Michael Stinziano Quiz Results

As part of my research into Columbus City Council candidates in the May 5, 2015 Primary, I sent each candidate a list of the questions from The World’s Smallest Political Quiz (WSPQ). 

These are the results from Columbus City Council Candidate Michael Stinziano. 

Note: Since the final question was un-answered, I treated it as disagree due to the way the quiz is scored with 20 points for Agree, 10 points for Maybe, and 0 points for Disagree.  I just didn’t want to skew it by giving points for a non-answer.

Personal Issues

Government should not censor speech, press, media, or internet. – Agree

Military service should be voluntary. There should be no draft. – Agree

There should be no laws regarding sex for consenting adults. – Agree

Repeal laws prohibiting adult possession and use of drugs. –  Disagree

There should be no National ID card. – Agree

Economic Issues

End “corporate welfare.” No government handouts to business. – Maybe

Creating more and better jobs to grow our economy and restore economic prosperity is my top priority.  I am dedicated to creating jobs, particularly to foster small business growth, fund essential services, to help promote neighborhood safety, support our schools, and provide everyone with effective, responsive constituent service.

End government barriers to international free trade. – Maybe

Let people control their own retirement; privatize Social Security. – Maybe

“The devil is in the details” of any plan to privatize Social Security.

Replace government welfare with private charity. – Disagree

Cut taxes and government spending by 50% or more. – NO ANSWER

May 5, 2015 Columbus City Primary Race

People often ask me who a Libertarian should vote for in various political races such as the upcoming May 5, 2015 Primary.  While I’d advise people to vote for Libertarian candidates while available, sometimes none are available in a given race.

Luckily, public sentiments seem to be leaning more libertarian – so there are votes to be won for the establishment parties by running candidates who stake out libertarian positions on key issues.

Over the years it seems like the World’s Smallest Political Quiz (WSPQ) has been as good an indicator of libertarian philosophy of a person as any, so I tend to use it to get a quick overview of where a candidate stands.

With that in mind, I obtained the campaign email addresses for all of the candidates in this year’s Columbus City Council and Columbus Mayor’s race.  I wanted to find Columbus School Board candidate emails as well but too few of them had phone, email, or websites listed.

I’m listing the candidates, WSPQ score (if they responded to my request – a perfect score is 100/100 on Personal/Economic freedoms) and their campaign Twitter and email accounts in case you’d like to ask them questions before you cast your vote.  Candidates who responded will also have a clickable name with details of their response.

Here’s the list of candidates for this year’s May Primary.

Columbus Mayor

Name	WSPQ Score	Twitter	Email
Terry A. Boyd	?	@BoydforColumbus	northcoastboyd@gmail.com
Jeff Brown	?		jbrown75n@gmail.com
Andrew J. Ginther	?	@AndrewGinther	andrew@andrewginther.com
Selina R.Miller	?		selinamiller7@hotmail.com
James C.Ragland	?	@Ragland4Mayor	ragland4mayor@gmail.com
Zach Scott	?	@ZachScott2015	scottforcolumbus@gmail.com

Columbus City Council

Name	WSPQ Score	Twitter	Email
Orie Givens	?		ideasfororie@gmail.com
Zach Klein	?	@zmklein	zach@zachklein.org
Kiwan R. Lawson	?		FriendsForKiwanLawson@gmail.com
Michelle M.Mills	?		michellemarle.mills8@gmail.com
Jaiza Page	?	@Jaiza_Page	jaiza.page@gmail.com
Will Petrik	?	@WillPetrik	will@willpetrik.org
John Rush	?	@Citizens4Rush	john@citizensforrush.com
Besmira Sharrah	?		bsharra@gmail.com
Ibrahima Sow	?	@VoteSow2015	votesow@gmail.com
Dimitrious Stanley	?	@Dimitrious4cbus	stanleyforcolumbuscouncil@gmail.com
Michael Stinziano	80/30	@Stinziano	mstinziano@citizensforstinziano.com

If you’re one of the candidates listed, and didn’t receive my initial email, feel free to contact me via Skype and I’d be happy to re-send it.

Quizzing the Candidates 2013

Each year as election time nears, I take some time to research the candidates. There are a number of great resources – probably one of the most detailed is the candidate questionnaire provided in the county League of Women Voters Voter Information Bulletin.

The LWV survey asks a few specific questions and I encourage you to review their responses, but I wanted to get a more general feel for their overarching mindset – a better glimpse into how they are likely to make decisions as they serve.

This is the list of questions I posed to each of them:

Personal Issues

1. Government should not censor speech, press, media, or internet.
2. Military service should be voluntary. There should be no draft.
3. There should be no laws regarding sex for consenting adults.
4. Repeal laws prohibiting adult possession and use of drugs.
5. There should be no National ID card.

