PVA/Election-Candidate Information/2002/Federal

A Colorado
non-profit organization
advocating for animals
in the political arena

PVA 2002 Candidate Information
~ U.S. Congressional District 2 ~

This page contains candidate information about the candidates for U.S. Representative for Colorado Congressional District 2.

Highlights from this race:

The first "Pro-Animal Pick" for this race is Patrick West (Natural Law Party) because of his questionnaire response score of 100%. To volunteer to help his campaign, please send him email at patrick@westforcongress.org.
The second "Pro-Animal Pick" for this race is Mark Udall (Democratic Party) because of his voting record. To volunteer to help his campaign, please call 303-412-0531.
Mark Udall (Democratic Party) is the incumbent for this office. The current Congress (107th Congress) is still in progress, but his animal-related voting record to date is 100%. During the 106th Congress, his score was 100% with ten pro-animal pieces of legislation co-sponsored.
All candidates in this race are listed below, along with their responses or a notation that they did not respond.

Notes:

Responses are given exactly as they were written. Spelling, punctuation, and grammatical errors were not corrected.
PVA imposed a 25-word limit on comments because of space limitations; however, if a candidate exceeded this limit we did not cut the text off in mid-sentence. In any case where a candidate's comment is not shown in full, we have included a note to contact us for the full comment.
PVA's selections for "Pro-Animal Picks" and "Paws Down" candidates in congressional races are based solely on the candidates' stances on animal-related issues.
Each candidate's party affiliation is indicated in parentheses immediately following his or her name below. Party abbreviations are as follows. "ACP" - American Constitution Party; "COPI" - Concerns of People, Inc. Party; "CRP" - Colorado Reform Party; "D" - Democratic Party; "G" - Green Party; "L" - Libertarian Party; "N" - Natural Law Party; "R" - Republican Party; "U" - Unaffiliated.

Candidate questionnaire scores

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

CD2	Erik J. Brauer (ACP)	Did not respond
CD2	Mark Udall (D)	Yes - dogs, cats, horses, birds, and even a monkey
CD2	Norman T. Olsen (L)	No
CD2	Patrick West (N)	Yes - cats, usually 4 at a time
CD2	Sandy Hume (R)	Did not respond

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

CD2	Erik J. Brauer (ACP)	Did not respond
CD2	Mark Udall (D)	Yes - A turtle
CD2	Norman T. Olsen (L)	No
CD2	Patrick West (N)	Yes - cat, named Kid
CD2	Sandy Hume (R)	Did not respond

3a. Do you believe that aggravated cruelty/violence to animals should be a felony? (Choose one answer.)
(Y) yes; (N) no; (U) undecided; (C) yes, in certain cases (e.g., extreme cases only, or after the first offense)
3b. If so, would you be likely to support federal legislation to this end? Yes/No/Undecided

CD2	Erik J. Brauer (ACP)	Did not respond
CD2	Mark Udall (D)	No answer selected - This is primarily a matter of state, not federal jurisdiction, but it is obviously a serious matter./No answer selected - I think this is primarily a matter of state, not federal responsibility, but I would seriously consider any federal legislation that may be proposed.
CD2	Norman T. Olsen (L)	(C)/No
CD2	Patrick West (N)	(Y)/Yes - Get-tough policies alone are not enough. We must focus on the root cause of crimes by focusing on the consciousness of the individual, enlightening them through restorative justice.
CD2	Sandy Hume (R)	Did not respond

4. Do you think the Endangered Species Act should be (a) strengthened, (b) weakened, or (c) kept as it is?

CD2	Erik J. Brauer (ACP)	Did not respond
CD2	Mark Udall (D)	No answer selected - I am a cosponsor of H.R. 4579, a bill to strengthen the ESA and to improve its implementation
CD2	Norman T. Olsen (L)	(b) - FWS decisions on many species are made by fiat, not science.
CD2	Patrick West (N)	(a)
CD2	Sandy Hume (R)	Did not respond

5. Would you be likely to support federal legislation to prohibit recreational trapping on national wildlife "refuges" (NWRs)? (It is currently permitted on over 70 NWRs.) Yes/No/Undecided

CD2	Erik J. Brauer (ACP)	Did not respond
CD2	Mark Udall (D)	Yes - wildlife should be protected on national wildlife refuges.
CD2	Norman T. Olsen (L)	Yes
CD2	Patrick West (N)	Yes
CD2	Sandy Hume (R)	Did not respond

