Ground Work

Today I met with the campaign manager for a very important candidate -- one who's running in a very important race. From a strategic standpoint, today's little chat could affect the freedom every motorcyclist in and around my state for years to come.

About a month ago I took a look at this year's crop of candidates in House of Delegates races all across the state. Using campaign money as a guide, I picked the most evenly matched races. And using the legislature's voting record on repeal bills, I found close races between candidates on opposite sides of the helmet law.

The guy I met today works for an incumbent Delegate who always supports repeal. But this Delegate is also a member of the House Transportation committee, which ups the ante considerably. Not only does he go to bat for us at the capital, he sticks his neck out for us.

He's exactly the kind of ally we need to keep in the state legislature. And my sincere hope is that he'll sponsor (or co-sponsor) our next repeal bill. But I can't ask him for such a huge favor without something to show for it: campaign workers.

That was the purpose of today's meeting -- to lay some ground work. This candidate is in a very close race, and he needs our help. Real help -- not just rooting from the sidelines. He needs bikers on the front lines as campaign workers. And that's what we talked about today.

The campaign manager said he gets about 10 requests per day, from voters that want campaign signs in their front yards. That means someone has to deliver them, of course. And that's where we come in. Not only will we be helping out, we'll also be freeing up other workers to do the things we HATE doing ... like phone banking and door-to-door canvassing.

Delivering signs is easy work. Even a cave man can do it. Or a biker, if you think about it. Just find the house, plant a sign, and move on to the next address. It takes about an hour to put in 10 signs -- less time if you're good at it, and your ole' lady is riding along.

Of course there are more traditional ways to fight the helmet law. You can go to biker meetings and debate the issues. Or you can go on poker runs and raise money for your cause. Maybe you can have a charity event to help the biker community.

Or you could just END helmet law.

Take one hour out of your "busy schedule" and directly support legislators that will repeal the helmet law. Don't bother debating the concept with bikers that don't do anything except talk about it. And don't try to sell the idea to bikers that really don't care. Definitely don't attempt to win the hearts and minds of the public that will never "get it." Just END it, with only one hour's worth of work.

So I promised the campaign manager that I'll make sure those campaign signs get delivered. My job now is to find a couple of bikers that are willing to use their brains AND get off their asses. Not an easy task, I assure you.

At the end of the campaign season, one of two things will have happened. Either a couple of truly righteous bikers will have risen to the challenge, or I'll be standing alone when it comes to helping a legislator who's fighting for my rights.

And I'll talk to that candidate after the election is over, and he's once again a member of the House of Delegates. That's when I will look him straight in the eye and tell him whether bikers helped him. Or whether they left him hanging out to dry.

If you want to look good, hang some flags on the back of your bike, and cover yourself with cool patches and smart-ass stickers. But if you want to do more than strike a pose, get off your butt and do some campaign work ... for those biker-friendly candidates who are the only ones who can restore our rights.

The first step is to click on the red "Subscribe" tab at the top of RIDE2REPEAL.COM so you can get our Legislative Alerts. That's how you find out about important races near you. Then it's your job to show up and help when the call comes out.

And if you'd like to notch it up to the next level, just pop me an email at Bikers4BillSponsors@gmail.com. We use a step-by-step process that's easy to do ... and NOT a complete waste of your time.

New York Election Results

In my last article about New York's Assembly District 38, I said this was an opportunity that would come and go. And that New York bikers would have no effect on the election.

I'm very happy to say that they proved me wrong.

Step by Step

There are several steps that lead to electing a biker-friendly legislator. And each additional election win is another building block of the biker-friendly majority.

But knowing what needs to be done is far different than doing what needs to be done. That takes practice, and we just gained some valuable experience in New York.

The first step is knowing there's a special election coming up. I scan the news all the time, so no problem there. Then I contact the SMRO to let them know about it. But just as often, they already know and tell me.

The next step is finding out where the candidates stand on the helmet law. Though I can do this myself, it's not really my place. As Tip O'Neal famously said, "All politics is local." And this is where New York bikers stepped up.

As I often do, I found the AD-38 candidates' websites to find their email addresses. Then I wrote both of them, asking the plain-vanilla question: "What's your position on the universal helmet law?" One of them wrote me back and said the usual, a non-commital response leaning toward "public safety."

