PVA/Election-Candidate Information/2002/State

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PVA 2002 Candidate Information
~ State House District 7 ~

This page contains candidate information about the candidates for State House District 7.

Highlights from this race:

The "Pro-Animal Pick" for this race is Peter Groff (Democratic Party) because of his voting record. PVA has no telephone or email campaign contact information for this candidate.
The Democratic candidate in this race - Peter Groff - 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?

SHD07	Peter Groff (D)	No
SHD07	R. Mike Faris (R)	Yes - Dogs, cats

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

SHD07	Peter Groff (D)	No
SHD07	R. Mike Faris (R)	No - Not at this time - we have in the past

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

SHD07	Peter Groff (D)	No
SHD07	R. Mike Faris (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

SHD07	Peter Groff (D)	Yes
SHD07	R. Mike Faris (R)	Yes

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

SHD07	Peter Groff (D)	Yes
SHD07	R. Mike Faris (R)	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)

SHD07	Peter Groff (D)	(C)
SHD07	R. Mike Faris (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

SHD07	Peter Groff (D)	No
SHD07	R. Mike Faris (R)	Yes

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.

SHD07	Peter Groff (D)	(a)
SHD07	R. Mike Faris (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

SHD07	Peter Groff (D)	Yes
SHD07	R. Mike Faris (R)	No answer selected - Citizens should and do have a say in wildlife policy. Dissatisfaction should be brought to bear in the ballot box.

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

SHD07	Peter Groff (D)	Undecided
SHD07	R. Mike Faris (R)	Yes - The use of spotlights at night to hunt is a prime example.

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

SHD07	Peter Groff (D)	No
SHD07	R. Mike Faris (R)	No answer selected - We are best served by the public outcry against furs and boycotting companies that sell them.

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

SHD07	Peter Groff (D)	Yes
SHD07	R. Mike Faris (R)	No - This should be addressed at the state level and the laws should apply uniformly across Colorado.

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

SHD07	Peter Groff (D)	(c)
SHD07	R. Mike Faris (R)	No answer selected - Initiatives amend the State constitution and as such should be more restrictive. We are best served by public outcry and bringing attention to our causes.

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

SHD07	Peter Groff (D)	Yes
SHD07	R. Mike Faris (R)	Yes

Please add any other comments ...

SHD07	Peter Groff (D)	None given
SHD07	R. Mike Faris (R)	A distinction between pets and wildlife needs to be kept. In no instance should cruelty be tolerated in either case. We also need to keep the perspective that while trapping is reprehensible in today's society it was a way of life for many in Colorado for many years. Comment exceeded word limit; please contact PVA for the full text.

Candidate questionnaire scores

SHD07	Peter Groff (D)	Overall Questionnaire Response Score = 58%
SHD07	R. Mike Faris (R)	Overall Questionnaire Response Score = 38%

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