6. Would you be likely to support federal legislation to require that animals raised for slaughter be protected from inhumane forms of slaughter, housing, and transportation? Yes/No/Undecided

CD2	Erik J. Brauer (ACP)	Did not respond
CD2	Mark Udall (D)	Yes - I have signed a letter the House Agriculture Committee requesting an additional $2.5 million to help the Department of Agriculture with enforcement of the Humane Slaughter Act.
CD2	Norman T. Olsen (L)	Undecided
CD2	Patrick West (N)	Yes - "The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated" Mahatma Gandhi. We must learn to treat all living beings with respect, compassion and love.
CD2	Sandy Hume (R)	Did not respond

7. Would you be willing to consider factual documentation from PVA on a given issue? Yes/No/Undecided

CD2	Erik J. Brauer (ACP)	Did not respond
CD2	Mark Udall (D)	Yes
CD2	Norman T. Olsen (L)	Yes - I will disagree with many of your positions, but never interfere with your rights to express & promulgate them.
CD2	Patrick West (N)	Yes
CD2	Sandy Hume (R)	Did not respond

8. Given that many companies develop, test, and sell cosmetics and household products without testing their products on animals, what is your position on the use of animals in the testing of cosmetics and household products? Oppose/Support/Undecided

CD2	Erik J. Brauer (ACP)	Did not respond
CD2	Mark Udall (D)	No answer selected - No, I do not support it if there is an effective way to test products without the use of animals. I was a cosponsor of legislation to make the Interagency Coordinating Committee on the Validation of Alternative Methods a permanent agency.
CD2	Norman T. Olsen (L)	Undecided - We humans do benefit from animal testing, not all animal testing is inhumane.
CD2	Patrick West (N)	Oppose - I also oppose the use of animals by the pharmaceutical industry as "pharm" animals, factories for the production of drugs and organs through genetic engineering.
CD2	Sandy Hume (R)	Did not respond

9. Would you be likely to support federal legislation prohibiting the use of elephants in traveling acts, such as circuses? Yes/No/Undecided

CD2	Erik J. Brauer (ACP)	Did not respond
CD2	Mark Udall (D)	No answer selected - I would consider legislation to prevent them from being abused. I have supported removing other animals from circuses that were being kept in inhumane conditions.
CD2	Norman T. Olsen (L)	No
CD2	Patrick West (N)	Yes
CD2	Sandy Hume (R)	Did not respond

10. Would you be likely to support federal legislation to require that educational institutions at all levels provide (and advertise to students) an alternative to animal dissection? Yes/No/Undecided

CD2	Erik J. Brauer (ACP)	Did not respond
CD2	Mark Udall (D)	Undecided - I do not support experimentation on animals if there is another alternative but establishing school curricula is essentially a state or local responsibility.
CD2	Norman T. Olsen (L)	No
CD2	Patrick West (N)	Yes
CD2	Sandy Hume (R)	Did not respond

11. To the best of your knowledge, do you have the endorsement of any humane organizations? Yes/No

CD2	Erik J. Brauer (ACP)	Did not respond
CD2	Mark Udall (D)	Yes - I was named one of the Humane Legislators from the Humane Society.
CD2	Norman T. Olsen (L)	No
CD2	Patrick West (N)	No - Although I have not yet received any humane organization's endorsement, I am a member of PVA, RMAD and the VSC and have been active in many campaigns.
CD2	Sandy Hume (R)	Did not respond

Please add any other comments ...

CD2	Erik J. Brauer (ACP)	Did not respond
CD2	Mark Udall (D)	None given
CD2	Norman T. Olsen (L)	I will resist the urge to use government fiat to achieve your goals, and support your use of persuation to do so.
CD2	Patrick West (N)	Natural law nourishes the lives of millions of species in earth's ecosystems. Species coexists and evolve in magnificent concert, in an intricate web of mutual interdependence and mutual enrichment.
CD2	Sandy Hume (R)	Did not respond

Candidate questionnaire scores

CD2	Erik J. Brauer (ACP)	Did not respond
CD2	Mark Udall (D)	Overall Questionnaire Response Score = 67%
CD2	Norman T. Olsen (L)	Overall Questionnaire Response Score = 6%
CD2	Patrick West (N)	Overall Questionnaire Response Score = 100%
CD2	Sandy Hume (R)	Did not respond

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