When I replied, I said my usual. I told the candidate that local bikers wanted to serve as campaign volunteers, if only we had a candidate who shared our desire for repeal. In this case, the candidate wanted to meet me.

That's a very good sign. Whenever they do that, they want our help but don't want to go "on the record." Which is fine. We just want results.

Obviously I couldn't drive up to Queens, being down in Richmond for the annual Virginia Coalition of Motorcyclists summit. So I emailed our New York subscribers as well as officers of ABATE of NY, asking for help.

And you know what?

NY Bikers Responded

One NY biker called me up and explained how the political machinery works in New York City. And she knew what she was talking about, having worked for elected officials over the past several years. And what she said confirmed my feelings about how important campaign workers would be.

Another NY biker emailed me, saying she could meet with the candidate. And she made several attempts to set the meeting up. Though it never came to pass, keep in mind that the election was just a couple of days away. Campaign organizations are normally overwhelmed with last minute emergencies, so meeting appointments sometimes get lost in the shuffle.

Making History

NY bikers also sent me feedback on the race outcome. Which is now history. A new legislator is in Albany, representing Queens, NY.

This election is now in our history book, too. We have a list of Active Elections and Results at B4BS.NET. The active races are shown in blue text if bikers are taking steps to get involved. And there's a mysterious text entry block with a "Go" button below each one. (You'll have to email me to find out what goes into the block.)

Once an election is done, I show the name of the winner. And to demonstrate the power of campaign workers, I also show how many votes they won by, as well as the voter turnout. Sometimes it's a pretty small margin with very few voters overall, so any decent "get out the vote" effort can easily change the outcome.

There's also a color-code for the winner's name. Though you can probably figure it out yourself, again you'll have to email me to find out for sure. I don't share too much info because there are some things that only true activists should know. Everyone else can guess. And fortunately for us, our "colors" don't show up in search engines. In many ways we fly under the radar.

So my heartfelt thanks to Nancy, Tanya, and George for taking New York biker activism to the next level. Organized action takes leadership, and you guys are leading from the front lines.

But it also takes experience, and that comes from practice ... even of it means falling flat on your face. So next time there is a special election, New York bikers can take it up a notch. All it takes is a little effort when it counts most. And hopefully by the 2010 elections, we'll start to build that biker-friendly majority that we all need in Albany.

Questions? Comments? BikersGOTVibes@gmail.com.

How to Lobby

You just made the trip all the way to the state capital, and now you're about to meet your elected representatives. The legislature is in session, busy as a beehive.

There are several upcoming bills affecting motorcyclists, and one in particular will allow helmet choice for adults.

Your mission: Get your legislator to support bikers' rights on as many of these bills as possible.

Let's roll the tape...

Earnest Biker: Good morning Senator Limelight. I'm Earnest Biker, and I appreciate the opportunity to speak to you about motorcycle issues.

Senator Limelight: It's my pleasure to meet you. Where do you live?

Biker: In your district, just north of Pleasantville ... a little past the shopping center on Commerce Highway.

Senator: Oh, yes. Really nice folks up that way ...

Earnest Biker talks to Senator Limelight about motorcycle safety, distracted driving, motorcycle awareness month, and the helmet law. The meeting is brief but pleasant.

Senator Limelight doesn't say exactly where he stands on any specific motorcycling issue, but he's definitely listening. He promises to give it all some serious thought, and he tells Earnest that "it's really all about common sense."

Earnest Biker is really happy now. The meeting is going well, and they discuss many topics. He gives the senator a small stack of information about bills being considered, and thanks him for his time. Earnest then rides back home -- feeling like he really made a difference.

There's just one problem. He didn't make a dent.

Senator Limelight doesn't know Earnest Biker from any other stranger. And while he's happy to spare a few minutes to listen to a constituent, he's got other things on his mind.

Core issues, like the economy and the environment. Hot button issues, like abortion and gun control. Things that make people get up from the couch, and out from in front of their widescreen TVs.

Plus there are deals to be made, whether its to promote his own agenda, or -- thinking ahead -- to building coalitions for his reelection machine. He pays attention to groups that can "get out the vote" for him.

