League of Bicycling Voters LA: Organizational Meeting at UCLA

Bike the Vote on May 15th — introducing the League of Bicycling Voters LA

It’s not hard to have a big influence on local elections. Calculations show that often there are more cyclists on the street than voters going to the urn. The newly founded League of Bicycling Voters LA wants to translate this fact into political currency. 

On May 15th, cyclists from throughout the County of Los Angeles will be coming together on the Westwood campus to form the League of Bicycling Voters Los Angeles.

Patterned after the highly successful League of Bicycling Voters in Austin, Texas — which saw their entire slate of candidates elected to office in the last citywide election — the group is being formed at a time when cycling is more popular than ever.

Yet many cyclists, both beginners and experienced riders alike, believe they have have been ignored by unresponsive local, county and state governments, their safety needlessly endangered by roads and regulations that weren’t designed for bikes and policies that ignore their needs.

"For years we've tried playing nice, going along to get along, quietly sitting at meetings, waiting to be asked onto the floor for a dance,” explained Josef Bray-Ali, owner of the Flying Pigeon LA bike shop in Highland Park, and one of the founders of the local League of Bicycling Voters. “We've learned that the only place we can get our elected officials to pay attention is at the ballot box."

According to the group’s website, the League of Bicycling Voters “is not liberal or conservative, Democrat or Republican. It does not represent any one group or style of cycling.” Instead, it represents Los Angeles-area bicyclists of every type and description “to help ensure safer streets and a more bike-friendly community for all of us.”

Ted Rogers, author of the blog BikingInLA.com and another of the group’s initial founders, along with UCLA lecturer Dr. Michael Cahn, stressed that the League won’t conflict with other existing bicycle advocacy organizations, such as C.I.C.L.E. and the Los Angeles County Bicycling Coalition.

“This group is a purely political organization. Our purpose is to host forums and debates, get candidates on the record for their stands on bicycling issues, and to endorse and support bike-friendly candidates and propositions — which groups like the LACBC are prohibited from doing due to their non-profit status.”

The initial organizational meeting is scheduled for 10:30 am on Saturday, May 15th in Room 1347 on the ground floor of the UCLA Law School on the Westwood campus. Anyone who rides a bike and is eligible to vote in the County of Los Angeles is encouraged to attend.

Website: http://bikevotela.org/
RSVP our Facebook event
Join our Google Group

For more information contact Ted Rogers, 310/779-4910; lobvla@mindspring.com

League of Bicycling Voters Los Angeles

The US Department of Transportation established that about 25% of Americans aged 16+ ride bikes. For the city of Los Angeles that means 300,000 – 400,000 cyclists among those who are registered to vote. Now consider this: In the city’s last mayoral election, only 285,000 people cast ballots. Which makes bicyclists one of the largest voter blocks in Los Angeles — and potentially one of the most powerful. Conclusion: Cyclists are well placed to elect the next mayor - and the city better get the bike parking in shape at the polling stations.

That’s the purpose of the League of Bicycling Voters Los Angeles: A new organization initiated by Ted Rogers, Josef Bray-Ali and Michael Cahn, dedicated to harnessing the power of the cycling community to influence the electoral process. The League will host forums and debates to get candidates on the record for their stands on biking issues, it will endorse and support bike-friendly candidates and propositions, and hold elected officials accountable for keeping their promises. Report cards, the whole lot. After observing and denouncing an administrative machinery which consistently fails to recognize the benefits of a bicycle friendly infrastructure, the League marks a step towards the next level.

This group is not liberal or conservative, Democrat or Republican. It does not represent any one group or style of cycling. It represents you, and thousands of other bicyclists in Los Angeles County, to help ensure safer streets and a more bike-friendly community for all us.

Click here to join the conversation of the Google Group and help us form the new League of Bicycling Voters LA. See the introductory announcement and join the Facebook group to stay in the loop and spread the word. We need all the help we can get to grow this into a fully transparent and powerful player in the Los Angeles Region. Lawyers, lobbyists, fund-raisers, political analysts, experts in not-for-profit governance and everybody else: Here is your opportunity to do the right thing. Let us build a powerful grassroots voter group from the spokes up, because a better environment for cyclists is a better environment for everybody. Conveniently for Bruins and their neighbors, the first organizational meeting is scheduled for Saturday morning, May 15, 2010 on the UCLA Campus. Details to follow.