Economic Issues

1. End “corporate welfare.” No government handouts to business.
2. End government barriers to international free trade.
3. Let people control their own retirement; privatize Social Security.
4. Replace government welfare with private charity.
5. Cut taxes and government spending by 50% or more.

You may recognize the questions from the World’s Smallest Political Quiz, which I recommend taking yourself so you can see how similar your views are to those of the candidates.

So, over the next few weeks, as the responses trickle in, I’m going to try to share their results with you – to help you inform your own decisions with regard to these candidates. It will also serve as a bit of an archive since candidates views change. If I ask them again in a later election it will be interesting to see how their views changed on these key issues.

If a candidate doesn’t specifically say whether they agree or disagree with one of the questions, I’ll be treating those as “Maybe” responses.

Here’s a list of the offices and candidates I emailed the survey to on 10/2/2013 (I’ll be linking the names to their responses as I receive them – no link means no response):

Office	Municipality/District	Name
City Attorney	Columbus	Richard C. Pfeiffer, Jr.
City Auditor	Columbus	Hugh J. Dorrian
City Auditor	Columbus	Igor Ternovsky
Member of Council	Columbus	Brian Bainbridge
Member of Council	Columbus	Greg Lawson
Member of Council	Columbus	A. Troy Miller
Member of Council	Columbus	Eileen Paley
Member of Council	Columbus	Nick Schneider
Member of Council	Columbus	Priscilla R. Tyson
Member Board of Education	Columbus City School District	Michael D. Cole
Member Board of Education	Columbus City School District	Beverly J. Corner
Member Board of Education	Columbus City School District	Hanifah Kambon
Member Board of Education	Columbus City School District	Dominic Paretti
Member Board of Education	Columbus City School District	Ramona R. Reyes
Member Board of Education	Columbus City School District	Mike Wiles
Municipal Court Judge (FTC 1‐1‐14)	Franklin County	Scott Van Der Karr
Municipal Court Judge (FTC 1‐2‐14)	Franklin County	Kristen McKinley
Municipal Court Judge (FTC 1‐2‐14)	Franklin County	Amy Salerno
Municipal Court Judge (FTC 1‐3‐14)	Franklin County	Gwen Callender
Municipal Court Judge (FTC 1‐3‐14)	Franklin County	James E. Green
Municipal Court Judge (UTE 1‐7‐2016)	Franklin County	James W. Adair, III
Municipal Court Judge (UTE 1‐7‐2016)	Franklin County	Dan Hawkins
Municipal Court Judge (UTE 1‐7‐2016)	Franklin County	Frank Macke

Sherrod Brown (D) vs. Josh Mandel (R) vs. Scott Rupert – US Senate

Scott Rupert responded on 10/6/2012. Answers were:

Personal score 100

1. Agree
2. Agree
3. Agree
4. Agree
5. Agree

Economic score 100

1. Agree
2. Agree
3. Agree
4. Agree
5. Agree

So his responses would be classified as Libertarian.

I’ll update Sherrod Brown and Josh Mandel’s answers for comparison when I receive their answers.

For background on this project, my original “Quizzing the Candidates” blog post here.

Pat Tiberi (R) vs. Jim Reese (D) – Representative to Congress (12th District)

Jim Reese responded on 10/8/2012. Answers were:

Personal score 60

1. Agree
2. Maybe
3. Agree
4. Disagree
5. Maybe

Economic score 30

1. Agree
2. Disagree
3. Disagree
4. Disagree
5. Maybe

So his responses would be classified as Centrist.

Pat Tiberi refused to answer the questions on 10/10/2012. Here’s what his campaign had to say:

Mr. Noble,

Thank you for contacting us and for your interest in Congressman Tiberi’s candidacy.  As you might imagine, with over 700,000 people residing in the 12^th congressional district, it’s not possible for us to respond to individual surveys. We believe that Congressman Tiberi’s long voting record, the many media voter guides he has completed and the countless news and interest group resources, make information about his positions readily available to any interested voter.

Thanks again,

Kristen Frissora
Campaign Manager
Tiberi for Congress

For background on this project, my original “Quizzing the Candidates” blog post here.

Daphne Hawk (R) vs. Terry Brown (D) – Franklin County Recorder

Daphne Hawk responded on 10/8/2012. Answers were:

Personal score 70

1. Agree
2. Maybe
3. Agree
4. Disagree
5. Agree

Economic score 70

1. Maybe
2. Agree
3. Agree
4. Maybe
5. Maybe

So her responses would be classified as Libertarian.