And the helmet law? Nothing to fear, because nobody ever got kicked out of office over that one. Despite all the talk when there's a repeal bill being considered, nobody even thinks about it during the campaign season.

Besides, bikers show up only one day a year, and then they go away. The worst they can do is clog up his computer with email. But their concerns can be deleted just as easily as their messages, because bikers are all bark and no bite.

Disaster Strikes

During the session, an insurance industry lobbyist testifies before the transportation committee.

He says helmets saved thousands of lives nationwide last year. He says that repealing the helmet law will cause an additional 250 deaths statewide next year. The helmet bill never even comes up for a committee vote, and Senator Limelight can only watch as the bill gets tabled indefinitely.

Repeal is dead for another year.

Earnest's riding buddies tell him "I told you it was a waste of time." And right about now he's starting to believe them.

Start at the Beginning

Let's try that again. Only this time Earnest Biker is connected to our email network of biker activists through RIDE2REPEAL.COM. In late summer -- long before the session begins -- he starts getting Legislative Alerts about nearby elections. Which ones matter, which ones don't.

Earnest finds out that Senator Limelight never voted for or against repeal. And that he is a shoo-in for re-election, running unopposed. There is absolutely nothing Earnest can do to help -- or hurt -- the senator's chances. Winning is guaranteed.

But just a few miles up the road, a popular attorney named Max Feller is running a strong race against a powerful incumbent, Senator Hugh Nannicrat. Powerful because Senator Nannicrat chairs the Senate Transportation Committee. And he always blocks repeal bills. That's why there is no voting record for anyone on the senate side, including Senator Limelight.

Let's listen in while Earnest Biker meets the new candidate ...

Earnest Biker: Good morning Mr. Feller. I'm Earnest Biker, and I was wondering what your position is on the universal helmet law.

Candidate Feller: Well, I haven't really given it much thought. I don't like the idea of government telling us what to do, but I think I'd have to come down on the side of public safety. Freedom is a good thing, but I'm concerned about the cost to taxpayers.

Biker: I see your point, and I've heard that same argument, too. But I firmly believe that adults should be able to choose. My riding buddies feel the same way as well. Senator Nannicrat always blocks our repeal bill, and we were hoping you'd be on our side.

Candidate: Do you have any information that supports your position? If I opposed the helmet law, I'd need to explain why. What should I tell people when they ask me about it?

Biker: We all have different reasons for wanting repeal. But there's one thing bikers have in common: We will work our hearts out for someone who will stand up for our freedom. Nobody else really cares ... not enough to lift a finger, anyway. And nobody will ever vote you out of office for supporting repeal, so you don't have to even debate it.

Now watch as the candidate gives Earnest Biker the green light ...

Candidate: Personally, I'd wear a helmet ... most of the time. Not on a nice day like today, though. What a beauty! Like I said, there's enough government interference in our lives already. I can definitely support your position on repeal. And bikers can defintely count on me to represent them at the state capital.

Biker: How can we help you? We're pretty good at delivering campaign signs, and we all have pickup trucks. *grin* Do you have someone you want us to work with ... like your campaign manager? Give me his cell number, and I'll pass it along to my riding buddies ...

The rest of the story is that Candidate Feller is now Senator Feller. It was a close race, but Earnest and his friends plastered the whole town with campaign signs. Senator Feller won by a narrow margin, and he knew that a small handful of bikers made all the difference.

Many of his new senate colleagues knew it, too. Those bikers came out of nowhere, and took down a senior member of the senate. Nannicrat never saw it coming.

Easy Lobby

This time it's a little different. Earnest Biker rides all the way to the state capital, just like before. But because he did his "homework" ahead of time, now he's there to visit his friends in the state legislature.

Including freshman Senator Feller.

They talk about biker issues, of course. But they also talk about how important it is to get the right people elected in the first place. And how working with friends is always a whole lot better than begging from strangers.

Later on, the repeal bill is debated in committee. But now that ex-Senator Nannicrat is gone, the committee actually votes on the bill. Its newest member, Senator Limelight, votes with the majority ... killing the bill for another year.

