Justin Noordhoek
Republican | Michigan
Candidate Profile
Moderate
BIOGRAPHY
Name
Justin Noordhoek
Party
Republican
Election Year
2022
Election
Special Primary
Race
State Rep., Dist. 74
Incumbent
No
Links
EDUCATION
Grand Rapids Community College, Grand Rapids, A.A., 2005
Grand Valley State University, Allendale, B.A., 2008
Aquinas College, Grand Rapids, M.A.T., 2021
WORK & MILITARY
(Candidate did not provide)
AFFILIATIONS
Friends of Buck Creek, Contributor/Volunteer, St. Pius X Parish
Member/Lector
POLITICAL OFFICES HELD
Grandville City Councilmember, 2017-Present
Republican Precinct Delegate, 2014-2016
POLITICAL OFFICES SOUGHT
(Candidate did not provide)
Race
ENDORSEMENTS
CONSERVATIVE (1)
Michigan Right to Life PAC
REPORTED BY CANDIDATE (3)
Stan Ponstein (Kent County Commissioner)
J.R. Vanderwall (Mayor Pro Tem-Grandville)
Steve Maas, Mayor of Granville
OTHER INFORMATION
QUESTIONNAIRE
RIGHT TO LIFE
Under what circumstances should abortion be allowed?
Abortion should only be permitted when a pregnancy threatens the life or critically impacts the health of the mother as determined by a healthcare provider.
Abortion providers, including Planned Parenthood, should not receive funds from federal, state, or local governments (including Title X grants).
Strongly Agree
Planned Parenthood provides important services, but should divorce itself from the provision of abortions to ensure it does not experience reductions in funding. Abortion is a controversial practice in the United States, of which millions of people hold religious and moral objections. They should not be compelled to subsidize it in any way.
I support 'aid in dying' laws which legalize assisted suicide and euthanasia.
Strongly Disagree
ECONOMY
What changes, if any, should be made to the tax code?
We should examine ways in which the tax burden can be lowered on taxpayers and businesses. It is critical we provide greater oversight to state expenditures and reduce waste and fraud within spending to do so. Additionally, corporate welfare must end, providing savings and better enabling taxpayers to have greater control over their own income. The current structure of funding schools via property taxes has led to disproportionality in our education system and property taxes prevent individuals from ever fully owning their property. I support looking into ways in which we can eliminate property taxes and restructure education funding in our state.
What government spending would you reduce in order to balance the budget?
Corporate welfare/subsidies, reforms of entitlements to incentivize work, and changes to the criminal justice system that lead to burdensome costs on taxpayers and do not reduce recidivism.
Taxpayer-funded public education should be guaranteed through college.
Disagree
I support our structure of providing tax dollars to support institutes of higher education, but the responsibility for paying for the cost of college tuition falls on individuals, not the collective taxpayers. Our society has pushed college to the detriment of trades. The subsidization of student loans and almost predatory nature of those loans on the part of government has only enhanced this problem.
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 that discrimination laws must protect moral and religious beliefs. If a person is performing a neutral activity, such as repairing a vehicle, they should not be able to discriminate. But in matters in which a person's deeply held religious and moral views play a role, the right of individuals to act in accordance with their conscience must be firmly protected.
Under what circumstances can government close churches?
I have a hard time imagining circumstances in which government should be permitted to close a church. The only situation I can imagine would be if there were a national disaster or a considerable safety concern where entry into an area would directly endanger lives.
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.
C) Medicaid and Medicare should remain available, but no other taxpayer-funded programs are necessary. We should be examining ways to give people more options in coverage and services.
Under what circumstances (if any) should a government, school, or employer be allowed to require vaccinations?
I support current laws in Michigan which allow the DHHS to require vaccinations for schools, but permit opt outs on philosophical and religious grounds. Employers, as private entities, possess the right to set vaccination requirements as a term of employment or entry onto their private property.
NATIONAL SECURITY
What should the United States do to help eradicate the threat of Islamic terrorism?
The United States should maintain a strong defense but reduce our interventionism in other nations and avoid nation building, which often leads to blowback and additional radicalization.
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
This is an area outside the purview of a state legislator. In general, I believe the United States should remain strong allies with Israel, but reduce all foreign aid to any foreign nation as well as remain committed to recognizing the Human Rights of all people, including Palestinians.
IMMIGRATION
The U.S. should do more to physically secure the southern border.
Agree
I support greater protection of the border through the employment of more border agents and the improved use of technology.
Who should be allowed to immigrate to the U.S. and under what circumstances?
Our nation should expand and reform our legal immigration system. Immigrants have, historically through the present, added to the character of our nation as well as our economic progress. It is important to secure our border and ensure our national safety by performing background checks on those who enter the country but we must ensure all immigrants are treated humanely and priority should be given to refugees. The government should not inhibit the work of non profit and religious organizations in their efforts to help refugees and immigrants.
EDUCATION
I support school choice, including voucher programs, tax credits, charter schools, private schools, and home schools.
Agree
I believe charter schools and public schools should be subject to the same standards of transparency and oversight. I strongly support the right of parents to home school. I do, however, oppose voucher programs that redistribute wealth from taxpayers to private schools, but support expansion of school of choice and the freedom of students and their parents to choose among public options.
VALUES
Judeo-Christian values established a framework of morality which is necessary for our system of limited government.
Neutral
I am a Christian and believe that Christian values define my service and my outlook on the world. I support the religious liberty of all Americans and believe that representation in government should be open to all, even those with whom I have a differing faith.
