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PVA 2001 Election/Candidate Information ~ Littleton
This page contains candidate respnses to PVA's candidate questionnaire for a municipal election.

Please note that responses are given exactly as they were written. Spelling, punctuation, and grammatical errors were not corrected.

Candidate questionnaire scores
1a. Did you grow up with animals? Yes/No
1b. If so, what kind?

Ward 1 James A. Taylor Did not respond
Ward 3 Raymond Koernig, Jr. Yes/Dogs, cats, horses
At-Large M. Stewart Meagher Yes/dogs
At-Large John K. Ostermiller Did not respond


2a. Does your family have animals? Yes/No
2b. If so, what kind?

Ward 1 James A. Taylor Did not respond
Ward 3 Raymond Koernig, Jr. No/We had cats and horses
At-Large M. Stewart Meagher No
At-Large John K. Ostermiller Did not respond


3a. Do you feel that animal control issues are within the purview of the City Council? Yes/No/Undecided
3b. Would you be likely to support related humane legislation at the municipal level? Yes/No/Undecided

Ward 1 James A. Taylor Did not respond
Ward 3 Raymond Koernig, Jr. Yes/Yes - "Assuming it is not silly as Boulders 'Companion Animals' vs 'Pets'."
At-Large M. Stewart Meagher Yes/No answer selected - "Humane YES Animal "Rights" probably NO"
At-Large John K. Ostermiller Did not respond


4a. Do you feel that animal protection issues are within the purview of the City Council? Yes/No/Undecided
4b. Would you be likely to support related humane legislation at the municipal level? Yes/No/Undecided

Ward 1 James A. Taylor Did not respond
Ward 3 Raymond Koernig, Jr. Yes/Yes - "see 3b"
At-Large M. Stewart Meagher Yes/No answer selected - "as above"
At-Large John K. Ostermiller Did not respond


5. Were you aware that animal abuse is often a precursor of child abuse? Yes/No/Undecided

Ward 1 James A. Taylor Did not respond
Ward 3 Raymond Koernig, Jr. Yes - "so is spousal abuse"
At-Large M. Stewart Meagher Yes
At-Large John K. Ostermiller Did not respond


6. Would you be willing to meet from time to time with representatives of one or more animal-protection groups to discuss their concerns? Yes/No/Undecided

Ward 1 James A. Taylor Did not respond
Ward 3 Raymond Koernig, Jr. Undecided - "Probably, if the issues were serious"
At-Large M. Stewart Meagher Yes
At-Large John K. Ostermiller Did not respond


7a. Were you aware that almost all baby chickens and ducks purchased as Easter "gifts" die within a year? (PVA mistake - no answer choices were given for this question)
7b. Would you be likely to support legislation prohibiting the sale and purchase of baby animals as Easter "gifts"? Yes/No/Undecided

Ward 1 James A. Taylor Did not respond
Ward 3 Raymond Koernig, Jr. Yes/Yes
At-Large M. Stewart Meagher No ("but not surprised")/Yes
At-Large John K. Ostermiller Did not respond


8a. Which statement is closest to your position on the use of animals in entertainment (racing, circuses, etc.)? Please select one:
(a) Animals should not be used in entertainment.
(b) It's OK to use animals in entertainment but they should be protected from cruel treatment, regardless of the money that might be brought into the state by such an event.
(c) I think the status quo is all right.
(d) Wild animals, such as elephants and tigers, should not be used in entertainment but it's OK to use domestic animals, such as horses and dogs. The animals should be protected from cruel treatment, regardless of the money that might be brought into the state by such an event.

8b. Would you be likely to support a city or county ban on acts, such as circuses, that use wild animals? Yes/No/Undecided

Ward 1 James A. Taylor Did not respond
Ward 3 Raymond Koernig, Jr. (b)/Undecided - "I've been to Kenya and don't really even like zoos, but understand the need for them. I need more info re circuses."
At-Large M. Stewart Meagher (d)/No
At-Large John K. Ostermiller Did not respond


9. Would you be likely to support a city ordinance to require dog and cat owners, except licensed breeders, to spay and neuter their cats and dogs? Yes/No/Undecided

Ward 1 James A. Taylor Did not respond
Ward 3 Raymond Koernig, Jr. Yes - "I doubt it would be enforceable, but Yes"
At-Large M. Stewart Meagher No answer selected - "'Require' = No Urge & educate to do so = Yes"
At-Large John K. Ostermiller Did not respond


10. Would you be likely to support a city ordinance specifying a maximum amount of time animals are to be tied or chained per day? Yes/No/Undecided

Ward 1 James A. Taylor Did not respond
Ward 3 Raymond Koernig, Jr. Undecided - "Again, the enforcement would be impossible or prohibitively expensive"
At-Large M. Stewart Meagher No
At-Large John K. Ostermiller Did not respond


