 By Bruce Arnold
LET'S UNSEAT THOSE WHO WOULD UNSADDLE US
Make Anti-Biker Politicos Pay A Penalty At The Polls!
March 2008
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"Those who are too smart to engage in
politics are punished by being governed
by those who are dumber."--Plato
"I have come to the conclusion that
politics is too serious a matter to be left
to the politicians."--Charles de Gaulle
The focus of this article is HB-137, proposed legislation which will authorize the seizure of motorcycles and
revocation of motorcycle endorsements in the State of Florida. I am broadcasting this nationwide because if this bill
becomes law it will affect ALL bikers: If you ride to Daytona for Bikeweek, you will be subject to these
draconian provisions. And even if you don't, passage of this bill will set a precedent for similar legislation to
show up in your own statehouse. So please read on ... and please do whatever you can to help us kill this legislation
and remove from office the anti-motorcycle politicians who sponsor and support it.
I do not know what the amended wording of HB-137 is as of this writing...
http://tinyurl.com/2zxun2
...nor do I know when we can expect their next move on related Senate bill SB-802:
http://tinyurl.com/yuzl2r
What I do know is that ANY legislation that empowers Big Brother to revoke my motorcycle endorsement or seize my
motorcycle for ANY reason is legislation to which I am opposed!
Thanks in large part to our own political apathy and lobbying impotence, on 13 March 2008 a group of anti-biker
politicos--many of whom were elected without opposition in 2006, and as of yet face no opposition in 2008--gave
HB-137 the approval of the Florida House Committee on Infrastructure by a 9 to 1 vote (see who voted how below).
We must see that HB-137 does not pass in the Florida House, and that SB-802 is killed in the Florida Senate.
If you do not know what you can do personally to assist in this regard, I encourage you to contact your nearest SMRO chapter for guidance. If such guidance is not provided when requested, I encourage you to challenge your SMRO leadership.
Beyond that, I want to encourage all bikers everywhere to start paying more attention to who we are electing to
office, and to what legislation they sponsor or support once they get there. We need to show legislators everywhere
that sponsoring or supporting anti-motorcycle legislation will have serious political consequences. And the best
way to do that is to work openly and aggressively to oppose the re-election--and hopefully terminate the political
careers--of those who legislate against us. Let's support those who support us (like Greg Evers did), and...
Let's unseat those who would unsaddle us! It's high time we started making anti-biker politicos pay a penalty
at the polls. We can start with the sponsor and supporters of HB-137, key information about whom I provide below.
They are all up for re-election this year, so let's do what we can to boot them out of office. And by "we", I don't
just mean those of us who live in their districts ... or even in Florida: If they are running unopposed, let's find
a qualified candidate to run against them. If they have opposition that is (or could be persuaded to be) sympathetic
to our cause, let's get them elected (and never let them forget how they got there). And if they have skeletons in
the closet (as most of them do), let's dig'em out and help the media dish the dirt.
Remember, "It's not about FAIR."
Speaking strictly for myself and no other individuals or organizations,
Bruce Arnold
Bruce@LdrLongDistanceRider.com
Author and Publisher, LdrLongDistanceRider.com
Co-Moderator, Bruce-n-Ray's Biker Forum
Premier Member, Iron Butt Association
Sustaining Member, Motorcycle Riders Foundation
2007 Chairman's Circle, American Motorcyclist Association
***
This is the sponsor of HB-137:
Representative Carlos Lopez-Cantera (R)
carlos.lopez-cantera@myfloridahouse.gov
District 113 Office:
Suite 111
2300 Coral Way
Miami, FL 33145-3511
Phone: (305) 442-6877
2006 Election Results: Unopposed
Declared Opposition Candidates as of 03/14/2008: Betancourt, Javier (D)
District Map & Statistics:
http://www.myfloridahouse.gov/FileStores/
Web/District/H406H020_district_113wmap.pdf
http://www.myfloridahouse.gov/FileStores/
Web/District/HD_113.pdf
