Cyclists and Politics
This story from Montgomery County shows just how well cyclists and politicians can work together:
<img width="146" height="120" align="left" src="http://www.baltimorespokes.org/images/articles/20060830123907772_1.jpg" alt="">Starting about 8 months ago, Steve Silverman (Montgomery County Executive) arranged a meeting with cyclists, asked us for our priorities, advised us on strategy, had his staff collaborate with us, introduced proposals on our behalf and backed us up at almost every opportunity. Even after the bike-friendly T&E committee had added funds for bike projects, Steve asked for more funding before the full council, leading council members to joke about his being in the pocket of cyclists. As a result of efforts by Silverman and members of the T&E committee (and of course bike advocates and volunteers like you), the huge bike budget cuts proposed by Duncan were reversed AND we got significant extra funding for the DPWT bikeways program, signage, shoulder/bike lane sweeping, CCT maintenance and other efforts. It's been a great year.
One of the best and most visible ways to help candidates is to provide human support - i.e. volunteering. By showing up en masse to help at a campaign effort or event, you send the candidate a very clear yet positive message, and of course you help him/her to get elected. So Steve has asked me to ask a group of you to volunteer for his campaign one evening in August.
So on August 28th approximately 8 cyclists road from NIH to Silverman campaign office to do phone banking.
Steve Silverman web site: <a href="http://stevesilverman.org/">http://stevesilverman.org/</a>;