Monday, April 25, 2011

Council At-Large Election tomorrow: who's talking about bikes?

(Image from
clipart)
Just a reminder, Tuesday, April 26, 2011 is the date for the District's Special Election for Council of the District of Columbia and certain members of the District's Board of Education.  Specifically, the Council election will determine who will fill the At-Large seat vacated by the election of Kwame Brown as Council Chairman last November. The election has several candidates, with information about them available here.

As part of the election process, each candidate was either asked questions by various organizations or provided information on their websites about a variety of topics.  Regarding bicycling, the candidate websites were examined to determine if there were any mentioned of bicycling-related terms.

Candidates without information are not necessarily opposed to bicycling, just that this information was not available as of today. Conversely, having a statement that refers to biking does not necessarily mean they are advocates.

BAC is not endorsing any candidate.

Candidate statements regarding biking are below in order of their appearance on the District of Columbia Board of Elections and Ethics Candidate Statement page.  The candidate website is also available as is their party affiliation. If they provided a statement or link to a statement about bikes the statement is listed below.  If information with regard to biking is available an not below, please post a comment with a link to the specific statement.


Alan Page
Statehood Green
"I am interested in serving on the Committee on Public Works and Transportation because I use both my bicycle and public transportation to get around town (in addition to my trusty fuel efficient car), so I have a personal passion for public transit and biking infrastructure in the city (and for the continued improvement of both). Portland has made some radical improvements in the area of bicycle transit and I hope to get the District to follow their lead in future fiscal years (possibly as soon as FY 2014, if I am elected by the people of the District)."

(Source)

Dorothy Douglas
Democratic

No information or statement found regarding bicycling issues.

Bryan Weaver 
Democratic
"Cyclists:  We need expanded bike lanes throughout the city. With increased driver awareness, better street design that accommodates a variety of transit and continued education efforts for cyclists we can ensure all District residents have a safe and efficient experience."

"Summer Streets: Modeled after programs in New York City and other countries, D.C. needs to create its own program that would take place during the summer that would open up D.C.’s streets for people to play, walk, and bike. The event will be part bike tour, part block party and a great way to meet neighbors."

(Source)

"Weaver is a supporter of multimodal transportation and livable communities. He regularly rides the bus or walks and supports expanding bike lanes in the city. Weaver believes pedestrian and cyclist safety should be a priority for DDOT and MPD."

(Source)

Arkan Haile
Independent

No information or statement found regarding bicycling issues.
Joshua Lopez
 Democratic
No information or statement found regarding bicycling issues.

Patrick Mara
Republican
"I've got the 64 bus right outside my window, the CH metro and circulator a few blocks away, some great bike lanes, Bikeshare at 11th and Kenyon as well as 11th and park, and no car worries. When something isn't working in metro, bus, circulator, etc., I feel the pain. I've got no other options"

(Source)

Sekou Biddle
Democratic
No information or statement found regarding bicycling issues.
Tom Brown
Democratic
No information or statement found regarding bicycling issues.

Vincent Orange
Democratic
No information or statement found regarding bicycling issues.