Jocolyn Bowser-Bostick (with Paul Glover) - Election Result: 0.55%
Party: Green
Office: Lt. Governor
Jocolyn was born in Philadelphia and attended public schools in North Philadelphia and Media. She took classes at Yale University and CCP before graduating with a Bachelor’s degree in biology from Temple University. After graduation, she spent about 24 years working as a laboratory technician at a medical research facility & bio-repository. She has first-hand experience with being laid off after decades of employment and having difficulty securing full-time employment. Jocolyn currently works part-time as a pharmacy technician, volunteers, gardens and teaches English as a second language to adult students. She also serves as the Chair of the Green Party of Delaware County PA and as an at-large delegate to the state Steering Committee. She and her husband became the parents of her late brother’s youngest son and eventually homeschooled him so he could get a better education than he was receiving in Chester’s public schools. He now has his Ph.D. in biology and is doing AIDS research.
* All bios derived from candidates' websites.
Quiz Results
How the candidate answered on the issues
State and National
Do you support net neutrality?
Additional Comments:
Internet service providers should not be able to determine where you go on the web or discriminate on the speed or quality of your connection based on the site you are visiting. This ability would be highly discriminatory and undermine the free exchange of ideas, goods and services.
State and National
Should the minimum wage be raised?
Additional Comments:
The minimum wage should at least be $15/hour for everyone with no exceptions.
State and National
What is your view on Climate Change?
Additional Comments:
We should be doing everything that doesn't cause any more harm to fight climate change. We should try to use less energy, adopt more methods to increase energy efficiency, eliminate our use of nuclear energy and all fossil fuels, cut in half our production of meat from cattle and pigs, stop producing single use plastics and all plastics by 2040, and become totally reliant on 100% clean and renewable energy sources by 2050.
State and National
Regarding gun laws, what generally do you support from the choices below?
Additional Comments:
Everyday gun violence that kills one or a few people at a time is more of a problem than mass shootings, but both can be tackled with the same methods. First we must bring down the cost of medical, mental health, dental, and vision care services through a government-funded universal health care system in PA that relies on nonprofit medical institutions and eliminates our dependence on high cost for-profit insurance companies. We must increase the number of jobs that provide wages that enable workers to buy or rent healthy housing, pay for sufficient food for their families and pay for other basic necessities. Healthy people with good jobs are less likely to commit crimes or gun violence. We must eliminate bump stocks, gun show loopholes on background checks, assault rifles, and automatic weapons and have greater restrictions on semi-automatic weapons. We must strengthen background checks, require gun owners to report lost or stolen weapons, increase penalties for straw purchases, revoke the gun privileges of domestic abusers, have 7-bullet clips as the maximum, and make all guns that people fire for sport, hunting and personal safety smart guns. Teach nonviolent conflict resolution and methods to spot and prevent all forms of bullying in grades k—12 and in all post-secondary institutions.
State and National
How should marijuana be regulated?
Additional Comments:
Marijuana, cannabis and hemp should be fully legal and have no more restrictions on them than we have on the production and selling of aspirin.
State and National
Should the drawing of district lines be done by an independent system instead of state legislators?
Additional Comments:
We should create an independent commission of citizens (that are not seeking political office or have been elected to political offices in the last 5 years) to draw state legislative boundaries that benefit the people who live within those boundaries.
State
Were you (or would you have been) in support of the 2016 legislation regulating opioids in Pennsylvania (Act 122, Act 124, Act 125, Act 126)?
Additional Comments:
I think Acts 122, 125 and 126 should be modified to recommend physicians first prescribe alternatives to opioids for pain management unless they know for certain these alternatives would be ineffective in specific medical situations. Also there should be an emphasis on using cannabis and hemp derived compounds to manage severe pain.
State and National
From the choices below, what best represents your view on the wages men and women are paid?
Additional Comments:
Non-merit based differences in income are discriminatory and promote wealth inequality, injustice and abuse. All forms of discrimination undermine the achievements of those subject to that discrimination and limit the progress of society.
State
Regarding Pennsylvania pensions, were you (or would you have been) in favor of the 2017 Senate Bill 1 that introduces a 401K-style component into pension benefits for new hires after 2019?
Additional Comments:
I think 401(k) plans are economically risky and the value in them fluctuates too much because the stock market is too unstable and supports predatory capitalism. Therefore, the PA state pension program should not be moved to a 401(k) plan.
State
From the choices below, what best represents your view on property taxes?
Additional Comments:
High property taxes are unfair to seniors and the poor on fixed or low incomes. I support the Fair Share Tax Plan, other fair tax measures that would increase state tax revenue-- close the Delaware Tax Loophole, have progressive taxation & no tax havens.
State and National