Senate District 32 Special Election Candidate Directory
Eric Coleman
Senate District32
New
Democrat
Bartlett
@ColemanforTN32
SURVEY QUESTIONS
Would you support or oppose legislation that would prohibit abortion except when necessary to prevent the death of the mother?
Oppose
Would you support or oppose legislation that would make either sexual orientation or gender identity/expression a new protected class under Tennessee’s civil rights laws?
Support
Would you support or oppose a bill to amend Tennessee’s marriage statute to expressly authorize the issuance of marriage licenses to two people of the same sex?
Support
Would you support or oppose legislation that would establish a $15 per hour minimum wage in Tennessee?
Support
Would you support or oppose legislation to allow the state to defend public K-12 schools that are sued because they designate the use of locker rooms and bathrooms on the basis of biological sex instead of the gender by which a student identifies?
Support
Do you support or oppose the proposition, advanced by a certain business coalition, that the bill described in question 5 is “discriminatory” and “would harm our economy and damage our state’s reputation”?
Oppose
Currently, a majority of the Justices on the Tennessee Supreme Court select the state’s Attorney General and Reporter. Would you support or oppose an amendment to the state Constitution that allows the Legislature to elect the Attorney General and Reporter in the same manner that it elects the Secretary of State, Comptroller, and Treasurer?
Oppose
Would you support or oppose an amendment to the state Constitution that allows the Governor to appoint the state’s Attorney General and Reporter subject to confirmation by the Legislature, as now happens with the appointment of the state’s Supreme Court Justices?
Support
Would you support or oppose legislation, like Insure Tennessee proposed by Governor Haslam in 2015, that would expand Medicaid coverage in Tennessee beyond the Medicaid-eligible population?
Support
Do you support or oppose the decision by the state’s Department of Health to disregard the state’s current adoption laws and allow a child’s original birth certificate to show that the child has two mothers simply because one of the women is married to the child’s biological mother?
Oppose
Would you support or oppose a bill that would prohibit the state or local governmental entities from either giving preference to or discriminating against a business entity in awarding of grants or contracts based on whether the business has made sexual orientation or gender identity a protected status under its personnel policies, assuming that either of such statuses is not otherwise required by federal law?
Undecided
Would you support or oppose legislation to award all of Tennessee’s Electors in a presidential election to the Party of the candidate who wins the national popular vote?
Oppose
Do you support or oppose legalizing horse racing tracks in Tennessee at which bets can be placed on races?
Support
There is a school of thought that the Constitution is a “living” document, meaning its various provisions are evolving and should be interpreted in the context of contemporary societal mores. Would you support or oppose a nominee to the Tennessee Supreme Court if there is credible evidence that the nominee believes the state or federal Constitution should be viewed or interpreted as a “living” document?
Support
Would you support or oppose legislation to ensure that an adoption agency with a sincerely held belief that marriage is only one man and one woman would not lose its state license to make adoption placements if it only placed children in homes into which the marriage was of one man and one woman?
Oppose
ESSAY QUESTIONS
Explain your view of state government’s role in relation to economic growth and/or job creation.
Beginning with the small businesses, the state has an obligation to ensure infrastructure is adequate for current and predictable changes in the needs of existing/future small businesses and the supportive inter-/intrastate commerce. This is a sound investment in the safe transportation of goods to and through the great state of Tennessee. The General Assembly has a duty to pass laws that support the expansion of businesses and incentives for businesses desiring to bring jobs and needed goods/services to the state.
What are your thoughts about a parent of a child in a low performing public school being provided a voucher equal to the amount of the state’s per-student expenditure that would be applied toward the child’s private school tuition?
As learned in New Jersey, vouchers can be problematic during implementation. It sounds good in premise but has a terrible record of failure and is very expensive.
"The eventual price tag for the program will be $20 billion annually" (Walker, 2017). I do not support tax dollars going to private institutions without accountability or citizens having any say in the curriculum.
What is one of the most satisfying things you have ever done or accomplished and what made it so satisfying to you?
The last two years have been the most trying and satisfying: fighting back from a life-altering injury, retiring from the military, getting divorced, and learning how to live independently as a paraplegic.
What personal qualities or experiences do you think will best serve you in your role as a state legislator?
My deep interest in the wellbeing of the citizens and a desire to inject humanity back into politics.
What bill that passed in the last General Assembly would you have voted against and why, or what bill that was not passed in the last General Assembly do you wish had passed and why?
HB 1749 was an act that I thought had a chance at being passed. As a spinal cord injury survivor, I have to live in constant pain called neuropathy. The Medical Cannabis Act would've made it legal for me to transition from dangerous pain medications to cannabis oil derivative (CBD) which is more effective at treating neuropathy and has none of the terrible side effects of the prescription medications. It is my opinion that the bill was unsuccessful because it decriminalizes the use and possession of medical cannabis by a qualifying patient and fear exists that it would be misused, abused, and rob the municipalities of the fines and fees paid by those arrested and charged with violating the current law.