11. Would you be likely to support a city ordinance requiring cat licensing? Yes/No/Undecided

Ward 1 James A. Taylor Did not respond
Ward 3 Raymond Koernig, Jr. Undecided - "Should we also license ponies, jerbels etc? Don't know."
At-Large M. Stewart Meagher Yes - "Probably for reasons <1> & <2> below"
At-Large John K. Ostermiller Did not respond


12. Many people object to cats' running loose off their owners' property, because of (1) the dangers to the cats themselves from vehicles, other animals, and human beings and (2) the fact that cats often kill birds on other people's property, defecate in other people's yards and flower beds, and defecate in children's sandboxes. Some other cities have enacted ordinances requiring that cats, when loose outdoors, be kept on the property of the person responsible for them. Would you be likely to support such an ordinance here? Yes/No/Undecided

Ward 1 James A. Taylor Did not respond
Ward 3 Raymond Koernig, Jr. Undecided - "Cats are far less of a fecal nuisance than dogs. How would you suggest keeping a cat on your property? An electric fence?"
At-Large M. Stewart Meagher Yes - "strong YES"
At-Large John K. Ostermiller Did not respond


13. It is well known that being in a parked, unventilated vehicle can lead to brain damage and to fatal heat stroke in animals. Several cities have passed legislation protecting animals from this abuse. Would you support such an ordinance here? Yes/No/Undecided

Ward 1 James A. Taylor Did not respond
Ward 3 Raymond Koernig, Jr. Yes
At-Large M. Stewart Meagher No - "ownership responsibility"
At-Large John K. Ostermiller Did not respond


14. Do you think more public education should be provided about dog and cat over-population in our area? Yes/No/Undecided

Ward 1 James A. Taylor Did not respond
Ward 3 Raymond Koernig, Jr. Yes
At-Large M. Stewart Meagher Yes - "and pet ownership responsibility"
At-Large John K. Ostermiller Did not respond


15. Would you be likely to support legislation prohibiting the sale, purchase, and keeping (other than in a rescue context) of traditionally "wild" animals (e.g., rabbits, ducks, chickens, pot-bellied pigs) as pets? Yes/No/Undecided

Ward 1 James A. Taylor Did not respond
Ward 3 Raymond Koernig, Jr. Yes
At-Large M. Stewart Meagher Yes
At-Large John K. Ostermiller Did not respond


16. Would you be likely to support a city, county, or state ban on greyhound racing? Yes/No/Undecided

Ward 1 James A. Taylor Did not respond
Ward 3 Raymond Koernig, Jr. No - "I don't personally like it or go to it."
At-Large M. Stewart Meagher Undecided
At-Large John K. Ostermiller Did not respond


17. Would you be likely to take animal-protection issues to county and state officials? Yes/No/Undecided

Ward 1 James A. Taylor Did not respond
Ward 3 Raymond Koernig, Jr. Undecided - "depends on the issue"
At-Large M. Stewart Meagher Yes ("state") & No ("county")
At-Large John K. Ostermiller Did not respond


18. Are you in favor of making cruelty to animals a felony, as opposed to a misdemeanor? Yes/No/Undecided

Ward 1 James A. Taylor Did not respond
Ward 3 Raymond Koernig, Jr. Undecided - "Probably, but I would like to study case law relating to it"
At-Large M. Stewart Meagher No
At-Large John K. Ostermiller Did not respond


19. Would you be likely to support a city, county, or state ban on dogs' riding in open beds of trucks? Yes/No/Undecided

Ward 1 James A. Taylor Did not respond
Ward 3 Raymond Koernig, Jr. Yes
At-Large M. Stewart Meagher No
At-Large John K. Ostermiller Did not respond


20. Would you be willing to consider factual documentation supporting PVA's position on a specific issue? Yes/No/Undecided

Ward 1 James A. Taylor Did not respond
Ward 3 Raymond Koernig, Jr. Yes
At-Large M. Stewart Meagher Yes
At-Large John K. Ostermiller Did not respond


Please add any other comments ...

Ward 1 James A. Taylor Did not respond
Ward 3 Raymond Koernig, Jr. None given
At-Large M. Stewart Meagher "I love animals & I rescue loose/lost animals & call in suspected abuse or neglect. It's not uncommon for my spouse to come home & have animals in our backyard awaiting their owners to retrieve them if I've been able to leash them when loose."
At-Large John K. Ostermiller Did not respond
Candidate questionnaire scores
Ward 1 James A. Taylor Did not respond
Ward 3 Raymond Koernig, Jr. Overall Questionnaire Response Score = 56%
At-Large M. Stewart Meagher Overall Questionnaire Response Score = 50%
At-Large John K. Ostermiller Did not respond

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