John Anthony LaPietra
Green | Michigan
Candidate Profile
Liberal (Conditional)
BIOGRAPHY
Name
John Anthony LaPietra
Party
Green
Election Year
2020
Election
General
Race
State Rep., Dist. 63
Incumbent
No
Links
EDUCATION
Thomas M. Cooley Law School, Lansing, MI, J.D., 2008
Macalester College, Saint Paul, MN, B.A., 1978
WORK & MILITARY
facebook.com/jalp4thePeople/posts/3546163208768680
AFFILIATIONS
Voices of Peace, member; currently treasurer, PEACEWAYS
member; treasurer and legal consultant, Marshall Peace Council, member
Food Bank of South Central Michigan, donor; sometime staff member, Marshall Civic Center Trust
member; donor, Marshall Community Foundation, donor; member of scholarship-fund committee
Michigan Focus On Reforming Elections (M-FORE), county leader/Calhoun Alliance to Reform Elections, Michigan Citizen Action
POLITICAL OFFICES HELD
(Candidate did not provide)
POLITICAL OFFICES SOUGHT
statewide (Secretary of State, Attorney General), 2010, 2014
County Clerk, 2008, 2012
Race
Previous Races
OTHER INFORMATION
QUESTIONNAIRE
RIGHT TO LIFE
Human life begins at conception and deserves legal protection at every stage until natural death.
Strongly Disagree
Abortion providers, including Planned Parenthood, should not receive taxpayer funds or grants from federal, state, or local governments.
Strongly Disagree
I support the Born Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, which requires health care providers to provide life-saving treatment for infants who survive an attempted abortion.
Strongly Disagree
Under what circumstances should abortion be allowed?
When the one who would get the operation makes the decision, yes or no – after consulting medical advisors about her situation as she wishes, and talking with any others with whom she wants to discuss the situation. Nobody she does not consult can know how difficult her decision was, or what factors determined that decision. Her individual religious beliefs and practices may be involved – and so *they* must be respected.
ECONOMY
It is the government’s responsibility to ensure everyone has a livable income.
Agree
Free enterprise and the right to private property are essential elements of a productive economic system.
Disagree
What government spending would you reduce in order to balance the budget?
Michigan's state government must already balance its budget each year. I would support establishment of a state bank to better use the funds available to invest (in one sense or another) in our people and our communities. The Federal government does not need to balance its budget. However, I would support major cuts in military spending, and tax breaks for corporate and individual fat cats.
RELIGIOUS LIBERTY
Governments should not discriminate against individuals, organizations or small businesses because of their belief that marriage is only a union of one man and one woman.
Strongly Disagree
Governments should define marriage as between one man and one woman; no other definition of marriage should be legalized or supported with taxpayer or public funds.
Strongly Disagree
Religious liberty is at risk in the United States and deserves the highest level of protection in the law.
Agree
I promise to protect the freedom of Christians to share the Gospel and to practice Biblical principles.
Yes
What does "separation of church and state" mean to you?
Not putting the power of the government on the side of one set of religious beliefs (or disbeliefs or doubts) against another set. Rather, the government should be a neutral arbiter, and protect the rights of everyone as best it can when those sets of rights come into conflict – especially when those with power in a situation threaten the rights of the powerless.
HEALTHCARE
It is the government’s responsibility to ensure everyone has health insurance.
No Answer
How would you promote healthcare coverage that is adequate, affordable and accessible for all?
I will work for a universal single-payer system, designed for people in the US but learning from the successes and problems of similar systems in many other countries (and parts of our own society). We will need to co-ordinate that system with the health-care portions of programs we already have – like the VA and Workers' Compensation. Single-payer systems have lower administrative overhead costs, and they don't need to pay out excessive executive salaries – or profits to health-insurance, pharmaceutical, and other medical corporations. For less than the high amount we pay now for incomplete INsurance of "access" to health care, we will have plenty of funding to ENsure comprehensive quality health care for everyone in the US.
NATIONAL SECURITY
The best way to maintain peace is through a strong military.
Strongly Disagree
IMMIGRATION
I am in favor of construction of a wall and other necessary infrastructure on our border that gives complete control over entering and exiting the United States.
Strongly Disagree
State and federal funds should be denied to any public or private entity, including but not limited to sanctuary cities, that are not in compliance with immigration laws.
Strongly Disagree
Who should be allowed to immigrate to the U.S. and under what circumstances?
I am reluctant to impose too many hard-and-fast rules; circumstances are too diverse, often unique.
EDUCATION
Taxpayer-funded public education should be guaranteed through college.
Strongly Agree
VALUES
Judeo-Christian values established a framework of morality which is necessary for our system of limited government.
Disagree
I support adding sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression as protected classes in non-discrimination laws.
Strongly Agree
Briefly describe your spiritual beliefs and values.
