Mark Pinsley
Democrat | Pennsylvania
Candidate Profile*
Far Left
*Additional information appears below for educational purposes; however, only data received prior to the candidate deadline was considered during Panel Evaluation.
BIOGRAPHY
Name
Mark Pinsley
Party
Democrat
Election Year
2022
Election
General
Race
State Senate, Dist. 16
Incumbent
No
Links
EDUCATION
Northeastern University, Boston, MA, Bachelor's, 1995
Indiana University, Kelly School of Business, Bloomington, IN, Master's, 2003
Jewish Theological Seminary of America, New York, NY, Certificate, 2022
WORK & MILITARY
Army Reserves, Corporal, 6
AFFILIATIONS
Keneseth Israel, Boardmember, Jewish Family Services
Boardmember, Lehigh Valley Zoo, Marketing Committee Member
Unite for America, Co-Founder, South Whitehall Green Advisory Council
POLITICAL OFFICES HELD
Lehigh County Controller, 2
South Whitehall Township Commissioner, 2
POLITICAL OFFICES SOUGHT
PA State Senator
Race
Previous Races
ENDORSEMENTS*
*These endorsements were received after the deadline and were not considered in the Panel Evaluations and are for additional educational purposes only.
LIBERAL (18)
National Organization for Women (NOW) PAC
VoteVets.org
*Pennsylvania AFL-CIO
*SEIU Pennsylvania State Council
*Pennsylvania Working Families
OTHER (5)
*Humane PA
*SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania
Vote Vets
*Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses and Allied Professionals (PASNAP)
Teens 4 Change
REPORTED BY CANDIDATE (10)
Planned Parenthood
VoteProChoice
National Organization for Women
United Rural Democrats
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers
SELECTED CONTRIBUTIONS
LIBERAL
GIVEN BY CANDIDATE (11)
Democratic National Committee (2018)
Elizabeth Warren (2020)
Emily Deborah Kinkead (2020)
Jason Ruff (2020)
Local, County, and District Democratic Organizations (2019)
RECEIVED BY CANDIDATE (22)
Alan Benyak (2018)
Center for Freethought Equality (2022)
Daylin Leach (2021)
Emgage (2019)
Fairness PA (2018)
OTHER INFORMATION
QUESTIONNAIRE
RIGHT TO LIFE
Under what circumstances should abortion be allowed?
The life of the mother should always be valued and abortion should be provided under any circumstance where it saves the mother's life, as outlined in the Talmud. I also agree with the Roe v. Decision to allow abortion before viability.
Abortion providers, including Planned Parenthood, should not receive funds from federal, state, or local governments (including Title X grants).
Disagree
I support 'aid in dying' laws which legalize assisted suicide and euthanasia.
Strongly Agree
ECONOMY
What changes, if any, should be made to the tax code?
I would remove the 30 words in the PA Constitution that force a flat income tax and replace it with a progressive tax that enforces people to pay their fair share. I would also get rid of the Delaware Loophole, which allows large companies to sneakily move their profits away from Pennsylvania to avoid taxes. I would change the funding of schools away from property taxes to make it fair and equitable.
What government spending would you reduce in order to balance the budget?
There is a huge amount of waste in government healthcare spending. We could easily reduce the costs while providing the exact same services. Recently, I found $3M of waste in the $7M prescription drug budget for Lehigh County. That should be applied at the state level.
Taxpayer-funded public education should be guaranteed through college.
Strongly Agree
For college, public funding should go to community colleges, not private institutions.
RELIGIOUS LIBERTY
Individuals and businesses should be required to provide services even if it would violate their moral and/or religious beliefs.
Agree
Individuals should be able to make whatever business decisions they desire. The larger the business, from individuals up, the more services they should have to provide regardless of religious beliefs.
Under what circumstances can government close churches?
If ever the church is a physical danger to the community, it should be able to be closed. As an example, if there is a bomb scare in the church, it should be closed.
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.
B
Under what circumstances (if any) should a government, school, or employer be allowed to require vaccinations?
If there is a severe health threat to the community that vaccinations would protect against, these institutions should be allowed to require vaccinations. Private employers, as private entities, should be allowed to make any vaccination requirement they desire.
NATIONAL SECURITY
What should the United States do to help eradicate the threat of Islamic terrorism?
The State Senate has no impact on this issue. This is purely a federal issue.
