[nndl] Animal Welfare Voter Information Guide

In case anyone is interested, FixAustin.org has released its Voter Information Guide for the upcoming election on May 9th.  The candidates' answers to questions on animal welfare are included.

Best regards,
Ryan

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Dear Austin Animal Lovers, Today, FixAustin.org released its annual Animal Welfare Voter Information Guide for Austin's City Council Candidates.  We are delighted to announce that four candidates received our highest "5 Paw" rating for their commitment to improving the outlook for Austin's lost and homeless pets.  Those candidates are incumbent Mike Martinez, returning member Bill Spelman, and newcomers Chris Riley and Perla Cavazos.

 Below is our complete information guide, with links to each candidates' responses to our animal-welfare questionnaire.  Candidates were scored on their responses to our questions, their record (where available), and our personal meetings with them.  Some candidates were not scored due to lack of information.

 Please remember to vote in this year's City Council Election.  Election day is May 9, 2009.  

Warmest regards,The FixAustin.org Team ----------------------------------------------------------------------------

 Mike Martinez, Bill Spelman, Chris Riley, & Perla Cavazos – 5 Paws

For the last several years, Mike Martinez has been the City Council’s preeminent voice for protecting our community’s companion animals.  Martinez voted against the City’s ill-planned effort to move Austin’s animal shelter from Town Lake, co-sponsored a resolution directing the Animal Advisory Commission to recommend positive changes at Austin’s animal shelter, and led the Council’s effort to reduce the sale of unaltered pets in Austin.

Austin’s animal lovers should also feel confident in supporting Bill Spelman, Chris Riley, and Perla Cavazos.  Returning to the City Council, Spelman has a well-deserved reputation for demanding the enactment of best practices in city government, and he will fight for the implementation of proven programs to benefit Austin’s lost and homeless pets.  He is a policy wonk and “good government” expert—characteristics that will prove invaluable to helping Austin finally achieve “no kill” status.

Riley and Cavazos are both thoughtful, articulate, and intelligent advocates who have committed to implementing proven programs to reduce the unnecessary killing of homeless pets at Austin’s animal shelter.  Both are able to quickly understand complicated issues and have shown genuine interest in increasing the outlook for our community’s companion animals.

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Lee Leffingwell  – 3.5 Paws

Even though Lee Leffingwell could do more for Austin’s lost and homeless pets, we’re happy that he has doggedly (we couldn’t help ourselves) fought for an adoption center to stay open on Town Lake after the main shelter moves to the eastern edge of the City.  That alone scores points with us.  Plus, Leffingwell has demonstrated an important willingness to consider policies and programs disfavored by shelter bureaucrats yet proven successful in other communities.

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Sheryl Cole – 2 Paws

Sheryl Cole has not been an advocate for Austin’s homeless pets, largely deferring to shelter bureaucrats on critical policy issues.  We appreciate Cole’s openness to citizen input and her adoption of "Lightning,” a dog she saved from Town Lake Animal Center.  But we are deeply disturbed by her support for an apparent plan to turn the current downtown shelter into an office building for City bureaucrats rather than entirely dedicating the space to a first-class adoption center as needed to save the lives of impounded pets.

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FixAustin.org is Austin’s only non-profit organization advocating to end the killing of Austin’s lost and homeless pets through the implementation of proven, cost-effective policies and programs that have dramatically reduced shelter killing in communities across America.  Candidates not listed here either did not respond to our questionnaire or we did not have enough information about them.  These ratings are not endorsements.  We also received questionnaire responses from Josiah Ingalls and Sam Osemene.