PVA/Election-Candidate Information/2002/State

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PVA 2002 Candidate Information
~ State House District 35 ~

This page contains candidate information about the candidates for State House District 35.

Highlights from this race:

The Democratic candidate in this race - Ann Ragsdale - served as a state representative during the 2002 state legislative session. Her 2002 scorecard, which also contains her pre-2002 animal-related voting scores, is now available.
We received responses from one or more of the candidates in this race, but none of their scores warranted their being selected as a "Pro-Animal Pick."
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?

SHD35	Ann Ragsdale (D)	Yes
SHD35	Steven Lechner (L)	Yes - Dogs/Cats/Rabbits

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

SHD35	Ann Ragsdale (D)	Yes - cats, dogs, snakes, iguana, etc
SHD35	Steven Lechner (L)	Yes - Dogs/Cat

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

SHD35	Ann Ragsdale (D)	Yes - absolutely
SHD35	Steven Lechner (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

SHD35	Ann Ragsdale (D)	Undecided
SHD35	Steven Lechner (L)	Undecided - I feel current systems are adequate

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

SHD35	Ann Ragsdale (D)	Undecided
SHD35	Steven Lechner (L)	No - Do you want your doctor practicing virtually?

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)

SHD35	Ann Ragsdale (D)	(C)
SHD35	Steven Lechner (L)	(Y)

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

SHD35	Ann Ragsdale (D)	Undecided
SHD35	Steven Lechner (L)	No - If they have been raised in captivity

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.

SHD35	Ann Ragsdale (D)	(b)
SHD35	Steven Lechner (L)	(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

SHD35	Ann Ragsdale (D)	Undecided
SHD35	Steven Lechner (L)	Yes - And we do as we are part of the process

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

SHD35	Ann Ragsdale (D)	Yes
SHD35	Steven Lechner (L)	No - DOW has set methods of hunting

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

SHD35	Ann Ragsdale (D)	Undecided
SHD35	Steven Lechner (L)	Undecided - Not familiar w/the item

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

SHD35	Ann Ragsdale (D)	Undecided
SHD35	Steven Lechner (L)	Undecided - We need to be as uniform as applicable statewide

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

SHD35	Ann Ragsdale (D)	(c)
SHD35	Steven Lechner (L)	No answer selected

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

SHD35	Ann Ragsdale (D)	Yes
SHD35	Steven Lechner (L)	No answer selected

Please add any other comments ...

SHD35	Ann Ragsdale (D)	Please check voting record
SHD35	Steven Lechner (L)	None given

Candidate questionnaire scores

SHD35	Ann Ragsdale (D)	Overall Questionnaire Response Score = 29%
SHD35	Steven Lechner (L)	Overall Questionnaire Response Score = 8%

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