League of American Bicyclists Board Member Election Heats Up

Starting December 13, members of the League of American Bicyclists will vote to elect five nominees to the fifteen-member board of directors. Three of the board positions are not up for election this year, and the other seven are filled by appointment by the board itself.

The number of appointed positions grew from zero to four out of twelve members in 1998 and to five in 2003. This year, the number of board positions grows from twelve to fifteen, and the number of appointed positions grows from five to seven. The League maintains that its election process is more transparent than those of IMBA, Adventure Cycling, and Bikes Belong.

Twenty-three candidates applied for nomination. The board nominated eight of them. Three of the remaining candidates, John Brooking, Eli Damon and Khalil Spencer, are gathering signatures in an attempt to get their names on the ballot. They have until October 20 to acquire approximately 1,000 signatures, of which they have 200 so far.

Brooking has been cycling for a long time and he became a member of the League of American Bicyclists in 2007. Since 2009, he has been teaching cycling classes as a Certified League Cycling Instructor (LCI). "I have discovered that my greatest area of passion in bicycling is teaching adult bicyclists how to ride with confidence on urban streets with car traffic and without dependence on special bike infrastructure," says Brooking. "Accordingly, as a board member, I would concentrate on continued improvement of the Smart Cycling program, especially in assistance to LCI's to creatively structure and market their classes."

Spencer dislikes the fact that too many board member positions are now by appointment only. "Imagine if the U.S. Congress behaved that way!" he chuckles. Spencer still sees the benefits of many of the League's corner stones and wants to keep at it. "We must maintain the League's excellent educational programs by supporting and expanding our LCI network, at the same time expanding our educational reach through close cooperation with other key programs, such as Safe Routes to Schools."

Damon's visual disability prevents him from acquiring a driver's license. He picked up a copy of John Forester's "Effective Cycling" book and his life began to change. "From this book, I learned that I could go wherever I wanted, whenever I wanted, without the excessive thinking, planning, and worrying that I had formerly associated with bicycle travel. It was the most revelatory experience of my life."

Damon has suffered harassment from police officers for legally riding on the roadway. He thinks that this is one area where the League of American Bicyclists needs to step up its efforts. "The League completely ignored my pleas for help and did not even communicate the problem to other League members to aid me in gathering support," Damon says.

The trio has until October 20 to gather 1,000 signatures from League of American Bicyclists members. The petition can be read and signed at http://www.petitiononline.com/0league0/petition.html.