Amanda, the weak link in the strategy is here:
"Given the adminsitration's focus on jobs, the number of jobs related to cycling in Wisconsin should be highly relevant to funding bicycling." I agree cycling jobs should be relevant to the Walker administration, but that is not the reality. The Walker administration only cares about jobs when the program you are talking about fits into their cultural identity. There were plenty of potential jobs to be had by starting to build a high speed rail network in Wisconsin, but that was irrelevant to the Walker administration because it might take away $7mil/yr from highways. Yet when I called Walker's office to ask about the return on investment in some of the highway projects they view are a higher priority, they could provide no jobs numbers to back them up. While it might work to educate Democrats on the merits of bicycling, Republicans simply don't care. Bicycling is not part of their cultural identity, and therefore does not merit funding as you have pitched it. Imagine if the Republicans started to tell you the merits of going to work for a highway builders association. Maybe your salary would double or triple - would that fact be enough to convince you to quit the bike fed and go to work for the highway builders? I doubt it, given your job history. So why would you expect Republicans, who represent car-centric rural districts for the most part, to upend their cultural identity based on tourism jobs? From: Amanda White [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Thursday, May 05, 2011 1:13 PM To: Matt Logan Cc: Bikies; [email protected] Subject: Re: Budget panel cuts $5 million for bike/pedestrian projects Hello Matt, I always enjoy your spirited feedback! Please allow me to address your concerns. This will also give me a chance to update the list serve on the efforts we have taken over the past several months regarding the $5 million funding cut. The message we have provided to Republicans and Democrats alike has focused on the tremendous economic impact of bicycling in Wisconsin. Most of the reps and senators on both sides of the aisle were not familiar with latest report released by UW-Madison that showed bicycling contributes $1.5 billion and 13,000 jobs to our economy each year. Given the adminsitration's focus on jobs, the number of jobs related to cycling in Wisconsin should be highly relevant to funding bicycling. The economic impact of tourism is a major focus of this administration. In fact, the Department of Tourism's budget is one of the only budgets that was actually increased. We've met with Secretary of Tourism Stephanie Klett and her team. She was also the opening speaker for our Bike Summit. An important message that we've shared regarding bicycle tourism is that visitors from outside our state spend over $500 million in Wisconsin engaging in races, rides and other bicycling-related activities. I agree with your concern that many political leaders do not take bicycling seriously and see it as a nice "perk" for healthier economic times. However, if we want to dramatically increase bicycling in our state, we must work hard to change some of our political leaders' perception of bicycling. Currently, the best way to do this is by educating them on the impact bicycling has on the economy and job market. Until we are able to change perceptions, we will continue to fight these small battles over relatively small amounts of money and we will not meet our larger vision of making bicycling an integral part of our transportation system. While we were not successful at the Joint Finance Committee, the good news is we are starting to see progress. Thanks to the Bike Fed efforts and the hard work of the larger bicycling community, we're starting to hear back from political leaders on both sides of the aisle. Their offices are not only calling us back, but are reaching out to us. Members of the Joint Finance Committee cited our talking points from our previous meetings during their discussion on the $5 million funding. During the last several months, we've been focusing on building relationships and directly communicating our Wisconsin bicycling story with political leaders. Bike Fed hired a lobbying firm, Hubbard Wilson & Zelenkova, in December of 2010. The lobbyists have played a significant role is getting us meetings with important political leaders. We began sharing our important message of bicycling economic and tourism impacts well before the budget was released in preparation for potential cuts. The Bike Fed has met with the following political leaders since January: - Governor Walker (2 separate meetings) - WisDOT Secretary Mark Gottlieb - DNR Secretary Cathy Stepp - Tourism Secretary Stephanie Klett - Rep. Pocan - Sen. Risser - Speaker Fitzgerald - Sen. Miller - Sen. Fitzgerald - Sen. Darling - Rep. Barca The current legislative agenda we are pushing can be found here: http://bfw.org/advocacy/index.php?category_id=5019 Our primary focus has been the $5 million cut. These are very difficult political times. While we have not won back our state bicycling funding, we are not giving up. We will continue to work hard on this issue, build relationships, and forge ahead. After the budget is passed, we will be heavily focused on the passage of Vulnerable Users' Legislation. There is a gap in the law for education and penalties when Vulnerable Users' are harmed on the road. We'll need your help in promoting this legislation to better protect bicyclists and other vulnerable users of the road. Thank you for all the work everyone on this list serve contributes to making Madison and the rest of our state an amazing place to bike. Kind Regards, Amanda ________________________ Amanda White Associate Director Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin (608) 251-4456 [email protected] www.bfw.org <http://www.bfw.org/> On Thu, May 5, 2011 at 10:18 AM, Matt Logan <[email protected]> wrote: http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/lifestyle/121257974.html In my opinion, the BFW failed to craft an ask that had a chance with Republican legislators. I was greatly disappointed with the advocacy agenda materials from the Bike Summit a couple weeks ago. One only has to listen to a few bike-related discussions on talk radio to understand the absolute stupidity of the pitch that the BFW has been making. Let me reiterate what should have been pitched: Republicans pretty much believe that it is the obligation of every adult to drive an automobile, and that other modes are only for people who cannot drive, either by virtue of financial or age related issues. They believe busses are only for people who are too young or cannot afford to drive. They believe that bicycling for transportation is impossible and impractical, except for children. Therefore, if you are going to ask for money for bicycling, it has to be for programs that fit into the cultural identity of the Republican party, and that means money to help kids get around by bike to where they need to go. I figure I only have to repeat this another 5 times before the message sinks in, and trust me, I will be repeating it. =Matt
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