I’ll update Terry Brown’s answers for comparison when I receive his answers.

For background on this project, my original “Quizzing the Candidates” blog post here.

Maureen Reedy (D) vs. Stephanie Kunze (R) vs. Thomas Alban – 24th Ohio House District

Stephanie Kunze responded on 10/7/2012. Answers were:

Personal score 40

1. Agree
2. Maybe
3. Disagree
4. Disagree
5. Maybe

Economic score 50

1. Maybe
2. Maybe
3. Maybe
4. Maybe
5. Maybe

So her responses would be classified as Centrist.

 

Thomas Alban responded on 10/10/2012. Answers were:

Personal score 100

1. Agree
2. Agree
3. Agree
4. Agree
5. Agree

Economic score 10

1. Disagree
2. Disagree
3. Disagree
4. Disagree
5. Maybe

So his responses would be classified as Liberal.

I’ll update Maureen Reedy’s answers for comparison when I receive hers.

For background on this project, my original “Quizzing the Candidates” blog post here.

John Stacy vs. Michael Collins vs. Kristen McKinley – State Board of Education (6th District)

John Stacy responded on 10/7/2012. Answers were:

Personal score 100

1. Agree
2. Agree
3. Agree
4. Agree
5. Agree

Economic score 100

1. Agree
2. Agree
3. Agree
4. Agree
5. Agree

So his responses would be classified as Libertarian.

Michael Collins responded on 10/7/2012 and refused to answer the questions, explaining “I’m seeking re-election to the State Board of Education, which is a non-partisan race and I  believe my personal political/governmental and economic positions are not necessarily relevant to my pursuit of this office.”

I’ll update Kristen McKinley’s answers for comparison when I receive her answers.

For background on this project, my original “Quizzing the Candidates” blog post here.

Zach Scott (D) vs. Mike Herrell (R) –Franklin County Sheriff

Mike Herrell responded on 10/6/2012. Answers were:

Personal score 60

1. Agree
2. Maybe
3. Agree
4. Disagree
5. Maybe

Economic score 90

1. Agree
2. Agree
3. Agree
4. Maybe
5. Agree

So his responses would be classified as Libertarian.

I’ll update Zach Scott’s answers for comparison when I receive his answers.

For background on this project, my original “Quizzing the Candidates” blog post here.

Quizzing the Candidates

I recently obtained a sample ballot from the Franklin County Board of Elections (just click Search by Name to get yours). It’s a nice way to get started on researching the candidates.  Considering the only Libertarian candidate on MY ballot right now is Gov. Gary Johnson – and he already has my vote – I figured I’d get a feel for where some of the other candidates stand on Libertarian issues.

Luckily the Board of Elections makes a list of certified candidates available – along with contact information such as email and phone numbers. For candidates not listed, I looked for the info on their county party websites (the GOP did a good job at providing this info – the Dems not so much). Everyone else I contacted via their campaign websites.

So, to help weed out the candidate list, here is the list of questions I posed to each of them:

Personal Issues

1. Government should not censor speech, press, media, or internet.
2. Military service should be voluntary. There should be no draft.
3. There should be no laws regarding sex for consenting adults.
4. Repeal laws prohibiting adult possession and use of drugs.
5. There should be no National ID card.

Economic Issues

1. End “corporate welfare.” No government handouts to business.
2. End government barriers to international free trade.
3. Let people control their own retirement; privatize Social Security.
4. Replace government welfare with private charity.
5. Cut taxes and government spending by 50% or more.

You may recognize the questions from the World’s Smallest Political Quiz, which I recommend taking yourself so you can see how similar your views are to those of the candidates.

So, over the next few weeks, as the responses trickle in, I’m going to try to share their results with you – to help you inform your own decisions with regard to these candidates. It will also serve as a bit of an archive since candidates views change. If I ask them again in a later election it will be interesting to see how their views changed on these key issues.

If a candidate doesn’t specifically say whether they agree or disagree with one of the questions, I’ll be treating those as “Maybe” responses. Also, candidates are listed in the order they appeared on my sample ballot.

Here’s a list of the races covered so far:

Sherrod Brown (D) vs. Josh Mandel (R) vs. Scott Rupert – US Senate

Pat Tiberi (R) vs. Jim Reese (D) – Representative to Congress (12th District)

Zach Scott (D) vs. Mike Herrell (R) –Franklin County Sheriff

Maureen Reedy (D) vs. Stephanie Kunze (R) vs. Thomas Alban – 24th Ohio House District

Daphne Hawk (R) vs. Terry Brown (D) – Franklin County Recorder

John Stacy vs. Michael Collins vs. Kristen McKinley – State Board of Education (6th District)