The Golden Rule has analogs in many of the world's religions, and is honored by atheists and agnostics as well. I would take that as one starting point . . . with the caution that others may not always want us to do unto them just as we would have them do unto us; their preferences may be different. So I would add a dollop of Respect for Diversity – one of the Ten Key Values of the Green Party. Next, I would add wisdom from two Old Testament prophets: Woe to those enacting crooked statutes and writing oppressive laws to keep the poor from getting a fair trial and to deprive the needy among my people of justice, so that widows can be their spoil and they can plunder the fatherless. – Isaiah 10:1-2 What does the LORD require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? – Micah 6:8 And although it is too long to quote here, I am also a strong believer in what is called (unhistorically) the Prayer of Saint Francis.
ABOUT YOU
When you consider your views on a wide range of issues from economic and social matters to foreign policy and immigration, which of the following best describes you overall?
No Answer
Please provide publicly available information validating your answer to the previous question.
The Green Party transcends the one-dimensional conservative/liberal divide. The world's first Green Party in (West) Germany campaigned in 1984 on the slogan "Neither left, nor right, but forward". https://ies.berkeley.edu/blog/history-green-movement-east-and-west-germany This stand, reminiscent of Proverbs 4:27 ("Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: remove your foot from evil"), can still be seen in many places -- for example, this interview with our 2012 and 2016 Presidential candidate, Jill Stein. https://youtu.be/T61t1Ma6Rjg
What education or experience qualifies you to hold the office for which you seek election?
I've worked ten years in state, regional, and local government; another ten in the private sector (so I know making government "businesslike" isn't the same as "running it like a business"); ten more with non-profit groups; and now twelve as an attorney. I know government law, the legislative process, and how to translate legalese into plain English. And I've fought in court for justice for the people on civil rights, election law, free speech, freedom of information, and property rights. Michigan's constitution says: "All political power is inherent in the people. Government is instituted for their equal benefit, security and protection." I will work with the people of the 63rd District to take back that power. I believe Grassroots Democracy, Social Justice, Community-Based Economics, Future Focus, and all the rest of the Ten Key Values of the Greens can help us all have the fair say we deserve in the decisions that affect our lives – not just a few fat cats with fat checks
Have you ever been convicted of a felony or been penalized for sexual misconduct? If so, please explain.
No.
Is there anything else you would like voters to know about you?
Q9, Q22, & Q34 Religious liberty is for all faiths – including no faith or uncertain faith. And no one right is absolute because rights tend to conflict with each other. Q19 Once, state legislatures had total power to choose how electoral votes were awarded. Some gave them out winner-take-all; others were more proportional. Some legislatures decided for themselves, ignoring the popular vote altogether. But Amendment XIV, Section 2 says states that deny or abridge the right to vote for President and Vice President (or a list of other offices) shall lose a number of US House seats – and electoral votes – in proportion to the denial votes. With the "one-person-one-vote" Supreme Court cases, this makes awarding a state's electoral votes winner-take-all unconstitutional. I support a direct popular vote once all states meet good, strong, fair standards of who can vote, who can get on the ballot, when to recount which ballots, etc. For nUntil then, all states should award EC votes proport
JUDICIAL PHILOSOPHY
I support the use of Sharia law as a basis for legislation and judicial decisions in the United States.
Disagree
CRIMINAL JUSTICE & PUBLIC SAFETY
Mandatory minimum sentencing should be required and enforced for violent crimes.
Strongly Disagree
2ND AMENDMENT
Should teachers be allowed to carry guns at school?
No
What restrictions on gun ownership are needed to protect public safety?
The Constitutional provision for a well-regulated militia dovetails with the idea of responsible gun ownership to suggest that limits on gun ownership (and use) should be designed to assure responsible ownership (and use). People who have behaved irresponsibly, especially where guns and violence are concerned, should face more restrictions. Also, those whom our society arms with its power and authority – and guns – should arguably be held to higher standards of conduct, or lose all three.
OTHER IMPORTANT ISSUES
People should be able to vote without photo identification.
Strongly Agree
I support the legalization of recreational marijuana.
Agree
The Electoral College should be abolished.
Agree
In priority order, what three areas of legislation do you propose to author or sponsor if elected?
There is so much to be done that it's hard to pick only three top priorities – but here is one possible list. • Jobs and policies to help us do the work our communities need to be done. • Tax, justice, and health systems that serve the needs of the 99%. • Good schools and education for all, to prepare citizens for the future. And here is another possible top-three list. • Sustainable, fairly funded transportation, infrastructure, and utilities. • Protection for Michigan's water, and all public trusts, from private greed. • Fair, free elections: countable, recountable, accountable, and NOT for sale.
Is racism a threat to domestic security in the United States? Why or why not?
Yes. Because we face so many problems – too many crises – that we really can't afford to do without the talents, efforts, and goodwill of everyone who is willing to work together. That's why the first Presidential nominee of the Green Party, Ralph Nader, responded to chants of "Go, Ralph, go!" at the 1996 convention by suggesting that the slogan should be "Go WE go!"
