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 40 ~

This page contains candidate information about the candidates for State House District 40.

Highlights from this race:

The first "Pro-Animal Pick" for this race is Matt Bryant (Democratic Party) because of his questionnaire response score of 79%. To volunteer to help his campaign, please contact gouko787@comcast.net.
The second "Pro-Animal Pick" for this race is Debbie Stafford (Republican Party) because of her voting record. She is the incumbent for this district. Her 2006 scorecard, which also contains her pre-2006 animal-related voting scores, is now available. To volunteer to help her campaign, please contact house40@comcast.net.
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?

SHD40	Matt Bryant (D)	Yes - Dogs, cats, fish, newts, hermit crabs, Iguana
SHD40	Debbie Stafford (R)	Did not respond
SHD40	Brett Shafer (write-in) (U)	No questionnaire sent to this candidate

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

SHD40	Matt Bryant (D)	Yes - 2 dogs
SHD40	Debbie Stafford (R)	Did not respond
SHD40	Brett Shafer (write-in) (U)	No questionnaire sent to this candidate

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

SHD40	Matt Bryant (D)	Yes
SHD40	Debbie Stafford (R)	Did not respond
SHD40	Brett Shafer (write-in) (U)	No questionnaire sent to this candidate

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

SHD40	Matt Bryant (D)	Yes
SHD40	Debbie Stafford (R)	Did not respond
SHD40	Brett Shafer (write-in) (U)	No questionnaire sent to this candidate

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

SHD40	Matt Bryant (D)	Undecided
SHD40	Debbie Stafford (R)	Did not respond
SHD40	Brett Shafer (write-in) (U)	No questionnaire sent to this candidate

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)

SHD40	Matt Bryant (D)	(C) - In cases of extreme abuse and/or neglet violaters should be charged with felony charges.
SHD40	Debbie Stafford (R)	Did not respond
SHD40	Brett Shafer (write-in) (U)	No questionnaire sent to this candidate

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

SHD40	Matt Bryant (D)	Yes
SHD40	Debbie Stafford (R)	Did not respond
SHD40	Brett Shafer (write-in) (U)	No questionnaire sent to this candidate

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.

SHD40	Matt Bryant (D)	(a) - As Chief Seattle said, "We belong to the Earth, it does not belong to us." We need to learn to live in balance with our environment.
SHD40	Debbie Stafford (R)	Did not respond
SHD40	Brett Shafer (write-in) (U)	No questionnaire sent to this candidate

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

SHD40	Matt Bryant (D)	Yes
SHD40	Debbie Stafford (R)	Did not respond
SHD40	Brett Shafer (write-in) (U)	No questionnaire sent to this candidate

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

SHD40	Matt Bryant (D)	Yes - While I am not oppossed to hunting, I am oppossed to electronic hunts performed over the Internet. It bothers me when hunting is carried out because the hunters enjoy killing animals.
SHD40	Debbie Stafford (R)	Did not respond
SHD40	Brett Shafer (write-in) (U)	No questionnaire sent to this candidate

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

SHD40	Matt Bryant (D)	Undecided
SHD40	Debbie Stafford (R)	Did not respond
SHD40	Brett Shafer (write-in) (U)	No questionnaire sent to this candidate

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

SHD40	Matt Bryant (D)	Yes
SHD40	Debbie Stafford (R)	Did not respond
SHD40	Brett Shafer (write-in) (U)	No questionnaire sent to this candidate

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

SHD40	Matt Bryant (D)	(a)
SHD40	Debbie Stafford (R)	Did not respond
SHD40	Brett Shafer (write-in) (U)	No questionnaire sent to this candidate

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

SHD40	Matt Bryant (D)	Yes
SHD40	Debbie Stafford (R)	Did not respond
SHD40	Brett Shafer (write-in) (U)	No questionnaire sent to this candidate

Please add any other comments ...

SHD40	Matt Bryant (D)	I am a lover of nature and animals. I am troubled by many of the things that are going on now which end up in the destruction of wildlife and our environment. If we are not careful we are going to end up ruining the Earth beyond a level which we can recover.
SHD40	Debbie Stafford (R)	Did not respond
SHD40	Brett Shafer (write-in) (U)	No questionnaire sent to this candidate

Candidate questionnaire scores

SHD40	Matt Bryant (D)	Overall Questionnaire Response Score = 79%
SHD40	Debbie Stafford (R)	Did not respond
SHD40	Brett Shafer (write-in) (U)	No questionnaire sent to this candidate

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