Bike Walk Vote, the political action committee that tries to get bicycle and pedestrian friendly candidates into elected office, has just released their endorsements for the 2006 election.
Never heard of Bike Walk Vote? They were key in pushing the current bike-friendly Transportation Commissioner Sam Adams into office in 2004 (back then they were known as Bike/Walk PAC). Specifically, they handed out almost 4000 flyers to cyclists on downtown bridges and popular bikeways, contributed cash to campaigns, and participated in phone banks to help spread the word.
Before making their endorsements they send each candidate a detailed questionnaire on issues that impact bicycling and walking.
Check out their website where you can sign up for email updates and learn how you can support their work.
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lotta republicanish types on there. burdick and wheeler’s frequent refrain “we need to work with the business community” = no taxes = no money for bike trails (or schools) = no good. sure, businesses aren’t all selfish money-grubbers, but the ones burdick and wheeler are talking about probably are.
Who IS Bike.Walk.PAC.?
Evan Manvel was doing this before he got the job of Executive Director of the BTA. I believe he had to step down from his position at Bike.Walk.PAC in order to avoid a conflict with the nonprofit, nonpartisan status of the BTA.
So who is doing it now?
I signed up for their email list back before the 2004 elections, and they used to send out regular updates. I gave the group $50 in 2005, and got a ‘thank you’ letter from Evan (again, before he joined the BTA), and after that I haven’t heard anything.
Any info on who is on the Bike.Walk.PAC board or organization or whatever it is would be much appreciated.
cd
Burdick is a Democrat, one of the few Senators with a 100% rating from the Oregon League of Conservation Voters. She ferried BTA bills through the Senate last session, was nominated for an Alice B. Toeclips award, and is a big bicyclist — launching her campaign with a bicycle ride. I’d argue it might be good to have a pro-business pro-bike person to bridge the gap that sometimes exist between the two. She was co-endorsed with Sten.
Ted Wheeler is endorsed by BTA co-founder Rex Burkholder, liberal 1000 Friends of Oregon ex-leader Robert Liberty, and unions — he’s an independent, not a Republican.
The stereotypes don’t work here, sorry.
Bike Walk Vote is led by several volunteer advisors, each of whom is involved in their personal time. You can see a list at: http://www.bikewalkvote.org/about.html Send an email to bikewalkvote@yahoo.com if you would like to become more actively involved.
Bike Walk Vote is also supported by contributions from a much larger group of individuals. You can expect more email activity now that elecion season has arrived.
Dan
Bike Walk Vote advisor