2016 Presidential Candidate Project: Governor Activity

Here are the parameters around the Governor metrics:

1) All governor statements, resolutions, and bills that were notably featured on Project Vote Smart (referred hereafter collectively as “notable governor activities”) were considered.

2) As with the U.S. Congress results, all notable governor activities about abortion (from all angles) were excluded. (Candidates’ records on abortion are easily accessible and widely reported.)

3) As with the U.S. Congress results, since all the presidential candidates that served as governors either served at different time periods or for different durations, the most accurate time average seemed to be the following: the most recent and full three years that the candidate served as governor. For Chris Christie and John Kasich, this was 2013-2015. For Jeb Bush, this was 2004-2006.

4) As with the U.S. Congress results, all notable governor activities that would, in their minds, specifically and actively contribute to child advocacy and victim/survivor advocacy were included. This means that I included notable governor activities that I personally believe actually harmed children or victims/survivors.

5) To find all notable governor activities that purported to specifically and actively contribute to child advocacy and victim/survivor advocacy, I used Project Vote Smart. I utilized their “Political Summary” section to track each governor’s notable activities with relation to the same categories used for the U.S. Congress results. All Notable governor activities were included provided they fit within one of these categories: child care, development, education, and safety; child abuse; children’s rights; domestic violence; elder abuse; physical abuse; safety measures in general such as background checks and mandatory reporting; sexual abuse; trafficking (all kinds). The results were then additionally filtered by the chosen, aforementioned time period for each governor.

6) Unlike the U.S. Congress results, some candidates’ voting records were included in these results — if, and only if, they were notably featured on Project Vote Smart.

Results:

Jeb Bush (2004-2006)

2006

Florida Youth Substance Abuse Survey

New Technology to Track Sex Offenders and Predators

Education Reform Proposals for Public Schools

Support for Teen Trendsetters and Florida Mentoring Partnership

Creation of New Commission for Charter Schools

A++ Plan for Education Bill

Back-to-School Sales Tax Holiday Bill

Federal Foster Care Waiver

Governor’s State Leadership Commission for Reducing Underage Drinking