Northwest Cycle Report

A motorcycle-friendly voter’s guide courtesy of WRRA and Texas Larry Walker:

Well, folks, the elections are finally upon us. This year our voting guide is quite a bit different. Instead of sending out a bunch of questionnaires and getting back a bunch of campaign promises, we are compiling a list of our current champions, along with the few truly difficult people with whom we have had to do business. As an added bonus, we have a WRRA member who is actually running for the state senate.

On the state level, we do not have too many incumbents that are either hard to deal with or downright hostile. Please keep in mind that it has been many years since any incumbent has been tested under fire for their position on freedom of choice (helmets), so that is not factored in.

First, the heroes:

Tim Sheldon (D-35) has always been a friend of the motorcycling community. He has been a long time prime sponsor for ABATE of WA’s helmet bill.

Steve Kirby (D-29) has sponsored the controversial anti motorcycling profiling bill in the face of all law enforcement opposition.

Dennis Flannigan (D-27) has sponsored the left turn bill since 2004.

Cary Condotta (R-12) is an active rider and dealership owner.

Ken Jacobsen (D-46), while unwilling to support the helmet bill, has been a consistent supporter of all other motorcycle rights issues and recommended a memorandum to the US Congress in support of the HIPAA legislation.

Dave Schmidt (R-44) is an active rider and a long term friend. He sponsored the shoulder driving version of the congestion mitigation bills.

Luke Esser (R-48) has been a strong supporter of our issues and proffered invaluable advice to help us move issues.

Now, the Zeros:

Speaker Frank Chopp (D-43) has never been willing to meet with us, but he has allowed our legislation to move to the floor of the house.

Geoff Simpson (D-47) took umbrage at our opposition to a bill he sponsored mandating mandatory ATV safety training for operation on state land, removed his support for a bill he had sponsored putting motorcycles into the Commute Trip Reduction Act, and voted against every motorcycle bill that came up after that.

Tom Campbell (R-2) has always been unapproachable by our representatives.

Shay Schaul-Berke (D-33) has been openly hostile. In 2004 she weakened our original Under Insured Motorist bill at the request of the insurance lobby and chased after Karen as we left the office to lecture her about smoking.

Sherry Appleton (D-23) has been unresponsive to her constituents. She voted against the left turn bill (HB-1466).

Constant friends

Incumbent Senator Pam Roach (R-31) has supported motorcycle issues consistently during her tenure in the Senate, and sponsored the helmet freedom bill in it’s original form.

Incumbent Representative Dan Roach (R-31) has supported motorcycle issues consistently during his tenure in the House, and sponsored the UIM bill.

Incumbent Senator Jerome Delvin (R-8) sponsored the original helmet freedom bill when he was in the house and continued to carry the flag until he passed it off to the capable hands of Senator Tim Sheldon (D-35).

Incumbent Representative Richard Debolt (R-20) is an active rider, has consistently supported our issues, and took up the sponsorship of the helmet freedom bill when Jerome Delvin moved to the senate.

On the “D” side of the aisle:

Alex Wood (D-3)

Al O’Brien –(D-1)

Hans Dunshee (D-44)

Bill Grant (D-16)

Dave Quall (D-40)

Dave Upthegrove (D-33)

On the “R” side of the aisle:

Jim Buck (R-24)

Glenn Anderson (R-5)

Joyce McDonald (R-25)

Beverly Woods (R-23)

Ed Orcutt (R-18)

Maureen Walsh (R-16)

It should be noted that Senator Stephen Johnson, who is running for the Supreme Court, has been one of our constant friends for years.

Who voted and how

Our last successful bill was HB 1257, the UIM correction bill. Who voted for us, and who against us?

State House of Representatives

NO member of the House voted against this bill, either on first passage off the floor or on concurrence with the Senate.

State Senate

All but the following senators voted in favor of the bill:

Deccio (R-14), Fraser (D-22), Prentice (D-11), Thibaudeau (retiring).

New kids in town

These are either legislators with established track records that are moving (typically from the House to the Senate), or challengers who sport motorcycle credentials.

31st District

While some of the state races are a toss up because neither candidate has any real credibility with the motorcycling community, the senate race in the 31st is the exact opposite. We are hung on the horns of a dilemma with two candidates who deserve our support.

Incumbent Senator Pam Roach, as noted above, has been a consistent friend for years.

Challenger Yvonne Ward has been riding motorcycles for 26 years, and is a member of Washington Road Riders Association. She supports freedom of choice for adults. When asked about mandatory liability insurance for motorcyclists, she questioned the concept based on availability of coverage (as reported by Texas Larry). She states she would vigorously defend the motorcycle safety education fund from reallocation (as we fought a few years ago).

No matter how you vote in this race you cannot go wrong.

43rd District

Representative Ed Murray is seeking the Senate seat being left vacant by Pat Thibaudeau, who is retiring. Murray has supported numerous motorcycle issues as the chair of the House Transportation Committee.

