A publication supporting the rights, safety and freedom of all motorcyclists through education and not legislation.
MAY 2012
VOLUME XXI, ISSUE I
abateofaz.org
ABATE of AZ. 7509 N. 12th St, #200 Phoenix, AZ 85020
Nonprofit Org US Postage Paid Permit #1662 Phoenix, AZ
remind them who they work for
Well the Capitol is mostly quiet now, the session is, or should be over and technically the legislators have gone home to their districts until January, 2013. 2012 seems to have spawned a very pleasant group of lawmakers; they’ve passed bills quickly and quietly, kind of like old married couples. In my experience that means that they just go along, business as usual, paying very little attention to their constituents. Is this why we elect them? I thought that since we are their “constituents”
they were supposed to work for us! Unfortunately it seems as if they’ve missed this memo. If you get the opportunity to attend a session (in either house) please pay close attention to what is happening on the floor. There is seldom any debate, because if there is dissent it is usually “taken care of” prior to the vote. The last session I attended every vote for a bill was unanimous. How is this possible? They’re legislators, they are supposed to have lively debate, and they’re supposed to stand up for the people that elected them. I was told that they agree on issues before they get to the floor. If this occurs on a regular basis doesn’t it lend itself to the possibility of too many “deals”?
I guess where I’m going with this is our involvement or lack of involvement, as the motorcycle community, in politics. Perhaps I’m just a bit skeptical, but do we bring our issues to the people that may be able to help us? We’re “Bikers” we argue amongst ourselves about many important motorcycle issues and a whole lot of nonsense,
but once a year we are at the Capitol and hopefully meet with our legislators either on the lawn or in their offices. What about the rest of the time? Do you think they remember you from meeting you one day a year? Not likely.
We can keep in touch though; we can call, write or email any one of our representatives and almost certainly get a response. Very often it is intimidating to put yourself out there and ask for their attention, but that is why they’re in office, to serve their constituents. The more often they hear from us, the more likely they are to remember us and value our interest in the process and our vote. Please stand up and be counted, you know as well as I do that generally the average cager can see three bikes on the road and those three have just turned into a “bunch of bikers”, let’s use that perception to our advantage! Carole O’Reilly ABATE Designated Lobbyist