PVA/Election-Candidate Information/2002/State

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advocating for animals
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PVA 2002 Candidate Information
~ State Senate District 15 ~

This page contains candidate information about the candidates for State Senate District 15.

Highlights from this race:

The "Pro-Animal Pick" for this race is Kathleen Gilliland (Democratic Party) because of her questionnaire response score of 92%. To volunteer to help with her campaign, please call (970) 461-8033.
The Republican candidate in this race - Steve Johnson - 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.
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?

SSD15	Kathleen R. Gilliland (D)	Yes - Chickens - Dogs, Cats, Horses, Pigs - etc.
SSD15	Steve Johnson (R)	Yes - dogs, cats

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

SSD15	Kathleen R. Gilliland (D)	Yes - Dogs, Cats, Goats, Horse
SSD15	Steve Johnson (R)	Yes - dogs, cats, horses, goats, ducks

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

SSD15	Kathleen R. Gilliland (D)	Yes
SSD15	Steve Johnson (R)	Yes

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

SSD15	Kathleen R. Gilliland (D)	Yes
SSD15	Steve Johnson (R)	No answer selected - depends on definition of inhumane

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

SSD15	Kathleen R. Gilliland (D)	Yes
SSD15	Steve Johnson (R)	Yes

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)

SSD15	Kathleen R. Gilliland (D)	(C)
SSD15	Steve Johnson (R)	(Y)

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

SSD15	Kathleen R. Gilliland (D)	Yes
SSD15	Steve Johnson (R)	Undecided

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.

SSD15	Kathleen R. Gilliland (D)	(a)
SSD15	Steve Johnson (R)	(b)

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

SSD15	Kathleen R. Gilliland (D)	Yes
SSD15	Steve Johnson (R)	Yes

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

SSD15	Kathleen R. Gilliland (D)	Yes
SSD15	Steve Johnson (R)	No

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

SSD15	Kathleen R. Gilliland (D)	No
SSD15	Steve Johnson (R)	Yes

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

SSD15	Kathleen R. Gilliland (D)	Yes
SSD15	Steve Johnson (R)	No

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

SSD15	Kathleen R. Gilliland (D)	(c)
SSD15	Steve Johnson (R)	(b) - for constitutional changes

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

SSD15	Kathleen R. Gilliland (D)	Yes
SSD15	Steve Johnson (R)	Yes

Please add any other comments ...

SSD15	Kathleen R. Gilliland (D)	I strongly believe in the humane treatment and related legislation for Animals. I have always had Animals and enjoyed the uniqueness of each. Once in the family - They are considered family.
SSD15	Steve Johnson (R)	As the only veterinarian in the Colo. Legislature I place a very high priority on animal welfare, and have cosponsored important animal cruelty legislation. I have enjoyed working with PVA.

Candidate questionnaire scores

SSD15	Kathleen R. Gilliland (D)	Overall Questionnaire Response Score = 92%
SSD15	Steve Johnson (R)	Overall Questionnaire Response Score = 21%

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