PVA/Election-Candidate Information/2004/State

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PVA 2004 Candidate Information
~ State Senate District 18 ~

This page contains candidate information about the candidates for State Senate District 18.

Highlights from this race:

The "Pro-Animal Pick" for this race is Ron Tupa (Democratic Party) because of his questionnaire response score of 75% and because of his voting record. He is the incumbent for this senate 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 303.866.4872.
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?

SSD18	Ron Tupa (D)	Yes - dogs, guinea pigs, rabbits, cats
SSD18	Krista Poch (R)	Did not respond

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

SSD18	Ron Tupa (D)	Yes - my wife and I have an australian cattle dog
SSD18	Krista Poch (R)	Did not respond

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

SSD18	Ron Tupa (D)	Yes
SSD18	Krista Poch (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

SSD18	Ron Tupa (D)	Yes
SSD18	Krista Poch (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

SSD18	Ron Tupa (D)	Yes
SSD18	Krista Poch (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)

SSD18	Ron Tupa (D)	(C)
SSD18	Krista Poch (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

SSD18	Ron Tupa (D)	Undecided
SSD18	Krista Poch (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.

SSD18	Ron Tupa (D)	(a)
SSD18	Krista Poch (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

SSD18	Ron Tupa (D)	Yes
SSD18	Krista Poch (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

SSD18	Ron Tupa (D)	Yes
SSD18	Krista Poch (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

SSD18	Ron Tupa (D)	No
SSD18	Krista Poch (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

SSD18	Ron Tupa (D)	Undecided
SSD18	Krista Poch (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?

SSD18	Ron Tupa (D)	(c)
SSD18	Krista Poch (R)	Did not respond

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

SSD18	Ron Tupa (D)	Yes
SSD18	Krista Poch (R)	Did not respond

Please add any other comments ...

SSD18	Ron Tupa (D)	This year ('04) I was the senate sponsor of HB 1135 which authorizes wildlife sanctuaries. In the past I have supported legislation making cruelty to animals a felony (i.e. 'Westy's Law'). I also supported the license plate bill which helps fund the spaying/neutering of pets. I also was an outspoken opponent of the CU policy of animal vivisection.
SSD18	Krista Poch (R)	Did not respond

Candidate questionnaire scores

SSD18	Ron Tupa (D)	Overall Questionnaire Response Score = 75%
SSD18	Krista Poch (R)	Did not respond

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