But now we have a voting record for all 12 committee members. Compared to last session -- when we had nothing -- that's real progress. And that voting record will be vitally important in a few years, when RIDE2REPEAL.COM starts another round of Legislative Alerts on the state senate races.

Meanwhile, some state senators may decide to change their minds about repeal. They just might figure out that it isn't worth fighting. Not after seeing what happended to their old friend, ex-Senator Nannicrat.

Moral of the Story

Think ahead and start upstream. Ignore candidates during the campaign season, and they'll ignore you during the legislative session.

Nothing works like campaign work. A few bikers in the right place, at the right time, doing the right thing, makes all the difference.

So get yourself plugged into the most effective network of biker activists in the nation. Click on the red Subscribe tab at the top of RIDE2REPEAL.COM to receive Legislative Alerts on important races near you. Or you can always shoot me an email at Bikers4BillSponsors@gmail.com.

Note: For the sake of brevity, I compressed several persons and events into one short story. Otherwise, everything is true.

< NY > Queens

The election for Assembly District 38 in Queens will be next Tuesday, September 15. Click on the map to see AD-38 and nearby Legislative Alert subscribers.

I've emailed the two candidates to find out where they stand on letting those who ride decide. One is interested in talking to me about it, and the other has yet to reply. If it turns out that there's a clear difference between the two on helmet law policy, I'll send an update to our Legislative Alert subscribers.

How far is AD-38? Enter your ZIP code to see: 

If you want to help build a biker-friendly majority in your state legislature, all you have to do is click on the red Subscribe tab at the top of B4BS.NET.

< CA > Yorba Linda

Just when we thought California was through with special elections this year. Not so fast! Here's an article about the sudden resignation of an Assemblyman from Yorba Linda:

Assemblyman resigns after sex scandal

San Francisco Chronicle An Orange County Republican resigned from the California Assembly Wednesday after a videotape surfaced of the lawmaker bragging about his sexual exploits with two women, one of whom reportedly is a lobbyist.

The Chronicle goes on to say that the special election for AD-72 will be held on either November 3 or December 1, which is up to Governor Schwarzenegger.

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

For California bikers, there's bad news as well as good news in this story. The bad news is that the outgoing assemblyman was a legislative ally. Losing his vote will hurt our standing in Sacramento.

But the good news is that we have tripled the number of Legislative Alert subscribers since the last special election, which was just a few days ago. Here is a map that shows the lay of the land in Southern California. Click on it to see AD-72 and nearby subscribers.

How far are you from AD-72? For directions, enter your ZIP code: 

Make no mistake about it, this is a defensive situation. Bikers can at best keep this a biker-friendly assembly seat. At this stage, the first thing we need to find out is who's running. Once we find out, we can ask the candidates where they stand on the helmet law.

Even though we have several Legislative Alert subscribers in the area, we can always use some more. Just visit B4BS.NET and click on the red Subscribe tab at the top.

A Day Well Spent

When it comes to bikers rights, what makes for a good day?

How about a nice long ride with your best girl? Meeting good people and eating good munchies at a beautiful desination? So far so good.

The catch? About two hours of real work, going door to door on behalf of a biker-friendly candidate. Knock on the door, talk for about 15 seconds, hand them a flyer, and go to the next address. There are worse jobs, that's for sure.

The best part, from a bikers rights standpoint, is results. Let's rewind the tape and note the important milestones.

Laying the Groundwork

It all had to start somewhere.

During the summer I looked at all the legislative races across my state. I discovered that only about a dozen of these races were truly competitive. I also looked at the voting record of each sitting legislator to see how they voted on the helmet law.

The next step was to contact the challengers to see how they felt about the helmet law. It was pretty easy. I visited their campaign websites and got their email addresses and phone numbers. Then I asked each of them a simple question: "What's your position on the universal helmet law?" In most cases they gave a simple answer.

Note: The candidate we helped today didn't have a quick answer. Instead it took about a week, but the answer came back, loud and clear: "Let those who ride decide."

As it turned out, we found 5 great races in one major city. All five were very close contests, and all five were between candidates on opposite sides of the helmet law.

Connect the Dots

I knew there were a couple of ABATE chapters near these five races, so I asked for help. Now ABATE is working directly with the five campaign managers, and ABATE is letting local bikers know about upcoming campaign events. In fact, that's how we found out about today's event.

