CHVL/Election-Candidate Information/2006/State

A Colorado
non-profit organization
advocating for animals
in the political arena

CHVL 2006 Candidate Information
~ State House District 29 ~

This page contains candidate information about the candidates for State House District 29.

Highlights from this race:

CHVL chose not to select a "Pro-Animal Pick" in this race.
The Democratic candidate in this race - Debbie Benefield - is the incumbent for this district. Her 2006 scorecard, which also contains her pre-2006 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.
CHVL 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; "CRP" - Colorado Reform Party; "D" - Democratic Party; "G" - Green Party; "L" - Libertarian Party; "R" - Republican Party; "U" - Unaffiliated.

Candidate questionnaire scores

1a. Did you grow up with animals? Yes/No
1b. If so, what kind?

SHD29	Debbie Benefield (D)	Yes - Dogs, Fish, Cats, + Birds
SHD29	Affie Ellis (R)	Did not respond

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

SHD29	Debbie Benefield (D)	Yes - 2 Dogs, 2 Cats
SHD29	Affie Ellis (R)	Did not respond

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

SHD29	Debbie Benefield (D)	Yes
SHD29	Affie Ellis (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

SHD29	Debbie Benefield (D)	Yes
SHD29	Affie Ellis (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

SHD29	Debbie Benefield (D)	Undecided
SHD29	Affie Ellis (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)

SHD29	Debbie Benefield (D)	(C)
SHD29	Affie Ellis (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

SHD29	Debbie Benefield (D)	Undecided
SHD29	Affie Ellis (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.

SHD29	Debbie Benefield (D)	(a)
SHD29	Affie Ellis (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

SHD29	Debbie Benefield (D)	Yes
SHD29	Affie Ellis (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

SHD29	Debbie Benefield (D)	Yes
SHD29	Affie Ellis (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

SHD29	Debbie Benefield (D)	No answer selected - I agree w/the law, but it doesn't belong in the Constitution.
SHD29	Affie Ellis (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

SHD29	Debbie Benefield (D)	No
SHD29	Affie Ellis (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?

SHD29	Debbie Benefield (D)	(b)
SHD29	Affie Ellis (R)	Did not respond

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

SHD29	Debbie Benefield (D)	Yes
SHD29	Affie Ellis (R)	Did not respond

Please add any other comments ...

SHD29	Debbie Benefield (D)	None given
SHD29	Affie Ellis (R)	Did not respond

Candidate questionnaire scores

SHD29	Debbie Benefield (D)	Overall Questionnaire Response Score = 46%
SHD29	Affie Ellis (R)	Did not respond

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