Federal races

United States Senate

The incumbent, Maria Cantwell, has met with motorcycle lobbyists from WRRA at her Washington DC office as part of a group event. She has failed to join as a cosponsor to the HIPAA correction bill in either the 108th or 109th Congress, although we requested that she do so and personally briefed her on the bill. Senator Cantwell was a supporter of the “Lautenberg amendment” to the SAFETEA-LU bill that would have required a state to have a mandatory helmet law in order to qualify for the motorcycle safety block grant program; Senator Cantwell was the first Senator to support the amendment.

The challenger, Mike McGavick, has met with motorcycle lobbyists from WRRA in his Seattle campaign office. He has examined the current Senate bills supported by WRRA and commented favorably on them. McGavick has no history specifically related to motorcycle rights.

US Congress, 1st District

Representative Jay Inslee has not joined as a cosponsor of our HIPAA legislation in either the 108th or 109th Congress nor on the Right to Repair Act. We have met him ad his with staff and briefed them on our issues.

Challenger Larry Ishmael has not been contacted by WRRA. If you have spoken with this candidate about motorcycle rights issues, please contact Texas Larry Walker to discuss the candidate’s positions.

US Congress, 2nd District

Representative Rick Larsen has personally met with motorcycle lobbyists from WRRA in his Washington DC office. Larsen has joined as a cosponsor on our HIPAA legislation in both the 108th and 109th Congresses, but not the Right to Repair Act.

Challenger Doug Roulstone has not been contacted by WRRA. If you have spoken with this candidate about motorcycle rights issues, please contact Texas Larry Walker to discuss the candidate’s positions.

US Congress, 3rd District

Representative Brian Baird has joined as a cosponsor on our HIPAA legislation in the 108th and 109th Congresses but not on the Right to Repair Act. We have met with staff and briefed them on our issues.

Challenger Michael Messmore has not been contacted by WRRA. If you have spoken with this candidate about motorcycle rights issues, please contact Texas Larry Walker to discuss the candidate’s positions.

US Congress, 4th District

Representative Doc Hastings has not joined as a cosponsor on our HIPAA legislation in the 109th Congress, but did so in the 108th Congress; he has not cosponsored the Right to Repair Act. We have met with staff and briefed them on our issues.

Challenger Richard Wright has not been contacted by WRRA. If you have spoken with this candidate about motorcycle rights issues, please contact Texas Larry Walker to discuss the candidate’s positions.

US Congress, 5th District

Representative Cathy McMorris has personally met with motorcycle lobbyists from WRRA in her Washington DC office, continuing a relationship that was forged when she was in the Washington State House. McMorris has not joined as a cosponsor on our HIPAA legislation in the 109th Congress (and was not in office in the 108th); she also has not cosponsored the Right to Repair Act.

Challenger Peter Goldmark has spoken with WRRA and his staff has expressed interest in motorcycle rights issues. At this time, neither Goldmark’s staff nor the candidate have adopted positions on motorcycle rights issues.

US Congress, 6th District

Representative Norm Dicks has not joined as a cosponsor of our HIPAA legislation in either the 108th or 109th Congress nor on the Right to Repair Act. We have met with him and his staff and briefed them on our issues.

Challenger Doug Cloud has not been contacted by WRRA. If you have spoken with this candidate about motorcycle rights issues, please contact Texas Larry Walker to discuss the candidate’s positions.

US Congress, 7th District

Representative Jim McDermott has joined as a cosponsor on our HIPAA legislation in both the 108th and 109th Congresses, but not the Right to Repair Act. We have met with staff and briefed them on our issues.

Challenger Steve Beren has not been contacted by WRRA. If you have spoken with this candidate about motorcycle rights issues, please contact Texas Larry Walker to discuss the candidate’s positions.

Challenger Linnea Noreen has not been contacted by WRRA. If you have spoken with this candidate about motorcycle rights issues, please contact Texas Larry Walker to discuss the candidate’s positions.

US Congress, 8th District

Representative Dave Reichert has not joined as a cosponsor of our HIPAA legislation in either the 108th or 109th Congress nor on the Right to Repair Act. We have met with staff and briefed them on our issues.

Challenger Darcy Burner has been contacted by WRRA. Burner’s campaign manager initially agreed to meet with WRRA representatives, but failed to respond to subsequent follow-up communications by phone and email. WRRA has no knowledge of Burner’s position on motorcycle rights issues.

US Congress, 9th District

Representative Adam Smith has personally met with WRRA lobbyists in his Washington DC office. Smith joined as a cosponsor of our HIPAA legislation in the 109th Congress, but did not do so in the 108th; he has not cosponsored the Right to Repair Act.

Challenger Steven Cofchin has not been contacted by WRRA. If you have spoken with this candidate about motorcycle rights issues, please contact Texas Larry Walker to discuss the candidate’s positions.

I’m sure that I have missed some good people, and for that I apologize.

Now, gentle friends, contact the people running in your area and find out how they stack up. If you find someone that you like, offer to help them in the last days of the campaign.

“Texas” Larry Walker
Government Relations Specialist
Washington Road Riders Association

Tags: motorcycling, politics, Washington