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
The State Senate has no impact on this issue. This is purely a federal issue.
IMMIGRATION
The U.S. should do more to physically secure the southern border.
Choose not to answer
The State Senate has no impact on this issue. This is purely a federal issue.
Who should be allowed to immigrate to the U.S. and under what circumstances?
The State Senate has no impact on this issue. This is purely a federal issue.
EDUCATION
I support school choice, including voucher programs, tax credits, charter schools, private schools, and home schools.
Strongly Disagree
VALUES
Judeo-Christian values established a framework of morality which is necessary for our system of limited government.
Neutral
I support adding gender identity as a specially protected class in non-discrimination laws.
Agree
I'm for protecting anyone from discrimination, including the poor as the Warren Republican Supreme Court tried to do years ago.
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 Disagree
I agree with Critical Race Theory (CRT) which asserts that the institutions in the United States are fundamentally racist.
Disagree
Briefly describe your spiritual beliefs and values.
To characterize my beliefs, I'll quote the famous Rabbi Hillel. When challenged on how to describe the whole of the Torah with only the time that he could stand on one foot, he said, quoting Leviticus, “'Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.' That which is hateful unto you, do not do to your neighbor. This is the whole of the Torah; the rest is commentary."
ELECTIONS AND VOTING
People should be able to vote without photo identification.
Agree
I'm not against some form of voter identification, but it should be easy enough to obtain.
What laws would you propose to change present voting practices?
I would make it easy to vote and hard to cheat. Pennsylvania currently allows for mail-in voting with ballot drop boxes. I agree with this policy. I would increase the early voting timeframe, make election day a holiday, require signature verification for voting, accurately cleanse the voter roles every year, and implement some form of voter identification.
EQUALITY
Is racism a threat to domestic security in the United States? Why or why not?
Yes. There is domestic terrorism in the United States coming from racist zealots. Racists are shooting people over their bigotry. Racism is clearly a threat to our security.
Reparations should be given to people on the basis of race.
Disagree
Reparations should be given to anyone that the government has wronged, whether that is race, religion, stereotypes, etc.
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.
B. Stricter environmental laws are better for the economy and for our national security. They will bring jobs, not lose them.
I support the use of hydraulic fracking to extract oil and natural gas resources.
Agree
The long-term goal should be to move towards renewable energy sources.
ABOUT YOU
What do you think is the general purpose of government?
To protect life, liberty, property, and the pursuit of happiness.
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?
Liberal
Please provide publicly available information, including interviews and media reports, validating your answer to the previous question (other than your website).
https://www.wfmz.com/news/area/lehighvalley/lehigh-county-aiming-to-save-3-million-a-year-in-health-care-costs/article_2cb25b86-32b0-11ec-b9f2-4bd96f0f0f97.html
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?
Democracy is my #1 issue. It's important that we make it easy to vote and hard to cheat. Our elections are sacred. Democracy is sacred. We must protect it. I believe that democracy is hanging on by a thread and that America is becoming dangerously polarized. All sides of the political spectrum have decided to become angry and fight with each other. We've lost our communities over it. We must rebuild. At the end of the day, we all want the same things. We want the American Dream. We want to protect our families. We want a good future. We've become a nation that has no direction. We keep looking back. I want to make progress. We talk about CRT, yet that is about what we don't want. It's not about how we want a better education system. The debate over marriage equality is about what some people don't want, not how we want support for our loving families. Our goal should be to build a more perfect union. A part of that is finding the goals that we can reach as a society.
CRIMINAL JUSTICE & PUBLIC SAFETY
Police officers should be personally immune from prosecution for conduct consistent with departmental policy (qualified immunity) while on duty.
Agree
So long as the departmental policy is just, then qualified immunity is just.
I support redirecting funds from police departments to mental health and community programs.
Disagree
I do believe that mental health and community programs need to be invested in, but that money should not be taken from police departments.
2ND AMENDMENT
What restrictions on gun ownership are needed to protect public safety?
When I was in the Army, they didn't just give you an M-16. I had to go through weeks of focused training to be even allowed to hold a gun on my own. Even then, the Army highly regulated what I could do with my firearm. So, I do not believe you should be able to buy a weapon of war. Background checks, training, and waiting periods are also reasonable.
Victims of gun violence should be able to sue firearms dealers and manufacturers.
Agree
