PVA/Election-Candidate Information/2004/State

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advocating for animals
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PVA 2004 Candidate Information
~ State House District 13 ~

This page contains candidate information about the candidates for State House District 13.

Highlights from this race:

The "Pro-Animal Pick" for this race is Tom Plant (Democratic Party) because of his questionnaire response score of 71% and because of his voting record. He is the incumbent for this district. His 2004 scorecard, which also contains his pre-2004 animal-related voting scores, is now available. To volunteer to help his campaign, please call 303.866.2587.
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?

SHD13	Tom Plant (D)	Yes - Dogs
SHD13	Rand Fanshier (L)	Yes - Just about every kind of pet

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

SHD13	Tom Plant (D)	Yes - Dogs, cats, horses
SHD13	Rand Fanshier (L)	Yes - Poodle

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

SHD13	Tom Plant (D)	Yes
SHD13	Rand Fanshier (L)	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

SHD13	Tom Plant (D)	Yes
SHD13	Rand Fanshier (L)	No

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

SHD13	Tom Plant (D)	Yes
SHD13	Rand Fanshier (L)	No

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)

SHD13	Tom Plant (D)	(C)
SHD13	Rand Fanshier (L)	(N)

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

SHD13	Tom Plant (D)	Undecided
SHD13	Rand Fanshier (L)	No

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.

SHD13	Tom Plant (D)	(a)
SHD13	Rand Fanshier (L)	(a)

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

SHD13	Tom Plant (D)	Yes
SHD13	Rand Fanshier (L)	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

SHD13	Tom Plant (D)	Yes
SHD13	Rand Fanshier (L)	Yes

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

SHD13	Tom Plant (D)	No
SHD13	Rand Fanshier (L)	No

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

SHD13	Tom Plant (D)	Undecided
SHD13	Rand Fanshier (L)	No

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

SHD13	Tom Plant (D)	No answer selected - Constitutional changes should be harder, statutory changes should be protected from legislative action
SHD13	Rand Fanshier (L)	(b)

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

SHD13	Tom Plant (D)	Yes
SHD13	Rand Fanshier (L)	Yes

Please add any other comments ...

SHD13	Tom Plant (D)	None given
SHD13	Rand Fanshier (L)	As a person, I abhor cruelty of animals. Personally, I prefer natural habitats to be left in a pristine state. I also advocate and teach wildlife conservation and how to honor and respect the environment. However - and this is where we will probably differ - laws are for protecting the rights of people, not animals. How others treat their animals is their business alone. I do support advocacy groups that endeavor to teach humane treatment and care for animals. Just, not through government.

Candidate questionnaire scores

SHD13	Tom Plant (D)	Overall Questionnaire Response Score = 71%
SHD13	Rand Fanshier (L)	Overall Questionnaire Response Score = 25%

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