I was away on a bike trip this weekend (yes, unlike many members of the current
board, I use my bicycle for transportation) and discovered late last night
about my candidacy in 18-point type. I accept the nomination and urge others
to vote for the five people listed below--the two, Aaron and Joel--that the
junta allowed on the ballot and the other three that require write-ins. I
received my ballot today, so wanted to let people know I will accept any
write-in votes.
As someone who had actually applied for a board seat, only to be
unceremoniously excluded from the ballot, Pam deserves to be the engine. I'm
not sure whether I want to be the caboose either; maybe I'll just be the
boxcar. I hope to get some sort of candidacy statement going in the next
couple of days, but suffice it to say that I have lived in Madison since 1969,
been a lifelong bicyclist, never owned a car (although during part of my
marriage, my X owned a car). I was a founding member of the Madison Bicycle
Brigade (circa 1981), which did a lot of advocacy work and undertook a
"critical mass" ride to protest the dangerous (especially for bicyclists)
intersection of John NoLane, Blair, and Williamson ("old timers" will remember
the fat telephone pole in the middle of the sidewalk with the completely blind
corner in both directions, right in front of where Machinery Row is now). We
rode en masse (200 of us?? any other participants remember the actual number?)
from the Library Mall down John NoLane (ne John Nolen) and then right at what
was then a full flying right had a mass flat tire, causing untold quantities of
stress for the motorists busily polluting their way towards Monona, Stoughton,
and wherever else motorists go.
In about 1988 I needed to go to the Coliseum for some kind of job-related
exhibition of printing technology. Much to my shock and irritation, I found
the bike path along the Causeway to be ice-covered and truly hazardous. When I
returned to work, I called my alder and city staff to ask why my highway had
not been plowed and rendered rideable. It was cleared, thus starting a slow
process of getting bicycle roads cleared in the winter.
In 1990 I was appointed to the then Pedestrian-Bicycle Subcommittee of the
Transportation Commission. The next year I became chair and served in that
capacity until 1996. I was vice-chair for the next year until Ped-Bike was
"re-org"ed out of existence. When I started on Ped-Bike, the major focus of
the committee was to make sure yellow lines were painted on the various bike
paths around town, and to make sure the bike police (non-cops enforcing only
bike laws) were fully funded. My focus as chair was to change the focus of the
committee from these small things to advocating for more bike infrastructure,
both lanes and separate paths, and get a Bike Plan in place.
In 2003, after supporting then-environmentalist mayor candidate Dave
Cieslewicz, I was appointed to the city's Transit & Parking Commission and in
2005 was also appointed to the Long-Range Transportation Planning Commission.
I was a founding member of the Bicycle Transportation Alliance of Dane County,
on whose board I still sit today. BTA was an offshoot of the New
Transportation Alliance, and has survived its parent organization.
I was an early member of the Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin and became
executive editor of the Wisconsin Bicyclist when Jeanne Hoffman was executive
director of the Bike Fed. Back then, the WB was an actual newspaper, not the
occasionally appearing paper of the same name, which basically reports on the
activities of the Bike Fed. At its height, the paper was 12 pages long and
featured stories of interest to bicyclists around the state. It always
featured a long editorial article, modestly named the Wong Truth Conspiracy,
which advocated making the bicycle a serious transportation mode option, not
just something you stick on your SUV, drive 40 miles into the country, ride a
few miles on an off-road bike trail, and then pollute your way back into town.
Even back then there were enough people on the Bike Fed board to take offense
at articles that were perceived as "anti-car," and the paper was converted from
what it was during my few years as editor to what it is now.
I am appalled at the blatantly undemocratic actions of the board in keeping the
names of two of the candidates for the board off the official ballot. As one
of the board members wrote, "The election is over." It reminds me of the
cartoon of the judge slamming the gavel down and saying "GUILTY," and some
other official whispering in his ear, "Shhhh, the trial hasn't begun yet."
Their arrogance is unconscionable.
Furthermore, the Bike Fed is withholding its mailing list from the non-endorsed
candidates, making a fair election impossible. First, it fires the executive
director in a Saturday Night Massacre without any pretense of due process. Now
it rigs an election to make sure the same good ol' boys get reelected.
Such undemocratic practices must not be unchallenged, and it is this that has
prompted Pam Barrett to be the engine. I'd like to be the boxcar and have your
write-in vote in the process.
Take back the Bike Fed of Wisconsin!
Vote Pam Barrett, Aaron Crandall, Joel Savilonis
Tim Wong and John Wagnitz
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