***
These 9 Infrastructure Committee Members voted ***FOR*** HB-137:
Representative Gary Aubuchon (R)
gary.aubuchon@myfloridahouse.gov
District 74 Office:
Suite 305
3501 Del Prado Boulevard
Cape Coral, FL 33904-7223
Phone: (239) 344-4900
2006 Election Results: Unopposed
Declared Opposition Candidates as of 03/14/2008: NONE
Representative Susan Bucher (D)
susan.bucher@myfloridahouse.gov
District 88 Office:
Suite 102
2240 Palm Beach Lakes Boulevard
West Palm Beach, FL 33409-3403
Phone: (561) 682-0156
2006 Election Results: Unopposed
Declared Opposition Candidates as of 03/14/2008: Pafford, Mark S. (D)
Representative Richard "Rich" Glorioso (R)
rich.glorioso@myfloridahouse.gov
District 62 Office:
Suite 204
110 W. Reynolds Street
Plant City, FL 33563-3379
Phone: (813) 757-9110
2006 Election Results: Won 26,994 to 12,850 over Jeremy Zelanes (D)
Declared Opposition Candidates as of 03/14/2008: NONE
Representative Ed Hooper (R)
ed.hooper@myfloridahouse.gov
District 50 Office:
Suite 206
2963 Gulf to Bay Boulevard
Clearwater, FL 33759-4259
Phone: (727) 724-3000
2006 Election Results: Won 21,138 to 17,525 over Candice Jovan (D)
Declared Opposition Candidates as of 03/14/2008: McMullen, Neil (D)
Representative Jimmy Patronis (R)
jimmy.patronis@myfloridahouse.gov
District 6 Office:
Suite A
455 Harrison Avenue
Panama City, FL 32401-2775
Phone: (850) 914-6300
2006 Election Results: Won 28,688 to 14,049 over Janice Lucas (D)
Declared Opposition Candidates as of 03/14/2008: NONE
Representative Stephen L. Precourt (R)
steve.precourt@myfloridahouse.gov
District 41 Office:
310 South Dillard Street
Suite 400
Winter Garden, FL 34787-3515
Phone: (407) 814-6138
2006 Election Results: Won 28,077 to 20,270 over Bill McManus (D)
Declared Opposition Candidates as of 03/14/2008: NONE
Representative Michael Scionti (D)
michael.scionti@myfloridahouse.gov
District 58 Office:
Suite 102
4221 North Himes Avenue
Tampa, FL 33607-6228
Phone: (813) 673-4674
2006 Election Results: Won 16,393 to 7,404 over Alfred Ruiz (R)
Declared Opposition Candidates as of 03/14/2008: Vazquez, Jose (D)
Rep. Kelly Skidmore (D)
kelly.skidmore@myfloridahouse.gov
District 90 Office:
Suite 205
7100 W. Camino Real Boulevard
Boca Raton, FL 33433-5510
Phone: (561) 470-6593
2006 Election Results: Unopposed
Declared Opposition Candidates as of 03/14/2008: NONE
Representative Nicholas R. "Nick" Thompson (R)
nick.thompson@myfloridahouse.gov
District 73 Office:
Suite 208
2120 Main Street
Fort Myers, FL 33901-3010
Phone: (239) 533-2411
2006 Election Results: Won 18,324 to 16,272 over Pete Burkert
Declared Opposition Candidates as of 03/14/2008: NONE
This 1 Infrastructure Committee Member voted ***AGAINST*** HB-137:
Representative Greg Evers (R)
greg.evers@myfloridahouse.gov
District 1 Office:
5224 Willing Street
Milton, FL 32570-4971
Phone: (850) 983-5550
2006 Election Results: Unopposed
Declared Opposition Candidates as of 03/14/2008: NONE
***
Source links:
http://www.myfloridahouse.gov/Sections/Representatives/
representatives.aspx?SessionId=57
http://election.dos.state.fl.us/elections/officesup/08officesup.shtml
http://election.dos.state.fl.us/cand/Index.asp
http://election.dos.state.fl.us/elections/
resultsarchive/Index.asp?ElectionDate=11/7/2006&DATAMODE=
***
-----Original Message-----
From: Bruce Arnold [mailto:Bruce@LdrLongDistanceRider.com]
Sent: Friday, January 11, 2008 8:31 AM
To: 'carlos.lopez-cantera@myfloridahouse.gov'
Cc: 'gary.aubuchon@myfloridahouse.gov'; 'susan.bucher@myfloridahouse.gov'; 'greg.evers@myfloridahouse.gov';
'rich.glorioso@myfloridahouse.gov'; 'ed.hooper@myfloridahouse.gov'; 'jimmy.patronis@myfloridahouse.gov';
'steve.precourt@myfloridahouse.gov'; 'scott.randolph@myfloridahouse.gov'; 'nick.thompson@myfloridahouse.gov'
Subject: HB 137 Has You Speeding Recklessly Towards the Loss of Your Next Election
To Carlos Lopez-Cantera:
Be advised that the legislation you propose as "HB 137 - Offenses Committed While Operating a Motorcycle" is
unconstitutionally discriminatory. If enacted, it would not survive its first contest in the courts. All you
will have done is waste a lot of people's time and money, and guarantee yourself and your supporters stiff
opposition at the polls and seriously diminished future political prospects.
Bruce Arnold
***
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