FOSTER, RALPH

Meet the Candidate

Running For:
State House of Representatives
District:
15
Political Affiliation:
Republican

Survey

Response Legend

  • SSStrongly Supports
  • SSupports
  • OOpposes
  • SOStrongly Opposes
  • *Comment
  • Declined to respond
  • Declined to respond, Position based on citation

Question Response Comments/Notes
1. Pubic Schools in Montana are overfunded: -
2. Pubic Schools in Montana are underfunded: -
3. Pubic Schools in Montana are adequately funded: -
4. Parental choice in education should be expanded through tax credits, education savings accounts, vouchers, and other means to allow children to attend any school of their or their parents choice: O
5. Montana should allow public charter schools: S
6. Parents should be allowed to home school their children without additional state regulation: O
7. The teaching of "Critical Race Theory" (CRT) should be banned in Montana public schools: -
8. Comprehensive sex education, beginning as early as kindergarten, should be allowed in public elementary schools: O* Having a father and grandmother that were both lifelong teachers I do have some definite opinions about a child's education. With my two children, one went to Headstart, and then to a private (Montessori) school before returning to public school in Junior High. This was because his 2nd grade teacher said that the public school was not working for him and his older brother went entirely to public school. Then when they went to college both chose different paths and one went public and one went to a private school(Quaker). So I familiar with both so I do not really like give a snap opinion without reviewing the situation closely so several of your questions are left blank for this reason.. However, as an employer I have been greatly saddened to see the finished product of the 18 year olds that are entering the job market. While I know that you cannot instill a work ethic into our young adults , they should have some basic knowledge and be able to spell, write in complete sentences and complete thoughts, & be able to do simple math all without the aid of their cell phone. It would also be nice if they could read cursive writing. Because of this I would like to see some minimum standards that would need to be passed before advancement or graduation because the argument that if we have standards then the teachers only teach to that standard is a poor excuse as many of the current products of the current system are sorely lacking the basic skills to be employable.
9. Income taxes in Montana are too high: S
10. Property taxes in Montana are too high: S
11. Corporate taxes in Montana are too high: O
12. The 2nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution allows all citizens to own firearms for self-protection: S
13. Global warming is a problem requiring increased regulation: O
14. Environmental regulations in Montana are too stringent: -
15. Environmental regulations in Montana are NOT stringent enough: -* The irony of taxes are they are a necessary evil and many fail to realize that once they start taxing to support government they will never be lowered as most politicians will earmark them for their projects/agenda rather than return them to the taxpayer or even consider lowering the rate. The government needs to rewarded if they find ways to save money and new programs need to be scrutinized heavily before being started. An example of this is that many of the duties and functions of a courthouse could be transferred to an electronic/internet format and time, labor and resources could be better spent that way. As for global warming regulations it is a two edged sword. We do not have the infrastructure of an urban state and to do so would be quite costly. Sometimes one has to realize that while others have great visions of a greener world it is just not practical in a state that still does not have high speed (fiberoptic) internet to all people and to travel over 400 miles a day is still a common occurrence. In regards to regulations, you will probably never have agreement so one instead needs to look at the boards that make these regulations. Many of these licensing boards are merely branches of the industry that supports them with government approval. Some are only there because the government need for funds caused by license fees to help support the government. If one gives them the real ability to sunset the board and the regulations will follow. Currently if a board sunsets the state merely assumes the positions and the public and industries have no say about operation and regulations anymore.
16. Montanans should not be discriminated against or treated differently because of their vaccine status: O* Government should not be able to discriminate, however, businesses and individuals should be allowed to determine their own fate.
17. Doctor assisted suicide should be legal in Montana: O
18. Abortion should be banned in ALL stages of pregnancy: -
19. Abortion should be banned during all stages of pregnancy, with the exceptions for rape and incest: -
20. Abortion should be banned only after a heartbeat is detected (around 6 weeks): -
21. Abortion should be banned only after the first trimester (12 weeks): -
22. Abortion should be banned only when a fetus becomes viable outside the womb (20 weeks): -
23. Abortion should be banned only after the 2nd trimester (28 weeks): -
24. Abortion should never be banned, not at any stage of pregnancy: -
25. The Montana Constitution should be amended to ban abortion: -
26. Infanticide (infants born alive with physical abnormalities, including infants born as a result of a botched abortion) should be banned in Montana. -
27. Companies and individuals should be allowed to opt-out of the abortion related mandates contained in Obamacare: -* This is an issue that will always be contentious and thankfully will always be decided at the federal level. So even though I do not agree with Obama care and other issues like this I realize that we should focus on legislation that is possible and save the taxpayers money.
28. Transgender athletes should be allowed to compete against athletes of the opposite sex: -
29. Doctors should be banned from performing sex-change procedures on minors: -
30. Homosexuals and transgender people should be allowed to adopt children: S
31. Non-discrimination laws should be expanded to protect sexual orientation and gender identity in the same way that race, creed, nationality, and religion are protected: O
32. Montana’s marriage laws should be changed to reflect the recent legalization of same-sex marriage by the U.S. Supreme Court: S* Once again these are items that are federal in nature. To legislate in any manner will cause great expense and a waste of taxpayer monies as the Federal Courts decide these issues.