Humane Society Legislative Fund Endorses Dean Florez for California Lieutenant Governor
By curtislwalker

Humane Society Legislative Fund Endorses Dean Florez for California Lieutenant Governor

The Humane Society Legislative Fund announces its endorsement of Dean Florez in the Democratic primary for lieutenant governor of California. This article contains both the announcement of the endorsement and reaction from Senator Florez.

Highlight: “Dean Florez has been a champion of animal protection in the California state legislature, and he has a tremendous record of accomplishment and leadership,” said Michael Markarian, president of Humane Society Legislative Fund. “California voters who care about the humane treatment of animals and want effective leadership should support Dean Florez for lieutenant governor.”

SACRAMENTO -- Senate Majority Leader Dean Florez (D-Shafter), a California legislator from a largely agricultural, rural district, was honored to receive the endorsement of the Humane Society Legislative Fund in his bid to become the state's Lieutenant Governor.

In a news release announcing the honor, HSLF president Michael Markarian said, "California voters who care about the humane treatment of animals and want effective leadership should support Dean Florez for lieutenant governor."

"I am very honored to receive this recognition from an organization that does so much for those who truly have no voice," Florez said. "Our measure as a compassionate society can only be weighed by how we treat our most vulnerable citizens and the animals which provide us with both companionship and sustenance."

The non-profit organization, which evaluates candidates based solely on where they stand on animal welfare issues, praised Florez for his ardent support of Proposition 2 and for enacting legislation to set a national precedent to ban tail-docking. Florez brought dairy farmers, veterinarians and animal welfare advocates together in agreement that the cruel practice of crudely amputating a cow's tail, generally without anesthetic, provides no practical benefit in terms of food safety.

HSLF noted that Florez was the first legislator in the nation to reorganize his state's agriculture committee from one that protects the interests of agricultural producers to one that "recognizes the importance of consumers and balances the interests of animal welfare, the environment, food safety and public health concerns for good agricultural policy."

This session, Florez has also authored Senate Bill 250 - The Pet Responsibility Act - to encourage responsible pet ownership and greatly reduce the need for euthanasia in shelters.

Florez, a Harvard-trained MBA, has already raised $1.25 million in his bid to become California's Lieutenant Governor, leading all announced Democratic contenders.

Today's announcement by HSLF can be viewed in full below:

HSLF Endorses Dean Florez for California Lieutenant Governor

WASHINGTON (Oct. 14, 2009) - The Humane Society Legislative Fund announces its endorsement of Dean Florez in the Democratic primary for lieutenant governor of California.

“Dean Florez has been a champion of animal protection in the California state legislature, and he has a tremendous record of accomplishment and leadership,” said Michael Markarian, president of Humane Society Legislative Fund. “California voters who care about the humane treatment of animals and want effective leadership should support Dean Florez for lieutenant governor.”

As the Senate Majority Leader representing California’s 16th Senate district, Florez has been one of the leading champions for animal protection in the legislature. During his tenure in the legislature, Florez has:

Reorganized the former Senate Agriculture Committee to become the Senate Food & Agriculture Committee, which he chairs. The change signaled a new direction from a committee created to exclusively protect the interests of industrial agricultural producers, to one that recognizes the importance of consumers and balances the interests of animal welfare, the environment, food safety and public health concerns for good agricultural policy. This was the first such reorganization of an agricultural committee in the country, following increased national discourse on food policy issues and setting a precedent for other states to follow.

Authored and passed legislation to ban tail docking of dairy cows (S.B. 135). This painful and unnecessary mutilation is often performed without anesthesia. Florez brought humane organizations, veterinarians and agricultural groups together to create consensus for the measure, which passed the Senate and the Assembly and was signed into law by the governor. As California is the nation’s top dairy-producing state, a ban on tail docking will set a nationwide precedent.

Supported Proposition 2, which was overwhelmingly approved by California voters in 2008 to phase out the inhumane confinement of veal calves, breeding pigs and egg-laying hens in crates and cages where they are essentially immobilized for their entire lives on industrial factory farms.

• Voted for and supported a wide range of other animal protection bills, including measures to establish felony-level penalties for illegal cockfighting, ban the use of toxic lead ammunition in the habitat of the critically endangered California condor, require rodeos to have veterinarians available to treat injured animals, crack down on abusive puppy mills, prohibit convicted animal abusers from owning animals and ban the sale of meat from "downer" livestock too sick or injured to stand or walk on their own.

“I believe that Dean Florez has the ability and courage to forge solutions on the major issues of the day in California,” said Wayne Pacelle, executive vice president of the Humane Society Legislative Fund. “Even though he represented a strong agricultural district, Florez was prepared to confront tough issues and to get results, whether it was his reconstituting of the Senate Food and Agriculture Committee or his successful effort to ban tail-docking of dairy cows. The role of lieutenant governor will continue to prepare him for even more significant leadership opportunities in the future.”

HSLF is a nonpartisan organization that evaluates candidates based only on a single criterion: where they stand on animal welfare. HSLF does not judge candidates based on party affiliation or any other issue.

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