PVA/Election-Candidate Information/2002/State

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PVA 2002 Candidate Information
~ State Senate District 3 ~

This page contains candidate information about the candidates for State Senate District 3.

Highlights from this race:

The first "Pro-Animal Pick" for this race is Joseph Towner (Libertarian Party) because of his questionnaire response score of 83%. PVA has no telephone or email campaign contact information for this candidate.
The second "Pro-Animal Pick" for this race is Joyce Lawrence (Republican Party) because of her voting record and because she has taken a leadership role on several pieces of pro-animal legislation during the last two state legislative sessions. To volunteer to help with her campaign, please call (719) 543-5401.
The Democratic candidate in this race - Abel Tapia - 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.
The Republican candidate in this race - Joyce Lawrence - served as a state representative during the 2002 state legislative session. Her 2002 scorecard, which also contains her pre-2002 animal-related voting scores, is now available.
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?

SSD03	Abel Tapia (D)	Yes - Dogs, cats, horses, and cows
SSD03	Joseph Towner (L)	Yes - Dogs & Cats
SSD03	Joyce Lawrence (R)	Did not respond

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

SSD03	Abel Tapia (D)	Yes - Dogs
SSD03	Joseph Towner (L)	Yes - Husky/Chow Mix & Pekingnese/Poodle Mix
SSD03	Joyce Lawrence (R)	Did not respond

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

SSD03	Abel Tapia (D)	Yes
SSD03	Joseph Towner (L)	Yes
SSD03	Joyce Lawrence (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

SSD03	Abel Tapia (D)	Yes
SSD03	Joseph Towner (L)	Yes
SSD03	Joyce Lawrence (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

SSD03	Abel Tapia (D)	Yes
SSD03	Joseph Towner (L)	Yes
SSD03	Joyce Lawrence (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)

SSD03	Abel Tapia (D)	No answer selected
SSD03	Joseph Towner (L)	(C)
SSD03	Joyce Lawrence (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

SSD03	Abel Tapia (D)	Undecided
SSD03	Joseph Towner (L)	Yes
SSD03	Joyce Lawrence (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.

SSD03	Abel Tapia (D)	No answer selected
SSD03	Joseph Towner (L)	(a)
SSD03	Joyce Lawrence (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

SSD03	Abel Tapia (D)	Yes
SSD03	Joseph Towner (L)	Undecided
SSD03	Joyce Lawrence (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

SSD03	Abel Tapia (D)	Undecided - Needs more specifics.
SSD03	Joseph Towner (L)	Yes
SSD03	Joyce Lawrence (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

SSD03	Abel Tapia (D)	No
SSD03	Joseph Towner (L)	No
SSD03	Joyce Lawrence (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

SSD03	Abel Tapia (D)	Yes
SSD03	Joseph Towner (L)	Yes
SSD03	Joyce Lawrence (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?

SSD03	Abel Tapia (D)	(c)
SSD03	Joseph Towner (L)	(c)
SSD03	Joyce Lawrence (R)	Did not respond

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

SSD03	Abel Tapia (D)	Undecided - Need more specifics.
SSD03	Joseph Towner (L)	Yes
SSD03	Joyce Lawrence (R)	Did not respond

Please add any other comments ...

SSD03	Abel Tapia (D)	I own animals and have respect for them. I don't hunt but I do criticize those who do. Animals should be protected and penalties should be imposed on those who harm them, but we should not have stiffer penalties for offenders of animal abuse than child abuse.
SSD03	Joseph Towner (L)	None given
SSD03	Joyce Lawrence (R)	Did not respond

Candidate questionnaire scores

SSD03	Abel Tapia (D)	Overall Questionnaire Response Score = 54%
SSD03	Joseph Towner (L)	Overall Questionnaire Response Score = 83%
SSD03	Joyce Lawrence (R)	Did not respond

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