I support adding gender identity as a specially protected class in non-discrimation laws.
Agree
As stated earlier, I believe there must be protections for religious and moral objections, but in economic matters that are "neutral" (access to housing and employment, for example) we ought to prevent discrimination.
Marriage is a God-ordained, sacred and legal union of one man and one woman. No government has the authority to alter this definition
Neutral
I support the full rights of individuals to marry whom they choose and to be entitled to equality under the law. While my faith guides me in my morality, I do not believe differences in belief permit someone to be treated differently in the eyes of the law.
I agree with Critical Race Theory (CRT) which asserts that the institutions in the United States are fundamentally racist.
Disagree
I do believe government has historically engaged in racist policymaking and the legacy of that racism remains in some practices today. I reject, however, the notion that our system is fundamentally racist and flawed. The American system is the envy of the world. We should examine ways racism continues to influence policymaking (such as the historic disproportionality of sentencing for drugs based upon the most common race among users or intentional efforts to disenfranchise voters of color).
Briefly describe your spiritual beliefs and values.
I was raised in and remain a parishioner of the Catholic faith, and I attended Catholic schools. My faith is the cornerstone of my life and the leading motivator of my service to my community. I am not able to separate my values from my faith, as my faith shapes my values. But one of those values is tolerance and respect for people of all faiths.
ELECTIONS AND VOTING
People should be able to vote without photo identification.
Disagree
A photo ID ensures integrity in elections. It should, however, be provided at no cost, as an expense should not be prohibitive when it comes to access to voting. There should also be greater emphasis placed on what constitutes a photo id, and no discrimination in how government issued identification is treated (military ID, Government-housing ID, CCW ID, etc.)
What laws would you propose to change present voting practices?
-Expand randomized auditing, as well as greater efforts to publicize, document, and report the results of the audits. A lot of steps already occur that ensure the integrity of our elections, but the public is not necessarily aware of those practices and can therefore operate in misinformation. I support greater emphasis on voting as part of our state's civic education requirements. -We should explore the use of technology to accompany submission of absentee ballots. Most Americans have access to a phone, from which they could submit a photo along with their ballot submission or absentee ballot request if providing a copy of their id through scanning or printing is too cumbersome. If Uber drivers can verify themselves, voters can too.
EQUALITY
Is racism a threat to domestic security in the United States? Why or why not?
Racism exists in our society and our government possesses an embarrassing track record on this issue. We ought to be studying ways that government policies contributed to de facto segregation and inequality (such as redlining policies, government housing segregation, etc.) in our society to ensure government no longer provides preferential treatment to any race or group. Racism is abhorrent and antithetical to conservative values, as it assaults our individuality.
Reparations should be given to people on the basis of race.
Strongly Disagree
I prefer to look at reforms that end governmental preferential treatment and address specific injustices rather than the provision of reparations that will only further divide our country and not ensure meaningful progress.
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.
I do not believe protection of the environment and protection of economic growth have to be mutually exclusive. We must resist the temptation to promote "regulations" and "mandates" that are little more than corporate welfare disguised as environmental initiatives, while simultaneously working to protect our natural resources and environment. Water, particularly, is in need of greater protection.
I support the use of hydraulic fracking to extract oil and natural gas resources.
Disagree
There needs to be greater assurance that fracking does not unduly effect the private property, health and resources of others. While I oppose fracking, I also oppose subsidization of any energy industry and believe elimination of such subsidies will allow the free market to move in a more sustainable direction, rather than imposing blanket mandates on an industry.
ABOUT YOU
What do you think is the general purpose of government?
The purpose of government is to secure the liberty and safety of the people. I believe protection of property rights and protection of life are chief among those functions.
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).
https://www.mlive.com/grandville/2017/11/newcomer_noordhoek_looks_to_ma.html My voting record on the City Council also reflects this.
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?
I am dedicated to transparency, oversight, and efficiency in our government. As an educator of fourteen years, I am passionate about education and empowering students and parents to have greater options in determining their future. I am a strong supporter of individual liberty and firmly support all ten of the amendments in the Bill of Rights. Our system is rooted in the separation of powers and checks and balances and I vow to respect and enhance that system if elected. As a city councilmember, I have a record of voting for fiscal restraint, supporting property rights, and prioritizing outreach and communication with residents.
CRIMINAL JUSTICE & PUBLIC SAFETY
Police officers should be personally immune from prosecution for conduct consistent with departmental policy (qualified immunity) while on duty.
Neutral
I believe we should look more closely at policies and ensure that qualified immunity does not protect malicious or neglectful behavior, but that must be balanced against the opportunity for endless, frivolous litigation against police officers who need to protect the public.
I support redirecting funds from police departments to mental health and community programs.
Disagree
I support both funding of police departments and mental health programs and think we should prioritize mental health as part of community policing, but I oppose all efforts to defund police. if anything, police agencies need more funding to help support officers in their role of providing safety to the public. We should not be undermining them with cuts.
2ND AMENDMENT
What restrictions on gun ownership are needed to protect public safety?
I support background checks so long as they are short in duration and prohibit ownership only to those who have been convicted of violent crimes. Aside from that, I support an individual's right to gun ownership and self protection.
Victims of gun violence should be able to sue firearms dealers and manufacturers.
Disagree
The only time firearms dealers and manufactures should be open to litigation is if they were neglectful in their design. If, for example, a trigger safety failed and led to a child's death, the manufacture should be open to being sued for monetary damages. But crimes that occur as a result of gun violence are the fault of the shooter, not those who designed and sold the weapon.
