Ellee Spawn, Ethan Marsland… now Mark Winegar joins the roster of Democrats running for Legislature in 2016. The computer teacher/entrepreneur and Clay County Dems chief annoucned his candidacy at the D-Days Democratic hog roast Friday night in Vermillion.
With thirteen months to go until the general election, Winegar already lists a number of key issues on his Ruck.us page to inspire the Democratic base and anyone else interested in liberty and democracy:
- Winegar supports the constitutional amendment proposed by Farmers Union to stop gerrymandering with an independent redistricting commission and petition his Vermillion neighbor Doug Kronaizl to insulate initiative and referendum from legislative meddling. That a guy running for Legislature shold advocate two reforms that shift power away from the Legislature to the people should speak to his credibility on speaking for the people and not himself.
- Winegar says he supports both the Affordable Care Act and Planned Parenthood.
- Instead of tax breaks, Winegar says the key to economic development is identifying and expanding best-fit industries like wind energy.
- Winegar likes the First Amendment, especially the part that protects religion by separating church and state. He says religious folks need to find their commonalities and not impose their beliefs on others.
- Winegar also likes the Second Amendment, but he describes himself as “a gun enthusiast and a shooting victim”:
My brother and I were shot with a 10 gauge shotgun when I was only four years old. I have heard all of the rhetoric and we still suffer over 10,000 gun homicides per year. We need to do something about it.
There has to be a way forward without violating our right to own guns. Background checks on all gun sales is a reasonable start but we must also remove the restrictions on related data. Those responsible for data must be held accountable for its accuracy. Each owner needs to be certified for gun safety training and provide certification when purchasing a gun.
We all know these steps won’t eliminate all gun homicides and accidents but we also know that they will help reduce both [Mark Winegar, “Gun Safety,” District 17 House campaign website, downloaded 2015.10.04].
District 17 is currently represented by Democratic Rep. Ray Ring, Republican Rep. Nancy Rasmussen, and Republican Senator Arthur Rusch. None are termed out of their seats in 2016.
Thank you for helping get the word out.
Thank you, Mark, for doing the hard work of running! Knock ’em dead in 17!
I like his positions and I’d like to hear more details about them. I know it’s early though.
Good luck Mr. Winegar.
kudos on gun regulation