Chris Powell
Libertarian | Oklahoma
Candidate Profile
Moderate
BIOGRAPHY
Name
Chris Powell
Party
Libertarian
Election Year
2022
Election
General
Race
Lt. Governor
Incumbent
No
Links
EDUCATION
Candidate did not provide
WORK & MILITARY
U S Marine Corps Reserve, 1989-1995
AFFILIATIONS
Oklahoma Libertarian Party, Past Chair
POLITICAL OFFICES HELD
Council Member, Ward I, City of Bethany, 2019-present
POLITICAL OFFICES SOUGHT
Governor of Oklahoma, 2018
Oklahoma County Clerk, 2016
Race
OTHER INFORMATION
QUESTIONNAIRE
RIGHT TO LIFE
Under what circumstances should abortion be allowed?
Did not answer
Abortion providers, including Planned Parenthood, should not receive funds from federal, state, or local governments (including Title X grants).
Strongly Agree
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?
The state tax code should be made as simple as possible and we should continue reduction of the state income tax.
What government spending would you reduce in order to balance the budget?
Oklahoma currently runs a substantial budget surplus but waste and corruption are evident in numerous areas of state government. One thing we can definitely eliminate is the office of Lt. Governor.
Taxpayer-funded public education should be guaranteed through college.
Strongly Disagree
RELIGIOUS LIBERTY
Individuals and businesses should be required to provide services even if it would violate their moral and/or religious beliefs.
Strongly Disagree
Under what circumstances can government close churches?
Freedom of religion is guaranteed in the 1st Amendment. Barring a serious criminal matter or an inherently unsafe structure, government cannot close churches.
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.
Market-based alternatives to the health insurance regime are the path out of a politicized healthcare system that is ever more expensive and impersonal. Subscription based models such as direct primary care and fee-for-service facilities like Surgery Center of Oklahoma put the power back in the hands of patients at much lower prices reflective of actual costs.
Under what circumstances (if any) should a government, school, or employer be allowed to require vaccinations?
As employment is a voluntary relationship, employers may have vaccination as a condition of that arrangement. Government, including a public school, ought not be able to coerce individuals to accept medical treatments. Oklahoma's law requiring vaccinations for public school attendance has been in place since 1977 and allows for exemption, this has worked well and should remain in place as is.
NATIONAL SECURITY
What should the United States do to help eradicate the threat of Islamic terrorism?
Did not answer
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.
Did not answer
IMMIGRATION
The U.S. should do more to physically secure the southern border.
Did not answer
Who should be allowed to immigrate to the U.S. and under what circumstances?
Did not answer
EDUCATION
I support school choice, including voucher programs, tax credits, charter schools, private schools, and home schools.
Neutral
I support a robust private school environment and full protection of the right of Oklahoma parents to home school as delineated in our state's constitution. I entirely oppose vouchers, educational savings accounts, tax credits, or other means of making alternatives to public education dependent upon politically controlled funds as this would result in private and home schooling into just another kind of public school.
VALUES
Judeo-Christian values established a framework of morality which is necessary for our system of limited government.
Disagree
The 1st Amendment protects freedom of religion. While our country is culturally primarily Christian, it is also strengthened by being exceedingly diverse. It would undermine our individual rights and a great strength of our nation to enshrine particular religious preferences as legally superior to others.
I support adding gender identity as a specially protected class in non-discrimination laws.
Disagree
Creating gender identity as a legal category is moving in the wrong direction, government should be reducing the manner in which people are differentiated and categorized not increasing it so that we may move closer to the goal of equality before the law.
Marriage is a God-ordained, sacred and legal union of one man and one woman. No government has the authority to alter this definition
Disagree
Marriage, as carried out under government licensing, is a politicized legal status. Ending state marriage licensing would allow for marriage to once again primarily become the province of social institutions such as churches.
I agree with Critical Race Theory (CRT) which asserts that the institutions in the United States are fundamentally racist.
Neutral
Briefly describe your spiritual beliefs and values.
Despite the fact that I am a Christian as are most Oklahoma voters I am not comfortable with the use of religious identity as a tool to garner political support.
ELECTIONS AND VOTING
People should be able to vote without photo identification.
Agree
What laws would you propose to change present voting practices?
Ranked choice voting, a method which allows voters to rank candidates, would allow our state to do away with expensive low-turnout runoff elections as well as empowering voters with greater ability to use the ballot to express their preferences and ensure that only candidates able to attain the support of a majority are able to win elections.
EQUALITY
Is racism a threat to domestic security in the United States? Why or why not?
Viewing all political discourse through the lens of race diminishes all other issues that cause us to have different perspectives and viewpoints.
Reparations should be given to people on the basis of race.
Strongly Disagree
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.
The response to environmental harms needs to be transitioned away from regulatory and bureaucratic schemes and toward restitution based resolutions where those harmed are empowered to have a voice and agency in determining the outcome. Fines paid to government agencies frequently do not go to cleaning up the damage and almost never go to aid those harmed.
I support the use of hydraulic fracking to extract oil and natural gas resources.
Neutral
I support any technology competing fairly in a free market but do not support using government to shield businesses from responsibility for causing harm.
ABOUT YOU
What do you think is the general purpose of government?
Government's purpose is to protect the rights of all individuals.
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?
Choose not to answer
I am a Libertarian.
Please provide publicly available information, including interviews and media reports, validating your answer to the previous question (other than your website).
Did not answer
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?
Voters already intuitively know that we don't need a Lt. Governor and we should get rid of this unnecessary office.
CRIMINAL JUSTICE & PUBLIC SAFETY
Police officers should be personally immune from prosecution for conduct consistent with departmental policy (qualified immunity) while on duty.
Neutral
Police officers should not be held personally liable if acting in accordance with department training or policy but we have seen instances where qualified immunity has been applied in an overbroad manner as well as instances where qualified immunity has been used to defend an officer for wrong actions but the department with the harmful training or policy has not been held accountable. In large measure we should more carefully scrutinize what policy makers ask police officers to do.
I support redirecting funds from police departments to mental health and community programs.
Neutral
There are a lack of mental health resources in this state and the burden of dealing with people in mental health crises frequently falls on police. There are surely more efficacious ways of dealing with these issues but the perception that police should never be responding is a simplistic and unrealistic proposal. In my view police departments should be redirected away from victimless crime enforcement and put greater emphasis on patrolling and serving communities.
2ND AMENDMENT
What restrictions on gun ownership are needed to protect public safety?
The 2nd amendment is a legal codification of the basic human right of self defense.
Victims of gun violence should be able to sue firearms dealers and manufacturers.
Strongly Disagree
