Paul Kinzelman
Democrat | New Mexico
Candidate Profile
Liberal (Conditional)
BIOGRAPHY
Name
Paul Kinzelman
Party
Democrat
Election Year
2022
Election
General
Race
State Representative, Dist., 8
Incumbent
No
Links
EDUCATION
Carnegie-Mellon Univ, Pittsburgh, BSEE, 1974
WORK & MILITARY
Candidate did not provide
AFFILIATIONS
Candidate did not provide
POLITICAL OFFICES HELD
Candidate did not provide
POLITICAL OFFICES SOUGHT
Candidate did not provide
Race
ENDORSEMENTS
LIBERAL (1)
Retake Our Democracy
SELECTED CONTRIBUTIONS
LIBERAL
GIVEN BY CANDIDATE (2)
Andrew Gillum (2018)
Dennis Kucinich (2018)
RECEIVED BY CANDIDATE (0)
OTHER INFORMATION
This candidate has donations & one liberal endorsement; enough for Conditional.
QUESTIONNAIRE
RIGHT TO LIFE
Under what circumstances should abortion be allowed?
The government should not be involved in this decision.
Abortion providers, including Planned Parenthood, should not receive funds from federal, state, or local governments (including Title X grants).
Strongly Disagree
PP does a lot of good even without considering abortions. It is needed.
I support 'aid in dying' laws which legalize assisted suicide and euthanasia.
Strongly Agree
The government should not be involved in this decision.
ECONOMY
What changes, if any, should be made to the tax code?
Stop corporate welfare - handouts and loan forgiveness. Tax the rich and the corporations fairly.
What government spending would you reduce in order to balance the budget?
Military spending is way over the top, we spend far more than all other countries combined.
Taxpayer-funded public education should be guaranteed through college.
Strongly Agree
I could see some affordable and reasonable fee for college and trade schools, but not the outrageous tuition that creates indentured servants sometimes for life.
RELIGIOUS LIBERTY
Individuals and businesses should be required to provide services even if it would violate their moral and/or religious beliefs.
Strongly Agree
If a business is taking advantage of the commons (sidewalks, roads, postage, educated employees, etc.), they should provide their services without discrimination.
Under what circumstances can government close churches?
If all (possibly excluding some critical ones) businesses are closed as well like in a health emergency.
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.
Absolutely A. The profit motive should not be involved with health care so that only those that can afford it would be covered.
Under what circumstances (if any) should a government, school, or employer be allowed to require vaccinations?
Without knowing any specifics, my inclination is never. Personal choice should be respected.
NATIONAL SECURITY
What should the United States do to help eradicate the threat of Islamic terrorism?
We should listen to our enemies and learn how we have provoked them and stop doing that. Osama was very clear (not that anybody listened) on exactly why he was attacking us. 9/11 was blowback due to our foreign policy.
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.
Strongly Agree
Israel is an apartheid country committing war crimes against the Palestinians similar to what we did in the 1800s to the Native Americans.
IMMIGRATION
The U.S. should do more to physically secure the southern border.
Disagree
This questions address symptoms, not the cause. If we address the cause of why so many desperate people risk death to come here, maybe they would stay where they were. And they can't stay where they are due to climate change, our foreign policy (supporting brutal right-wing dictators), and our fraudulent drug war (which supports brutal gangs both here and in other countries).
Who should be allowed to immigrate to the U.S. and under what circumstances?
This is a tough one, there's no simple answer. But the first step is to address the root causes of why so many people risk death to try to get here and then maybe the number trying to come here would be more manageable. My current thought is to establish a lottery.
EDUCATION
I support school choice, including voucher programs, tax credits, charter schools, private schools, and home schools.
Disagree
With the exception of home schooling, I don't support most of those things because they're all about privatization of what should be a public enterprise. As soon as the profit motive becomes involved in pretty much everything, quality generally goes down in the interest of cost cutting. Discretionary things and things where you have time to shop around (like computers, socks, cars, and toasters) should be private. Health care and education should not.
VALUES
Judeo-Christian values established a framework of morality which is necessary for our system of limited government.
Strongly Disagree
This is contrary to our First Amendment. I've also noticed that whether anybody is religious (any religion) or not really does not affect whether somebody is moral or has integrity. So this would be a STRONG NO.
I support adding gender identity as a specially protected class in non-discrimination laws.
Strongly Agree
This is another issue in which government should not be involved other than to protect people's individual choices.
