Joe Westwright

Strongly Agree

Human life is precious and valuable - it is the responsibility of every individual to care for those both near and afar.

Schools should serve as resource centers offering holistic services for students. As part of holistic education, schools should provide access to confidential mental health counseling, referrals to healthcare providers, and whenever viable flexible academic accommodations, IEPs, and on-site child care.

Individuals are free to worship regardless of their faith - Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, Shinto or otherwise. In an educational setting though we should not give preference to any specific faith. While all have significance inside of literary and world civ. context, objectivity in education is critically important. I believe in a stance of neutrality not hostility. Schools should be welcoming safe spaces for all students.

Strongly Disagree

The purposes of student loans is ensure we have an educated and capable population, and is one of my efforts to try and level the playing field so to speak. By having graduates who are not debt they have more expendable income to further stimulate the overall economy both in terms of starting or spending as businesses - the benefit of which is felt by everyone.

Government should without question fund public education from Pre-K through college. An education population is a population ready for a shifting and changing world. In our modern world, education is not an optional path it is a necessity. This funding though at the college level should not be limited to four year universities - trade school, technical, and specialty career education funding should be in place.

Disagree

While on paper ICE operations may seem reasonable they are actively creating more dangerous and disrupted communities. When individuals who work and live in this country no longer feel they can access essential resources (911, schools, healthcare) without fear of deportation makes us a less stable and more fragile nation. ICE operations have also shifted to assuming all undocumented migrants are dangerous and I believe a strategy of immigration processing would be time better spent.

Strongly Agree

Abortion and gender-affirming care are evidence backed medical procedures. Schools should be able to provide referrals and educational materials related to any treatments that are scientifically validated and legally viable within the state or community in which the school is located. Planned Parenthoods service extend beyond this to things such as sex education, clinical services, and STI testing.

Neutral

There is a clear difference between restorative justice practices and purely punitive discipline actions. Bad behavior can be indicative of a number of factors including challenges and threats in their own personal home life. I believe schools should leverage positive behavior support interventions whenever possible, and work to treat the root causes of bad behavior, not simply chastise the symptoms.

Agree

I fundamentally agree - but I believe there is a definitive difference between a blind-view to patriotism that simply focuses on all of the positive aspects and the critical patriotism which acknowledges both the great aspects but also the dark aspects of American history. Founding documents should be conceptualized and it is important to foster a sense of global citizenship which often permeates by first understand our cultural place in the world.

Strongly Disagree

The U.S Department of Education does not explicitly control school districts but rather is there to enforce rules and ensure a minimum standard is present. This allows our nation to still be 50+ labs of state and territory experimental education, while also ensuring all students meet minimum requirements needed for their educational journey. The DoE also functions as a mediators to ensure states do not infringe on civil rights.

Sexual education should include all of the concepts mentioned above but should be discussed in the context of their research backing and their efficacy. Students should be exposed to abortion methods and what the side effects are but also the impacts of pregnancy. Various contraceptives and their ability to prevent pregnancy should be explored alongside abstinence and natural family planning. Student should not be deprived of access to information.

I do not believe the subjects listed above have a priority list order. Each one is a critical component for a well rounded critical thinker who is able to both function in a fast changing world but also has the baseline fundamental life skills a student needs to operate. Art & Music have just as much a place as Personal Finance.

Agree

I would agree fundamentally that schools should aim for successful achievement. But what this achievement looks like may not simply be students getting an 'A' on a report card. Critical thinking and digital literacy are just as important as memorization. I believe too that American tradition and self-government is critical to develop but its important to note that rebellion and a fight for equality from 1776 to Blair Mountain are part of that tradition.

Neutral

I do believe that choice has the potential to create competition - but it also has the potential to result in a race to the bottom. If schools are able to be profit centers, the immediate option will be to cut costs at the expense of the education. I believe proper funding, community based schools that are not centralized, smaller classes sizes, and transparency push schools to improve.

Disagree

No as I believe this stems from the 'good guy with a gun' philosophy. The faculty may be trained on how to carry a weapon but they are not trained in how to respond to hostile emergency situations the same way our first responders are. Having a weapon on hand can create a more tense learning environment and degrade student trust, and I would rather see us focus on treating the root cause and not the symptom of gun violence in schools.

No

No

2014 Republican Primary 2014 General Election 2016 Republican Primary 2016 General Election 2018 Republican Primary 2018 General Election 2020 Republican Primary 2020 General Election 2022 Republican Primary 2022 General Election

I believe I have voted reliably in every general election and republican primary since i have been able to (Admittedly in my college years or soon after I may have missed one). Up until recently I spent my entire life as a Republican, but believe my party has left me and left its historical base. Given that I changed my affiliation this past year and will vote in Democratic primaries in subsequent cycles.

Democratic

Liberal

I believe I would be considered liberal in the US political spectrum today, but many Republicans of the past would not look like conservatives. Dwight Eisenhower raised taxes to over 90% at their highest, engaged in mass public spending to build the highway system, took civil rights actions and made better our social safety. Teddy Roosevelt broke monopoly power, pushed for conservation of land from development, and regulation of products for consumer safety.

Neutral

Transgender women are women and transgender men are men. At the K-12 level, sports are intended to be a space in which we instill values such as teamwork and responsibility - no student should be barred from that. Trans community members have been found to be more likely to be victims of assault as opposed to perpetrators. Inclusion for youth matters more than rigidity and exclusion - I believe in general all spaces should netural zones with individual stalls.

I believe there is a higher order to our world and that every one us are called to treat those around us with respect and dignity. Every individual matters and every person is at their core is good. The world is a series of shades of gray and not a black and white reality.

Neutral

I agree parents should be able to express their opinions on curriculum and let them be known - but as children continue to develop they will naturally be exposed to conflicting ideas be it opinions or interpretations. Ultimately experts craft curricula and we should trust our experts but respect our parents. Education should provide as best as possible objective truth.

Agree

I do fundamentally agree - but I also acknowledge that Dr. King's writings were aspirational and not a reflection of the world in which he lived and which we still do not wholly live. We should not judge people by their character or skin color but we should still strive to provide means of equaling the playing field, and this includes things such as HBCUs and race based scholarship access.

Strongly Disagree

Marriage within the context of a faith is different from marriage in the context of the government. This is a critical aspect of the separation of church and state. If two women were to marry, their local Catholic church may continue to not recognize their union. So long as individuals are concepting adults the stance of the government is allowed to differ from the beliefs of different faiths.

Neutral

I do not fundamentally believe that Anorexia and Gender Dysphoria are the same. The former is a legitimate life threatening disorder while the latter is not that. We should provide gender affirming care for individuals with gender dysphoria and we should provide rehab and therapy for those suffering from Anorexia.

Strongly Agree

Hiding specific words or concepts from students do not benefit them or allow them to grow and be challenged. The library should serve as our market of ideas where its the authors responsibility to fight for the interest and opinion of the reader. Difficult patterns and themes are preparation in a controlled space for the real world and allow students as they grow to ask serious questions about sensitive topics in a safe and mature way.

Strongly Agree

Yes - I believe in the current system a photo ID is a poll tax. It costs time and money to obtain one and that is a different degree of barrier depending on who you are. For some its a given you will have an ID, for others it is a major undertaking. If we provide adequate time off, access, and no cost to obtaining a photo ID then I am fine for it be required. Every individual should have the right to vote without significant barrier including millionaires and including the unhoused.