PVA/Election-Candidate Information/2002/State

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PVA 2002 Candidate Information
~ State House District 19 ~

This page contains candidate information about the candidates for State House District 19.

Highlights from this race:

The "Pro-Animal Pick" for this race is Ken Barela (Democratic Party) because of his questionnaire response score of 63%. PVA has no telephone or email campaign contact information for this candidate.
The Republican candidate in this race - Richard Decker - served as a state representative during the 2002 state legislative session. His 2002 scorecard, which also contains his pre-2002 animal-related voting scores, is now available. As you can see, he has had an anti-animal voting record, and so he gets a "Paws Down" from PVA.
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.
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?

SHD19	Ken Barela (D)	Yes - Dogs
SHD19	Randall Grant (L)	Yes - cats & dogs
SHD19	Richard Decker (R)	Did not respond

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

SHD19	Ken Barela (D)	Yes - Dogs
SHD19	Randall Grant (L)	Yes - 3 cats, 1 bird, 1 lizard, 10 hamsters
SHD19	Richard Decker (R)	Did not respond

3. Are you in favor of the spaying/neutering of dogs and cats to reduce overpopulation? Yes/No/Undecided

SHD19	Ken Barela (D)	Yes
SHD19	Randall Grant (L)	Yes - on a voluntary basis
SHD19	Richard Decker (R)	Did not respond

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

SHD19	Ken Barela (D)	Yes
SHD19	Randall Grant (L)	No - I favor the educational and persuasive efforts of groups like PVA over the threat of government force.
SHD19	Richard Decker (R)	Did not respond

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

SHD19	Ken Barela (D)	No
SHD19	Randall Grant (L)	No - Once government schools are privatized, it will become easier for parents and groups like PVA to change this practice.
SHD19	Richard Decker (R)	Did not respond

6. Do you believe that aggravated cruelty/violence to animals should be a felony? (Choose Y, N, U, or C.)
(Y) yes; (N) no; (U) undecided; (C) yes, in certain cases (e.g., extreme cases only, or after the first offense)

SHD19	Ken Barela (D)	(Y)
SHD19	Randall Grant (L)	(C) - This should be decided based on age of the accused, previous offenses, and circumstances of the crime.
SHD19	Richard Decker (R)	Did not respond

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

SHD19	Ken Barela (D)	Undecided
SHD19	Randall Grant (L)	No - The free market can decide this issue best; if people won't patronize circuses because of the use/treatment of animals, you are successful.
SHD19	Richard Decker (R)	Did not respond

8. Of the two following value statements, to which are you likely to give higher priority?
(a) Wildlife and their environment are to be protected and preserved.
(b) Wildlife and their environment are to be managed.

SHD19	Ken Barela (D)	(a)
SHD19	Randall Grant (L)	(b) - by the owners of the land (public lands should be privatized)
SHD19	Richard Decker (R)	Did not respond

9. Section 33-1-101 (1), Colorado Revised Statutes, states, "It is the policy of the state of Colorado that the wildlife and their environment are to be protected, preserved, enhanced, and managed for the use, benefit, and enjoyment of the people of this state and its visitors."
Do you believe that all Colorado residents should have a voice in wildlife policy? Yes/No/Undecided

SHD19	Ken Barela (D)	Yes
SHD19	Randall Grant (L)	Yes - Consistent with property rights
SHD19	Richard Decker (R)	Did not respond

10. Do you believe that there are forms of hunting that are unethical and that wildlife should be protected from them? Yes/No/Undecided

SHD19	Ken Barela (D)	Undecided
SHD19	Randall Grant (L)	Yes - Except in cases of legally defined animal cruelty, the property owner's rights should take precedence.
SHD19	Richard Decker (R)	Did not respond

11. Do you believe that Amendment 14, the anti-trapping initiative passed by Colorado voters in 1996, should be overturned or weakened in any way? Yes/No/Undecided

SHD19	Ken Barela (D)	Undecided
SHD19	Randall Grant (L)	Yes - This amendment violates property owners' rights, and it should be repealed.
SHD19	Richard Decker (R)	Did not respond

12. Would you be likely to support state legislation to (1) require counties to allow county-level ballot initiatives and (2) establish consistent procedures and criteria for such initiatives? Yes/No/Undecided

SHD19	Ken Barela (D)	Yes
SHD19	Randall Grant (L)	Yes
SHD19	Richard Decker (R)	Did not respond

13. Do you think that initiating a state ballot issue should be (a) easier; (b) harder; or (c) as it is now?

SHD19	Ken Barela (D)	(a)
SHD19	Randall Grant (L)	(a)
SHD19	Richard Decker (R)	Did not respond

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

SHD19	Ken Barela (D)	Yes
SHD19	Randall Grant (L)	Yes
SHD19	Richard Decker (R)	Did not respond

Please add any other comments ...

SHD19	Ken Barela (D)	None given
SHD19	Randall Grant (L)	None given
SHD19	Richard Decker (R)	Did not respond

Candidate questionnaire scores

SHD19	Ken Barela (D)	Overall Questionnaire Response Score = 63%
SHD19	Randall Grant (L)	Overall Questionnaire Response Score = 33%
SHD19	Richard Decker (R)	Did not respond

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