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
As soon as you mentioned God, you lost me. But if you want to reserve the term 'marriage' as a religious institution and use the term 'partnership' or whatever for two people being legally bound together (like traditional marriage), that would be a reasonable discussion to have.
I agree with Critical Race Theory (CRT) which asserts that the institutions in the United States are fundamentally racist.
Strongly Agree
CRT is merely the study of the history of racism, but yes, looking at any stats of our country (like incarceration rates, police killings, etc.) shows that this country is still deeply racist.
Briefly describe your spiritual beliefs and values.
I regard myself spiritual but not religious. They are two completely different attributes. And by spiritual I mean there is an unseen existence different from our common understanding of reality. Beyond that, I don't really know. But it's definitely not some old long gray-haired and bearded white male sitting on a throne in the sky.
ELECTIONS AND VOTING
People should be able to vote without photo identification.
Strongly Agree
A signature should be enough as we do it in NM. I would support a photo ID requirement provided the voter did not have to fund the expenses of getting one which can be considerable for elders.
What laws would you propose to change present voting practices?
Lots (in no particular order): more voting by mail everywhere, instant voter registration, moving election day to a weekend or making it a holiday, keeping early voting, more polling places, paper verifiable ballots (notelectronic voting), open primaries, ranked choice or even better approval voting, encouragement of third parties, fewer signatures required for being a candidate, public campaign funds, free airtime for vetted candidates. There's a whole lot of room for improvement.
EQUALITY
Is racism a threat to domestic security in the United States? Why or why not?
Yes absolutely. It's a great way for the elite to keep us divided.
Reparations should be given to people on the basis of race.
Strongly Agree
This needs clarification. I strongly oppose just cutting people a check and we're done but the systemic racism is left in place. I strongly support reparations in the form of improving the system so that everybody will have opportunities - the environment of the targets of racism - education, transportation, healthcare, infrastructure, meals for children, childcare, 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 - I believe the survival of the planet is more important than profit. Infinite growth (which our 'healthy' economy requires) on a finite planet is madness. We have gotten to the point that capitalism is a threat to our long term survival and we need to take a long hard look at what needs to change.
I support the use of hydraulic fracking to extract oil and natural gas resources.
Disagree
If it could be done in a way that does not risk the environment, that would be OK, but from what I've seen so far, fracking and a healthy environment are mutually exclusive.
ABOUT YOU
What do you think is the general purpose of government?
The purpose of government is for defense and to manage and protect the commons for all of us as the Constitution says. Unfortunately, government is not currently working because of the legalized bribery but ideally that's what it should do.
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?
Moderate
Asking about terminology to put people in a box is not a respectful or useful question for anybody. It's treating politics as a sports team like 'my team right or wrong' which is counterproductive. Some of my views would be considered conservative, and some liberal. And the term 'liberal' is bad as well because the term is so close to 'neo-liberal' which not at all liberal.
Please provide publicly available information, including interviews and media reports, validating your answer to the previous question (other than your website).
Not useful to ask for elaboration on an inappropriate question.
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 care most about integrity of election and legislative process, health care, justice, the environment, education, and water.
CRIMINAL JUSTICE & PUBLIC SAFETY
Police officers should be personally immune from prosecution for conduct consistent with departmental policy (qualified immunity) while on duty.
Disagree
Nobody should be above the law. If a policeman does something illegal, he should be prosecuted. Qualified immunity would protect them from frivolous suits, but the devil is in the details. I would support a discussion about policemen having more immunity from prosecution than the average public however.
I support redirecting funds from police departments to mental health and community programs.
Agree
The devil is in the details here too. It really depends on the budget, how is the money being spent already? Is it being spent on lots of SWAT equipment? I would oppose that. Is it being spent on more training and hiring of officers? I would support that. But we should be figuring out how to increase spending on mental health and community programs as well, to reduce the need for policing.
2ND AMENDMENT
What restrictions on gun ownership are needed to protect public safety?
I believe in responsible ownership of guns. Rights come with responsibilities to be a responsible owner. I support mandatory registration, comprehensive universal background checks, mandatory gun safety education, mandatory gun-owner insurance, more age limitations, and red flag laws.
Victims of gun violence should be able to sue firearms dealers and manufacturers.
Disagree
The only people who make out on suits like this are the lawyers, not the victims. Manufacturers are merely making a product for which people should be held directly responsible for using properly and safely.
