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7/23/10 Letter from Buddy Cardoso, President of RIMA,
regarding up-coming elections and officials
Well the election season is here and very
shortly all the signs will be popping up as well as the phone
calls and the sight of candidates canvassing neighborhoods.
This year, as I mentioned in a newsletter a
little while back, we have a unique opportunity here in Rhode
Island. We will be electing a new governor, as well as the
entire State legislature.
While many voters this year may be tempted to
simply vote for �anyone else� other than the incumbent, I would
urge us all to find out where your current legislators, as well as
the challengers stand on the issues that are most important to the
bikers of Rhode Island. Over the next several weeks R.I.M.A. is
sending letters to candidates through out the State to get their
views and positions on three main areas of concern.
1)
What we want to know is what is their position on a
mandatory helmet requirement. Is a candidate in favor of, or
opposed to mandatory helmet laws. Does he, or she believe
that helmet choice is a personal, or a public safety issue?
2)
What is a candidate going to do about the issue of
distracted driving and holding motor vehicle operators responsible
for the damage and destruction that is caused by inattention, and
right of way encroachment? This can be especially
devastating to a motorcyclist and his/her family.
3)
We also asked what, as an elected state official, he or she
feels about local cities and towns passing their own motorcycle
noise ordinances beyond what is already mandated in state law and
inspection requirements.
As of today each of the candidates for the General Officers
have been mailed and we are waiting for responses.
Over the next weeks we will contact incumbents and challengers
to the legislature and get their views, or their failures to
respond. It is through this kind of communication that we as
citizens, voters, and bikers can make an informed decision about
whom to vote for.
Another important aspect is to use R.I.M.A. as a coordination
site to find out whom among the candidates is already known as
biker friendly or unfriendly. I would urge anyone to contact
me and share what you may know of a particular individual running
for office.
For instance, in the past R.I.M.A. has had a very good
relationship with several legislators. Off the top of my
head I can think of Sen John Tassoni, Sen. Dennis Algiere.
Rep�s Charlene Lima, Peter Petrarca, Thomas Winfield, Arthur
Corvese, and Jan Malik to name a few. These are people that
we can and have worked with and that�s information that all of our
members can use.
Also Former Rep. Peter Kilmartin, who is now running for
Attorney General was very instrumental in getting text messaging
banned, and this year sponsored the �Colin Foote Act� which was
passed into law in June.
We are fortunate here in my home in East Providence to have a
R.I.M.A. member running for Senate in District 18. Jim
Miller is a biker, R.I.M.A. member, and one of the founders of the
Brian �B=Lo� Lundstom Run. Jim has already responded to our
questions, and as expected, he would oppose any mandatory helmet
law, plans to work with R.I.M.A. on a distracted driving/right of
way bill, and believes that it is the states responsibility to
regulate motor vehicles, not the cities or towns.
In Coventry we are also fortunate to have another biker running
for the Senate seat being vacated by Lou Raptakis. Councilman
Frank Hyde is running for that vacancy, and on the town council
seat, another R.IM.A. member, Gary Cote is running.
In closing, I want to encourage the sharing of any and all
information with regards to motorcycling issues as it applies to
candidates for public office in Rhode Island. It is through this
sharing of information that we the Bikers, Citizens, and Voters
can take control of our State back.
Responses from our legislators
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