues (social, economic, national security, etc.), which of these best describes you?
No Answer
Considering all issues (social, economic, national security, etc.), which of these best describes you?
No Answer
Please defend your answer to the previous question by referencing your publicly available track record.
None of these answers adequately describe who I am. I am both radically conservative and radically liberal, rarely moderate.
Please defend your answer to the previous question by referencing your publicly available track record.
None of these answers adequately describe who I am. I am both radically conservative and radically liberal, rarely moderate.
E-mail address and phone number for voters to reach you.
mike4pa64@gmail.com
E-mail address and phone number for voters to reach you.
mike4pa64@gmail.com
Additional comment from candidate:
Our politics are as broken as our communities, are broken because our communities are broken. There is a general distrust of government but we don't hold government accountable for its shortcomings. We may, out of habit or a sense of obligation, participate in civic functions. We may vote or testify. We may attempt to use the mechanisms of government to protect our communities but, even here, we are easily discouraged. And rightfully so. The game has been rigged. We pride ourselves on being a plucky people, "the land of the free and the home of the brave," and, yet, when toxic invaders come calling, we, too often, play their game - we resort to the following the rules they have set up. We defer to the experts, to the state, to the scientists. When neighbors report harm, we don't come to their aid; we may even doubt them, assume that they are merely trying to game the system. We need to re-engage with our neighbors, our communities, build a grassroots democracy.
Additional comment from candidate:
Our politics are as broken as our communities, are broken because our communities are broken. There is a general distrust of government but we don't hold government accountable for its shortcomings. We may, out of habit or a sense of obligation, participate in civic functions. We may vote or testify. We may attempt to use the mechanisms of government to protect our communities but, even here, we are easily discouraged. And rightfully so. The game has been rigged. We pride ourselves on being a plucky people, "the land of the free and the home of the brave," and, yet, when toxic invaders come calling, we, too often, play their game - we resort to the following the rules they have set up. We defer to the experts, to the state, to the scientists. When neighbors report harm, we don't come to their aid; we may even doubt them, assume that they are merely trying to game the system. We need to re-engage with our neighbors, our communities, build a grassroots democracy.
