< CA > Los Angeles (S-26)

Governor Schwarzenegger announced a special election to fill a vacant CA State Senate seat in Los Angeles. Election Day will be on May 19, 2009.

Like most special elections, this provides bikers with a rare opportunity to get a biker-friendly candidate elected. And that's because special elections have a unique set of circumstances.

Unlike the regular elections in November, special elections don't have an incumbent. This levels the playing field, making the race more competitive. Additionally, voter turnout is almost always very low. That's why special election candidates target the 'party faithful' instead of the general public. Phone banks and literature drops are their preferred tactics.

While it's true that a successful candidate needs plenty of volunteers in any election, this factor is magnified in special elections. For one thing, there are fewer available volunteers for the same reason that there's a low voter turnout. People just aren't that interested in general, and voter awareness is typically low.

That's where biker activists come into the picture. Unlike during the regular campaign season, we don't have to divide ourselves up across several different races. With special elections we can instead concentrate on one location. And just like in a high-compression engine, the tiniest spark in the right place produces a lot more power where it counts.

Senate District 26

This CA State Senate district lies in the heart of Los Angeles. (Click map to see in detail.) The good news is that we can call up a couple of biker activists that live within an easy drive of LA. And the weather in May should be pretty good for anyone coming from afar.

The not-so-good news is that there aren't more Southern California bikers that subscribe to our Email Alert network. Instead of a couple, we'd much rather have a few dozen. But we'll do our best get more biker activists plugged into the network -- hopefully in time to make a difference in the LA race.

Still, there's plenty of time before the special election, and plenty of work for us to do right now. We'll check with California legislators who share our opposition to the helmet law. And we'll partner up with the SMRO so we all stay on the same page.

Hopefully our Bill Sponsors will endorse a candidate. If and when that happens we'll send an Email Alert to our subscribers. Then it only takes a couple of bikers and a couple of hours.

If the election is close, we can tip the scales in the direction of freedom. But we gotta be there to make it happen.

California Legislature Blogs

>> 02/05/09: CA Ripple Effect
>> 01/29/09: CA Special Election