Making a Difference

When we arrived at today's campaign event, we found a political rally in full swing. There were candidates for governor, delegate, and county commissioner. Not sure about the dog catcher. But we met two of the biker-friendly candidates that we're supporting.

We let our candidates know we were motorcylists, and we thanked them for supporting our right to decide. They let us know how happy they were to see motorcyclists making an impact, and how grateful they were to have the much-needed help in such a tight race.

Later on, while we were canvassing door to door, we came across a few homeowners that had motorcyles. Other times it was obvious that they were veterans. I happen to be both biker and veteran, so making a personal connection is almost certainly a vote for our candidate.

Some of the voters asked for campaign yard signs, taking their support for our candidate up a notch. And I encouraged them to volunteer in the campaign as well, possibly increasing the number of campaign volunteers. There's no better way to get a good candidate elected. Delivering many votes is more powerful than casting a single one.

Making our rounds, we noticed a business on a main roadway that had a bunch of bikes parked out in front. So we stopped and spoke to the owner.

It turned out that the business was a little bike shop inside of an equipment rental outlet. We told the owner about our efforts to support the biker-friendly candidate. He then asked us for a large campaign sign. Each of his customers are now potential votes as well.

Bottom Line

We went out there and made a difference. A big difference!

Candidates on both sides of the helmet law saw us working -- right where it matters most to legislators. We helped "get out the vote" for a biker-friendly candidate in a close race. And a business is now helping spread the word to the motorcycling community.

And that was what two bikers accomplished in two hours.

With a little help from the motorcycling community, five more biker-friendly legislators will be at the state capital. And that means five more votes in support of a repeal bill, as well as bikers rights across the board.

You can make this kind of difference in your neck of the woods. Get connected by visiting RIDE2REPEAL.COM and click on the red "Subscribe" tab at the top of the page. You can also contact us at BikersGOTVibes@gmail.com for more info.

California Election Results

The special election for Assembly District 51 came and went, with Steve Bradford winning with 52% of the vote. This race was needed to fill Curren Price's old seat, which he vacated during his successful run for State Senate District 26.

California bikers were on the sidelines for this race. According to conventional wisdom, it just wasn't worth the effort. Bradford was a shoo-in, after all. Even if bikers had contacted him, he probably wouldn't have been the kind of candidate we could support.

But here are some things to think about before we can conclude that this race was a waste of time.

1. Special elections have very low voter turnout.
It's typically only around 10%. The winning campaign is the one that's best at "getting out the vote." And that takes volunteers. Whoever helps win the race will have a place at the table when legislation is on the menu.

2. Candidates are listening before the election.
Candidates look for opportunities to connect -- to voters as well as organizations. But once in office, they can ignore everyone ... except their friends, of course. And their friends are the people that helped them get elected.

3. Candidates want to avoid a costly run-off.
Candidates must win a primary by 50% or more to take office. Otherwise it's on to a general election. Bradford passed the 50% mark with fewer than 1,000 votes. A dozen biker volunteers could have forced a runoff.

4. How to win: Practice makes perfect.
Suppose it was a close race after all. Would we have been ready to act? Or would we have been caught flat-footed? We can't wait for a perfect world. Winning takes effort, and seasoned vets are always more effective than rookies.

The good news is that special elections always pop up, year after year. According to the California Secretary of State website, there have been 9 special elections for legislative seats since 2005, counting primaries as well as general elections. That's about 2 per year, so the opportunities will keep coming.

It's also worth noting that 2010 is an election year for the whole state. Half of the state senate seats, and ALL of the assembly seats will be up for grabs. Many of these races will be very close. And of these, some will be head-to-head contests between candidates on opposite sides of the helmet law.

Will California bikers be ready?

That's entirely up to us, and "us" includes you. Become an ABATE member. If you haven't already, subscribe to our Legislative Alerts by clicking on the red Subscribe tab at the top of B4BS.NET and get connected. If you are already are connected, help spread the word, and get other biker activists involved in campaign work. And the most important thing you can do is talk to the candidates before they get elected!

As always, feel free to comment right here, or shoot me an email at BikersGOTVibes@gmail.com.