Candidates Position on Cycling

There's another election coming up, this time, it is to elect a new mayor and city council.  This Election will be held on May 9th, 2015 and early voting is From April 27 to May 5.  But who to vote for is the question we're all asking in the bicycling community for I my self don't want to elected anybody who would act like Rob Ford of Toronto and remove perfectly good bicycle lanes especially where they're needed the most..  Now I'm not going to endorse any candidate, I will however say ya or nay to their ideals.  I will however remind everyone who voted against bicycling last year on May 29, specifically voted to remove the bicycle lanes on S Flores.  they are....

Acting Mayor Ivy Taylor then council Lady for District 2
District 3 Rebecca J. Viagran
District 4 Rey Saldana 
District 6 Ray Lopez
District 7 Cris Medina
District 8 Ron Nirenberg
District 9 Joe Krier
District 10 Mike Gallagher

So my Advice is don't vote for anyone on this list.  They're stuck in 20th century anyway and I don't know about you, but I want a better bicycling San Antonio for the 21st century.

Now I decided to ask all the mayoral candidates except Ivy Taylor and asked them five questions.  Those Questions are...
1.  Would you have voted to remove the S Flores Bike Lanes?
2.  What are your plans to improve Bicycling as a form of transportation in the City?
3.  Are you a supporter of Uber and Lyft?
4.  What are your plans to improve VIA? 
5. 5. Anything Else you would want to add?

Now if they failed to get into contact with me and I worked hard to contact every candidate, I'll be criticizing what they wrote on their campaign site concerning the five questions I've asked.  The Candidates are listed in the order that they'll appear on the ballot according the Rivard Report. To find their website, just click on the candidate's name.  Now on to the Mayors....


Paul A. Martinez
1. Would you have voted to remove the S Flores Bike Lanes?
Answer: No…bike lanes are an important part of our city and are vital to the public safety of our citizens who choose to ride bikes as an alternate means of transportation.

2. What are your plans to improve Bicycling as a form of transportation in the City?
Answer:  As we move our city into the future we need to plan bike lanes so that there is no reason to shut them in the future as our city grows.

3. Are you a supporter of Uber and Lyft?
Answer:  Yes I am a supporter of Uber & Lyft however while I welcome free enterprise they must adhere to public safety ordinances. I do not agree with all of the ordinances that our city placed on the ride-share public safety is non-negotiable.

4. What are your plans to improve VIA?
Answer:  My plan to improve Via is to bring in change management specialist that would identify the eight (8) types of waste going on in Via. I would also make sure that their leadership are qualified to actually run Via.

5. Anything Else you would want to add?
Answer:  It is critical that “We the People” have a voice in our city government but in order to do that we must stop electing career politicians and start electing career leaders. We need to elect a leader with vision, a leader who will listen to everyone and not a special interest group.


Douglas S. Emmett
No Answer, No Website

Michael Idrogo
This is probably the most retarted idea I have heard to improve our economy which is to build a Canal from here to the Coast.  Now if your asking why this is such a terrible idea, the answer for that is that we don't have the water to build a canal.  You see during the founding of our city, the San Antonio river was used for commerce for it was wider and deeper than it is today.  As more and more people moved to San Antonio, the Edwards Aquifer was tapped more and more thus less water was going to the river. Today the City of San Antonio has to pump water into the river to create the famed Riverwalk and you can see this pump which has been on more and more since the building the Museum Reach right behind the Witte.  The good news is that we have railroads for bulk items which is normally what is sent on barges these days because if we still had to use rivers to bring all our cheap goods, then San Antonio wouldn't be a big city it is today.

Mr Idrogo idea isn't limited to San Antonio for once upon a time, Dallas was talking about actually building a port.  If it was dumb ideal for Dallas, then it's also dumb ideal for San Antonio and Roman Mars of 99% Invisible illustrates it better than I could.  Listen to the story right here.


Raymond Zavala
No Answer, No Website.

Mike Villarreal
I'm for one is drooling over this, Making San Antonio one of the best bikable places in the USA.  If you  read my blog regularly, this is what I've been wanting in San Antonio and it is the reason why I write this blog.  Here's the thing, He will not have enough time to make San Antonio a great bicycling city during his term.  He might be able to get San Antonio to move it's ranking on Bicycling Magazine from 48 to probably 40.  To really become on Bicycling Magazine Top 10 List he would have to divert at least 50% of the roadway maintenance fund to do it and knowing how long it takes just to repair a stroad in San Antonio, will be lucky that we get like 3 or 4 of them.  His other ideas are also long term solutions so don't expect them to be implemented with in a 4 year period.  Again I am drooling over this, but I'm grounded in reality and I realize that this just ain't really possible because Unlike Austin which has groups like BikeAustin.org and the headquarters of BikeTexas, San Antonio lacks an organized bicycling community that is politically involved to really make San Antonio bikeable. 

Tommy Adkisson
1. Would you have voted to remove the South Flores bike lanes?
Answer:  I would not have voted to remove the South Flores bike lanes. To make our city both more walkable and bikeable, it’s imperative that we evaluate the way our streets are designed and constructed. Emphasizing our urban corridors (including making them friendly to non-drivers) would have a profound impact on our community- as a mechanism to relieve congestion on our expressways and also to encourage neighborhood interface, especially traffic to mom and pop business!

2. What are your plans to improve bicycling as a form of transportation in the city?
Answer:  The focus of my campaign is a commitment to sustainable neighborhoods. I believe the experience of bicycling in San Antonio will be drastically improved when we put our resources into the getting our city government back to basics- repairing our streets, curbs & sidewalks and removing dangerous stray animals from our neighborhoods.

3. Are you a supporter of Uber and Lyft?
Answer:  Yes, I am in favor of new technologies and the competition they bring to our marketplace. I support the ride-hailing concept, so long as all necessary public safety precautions have been taken into consideration.

4. What are your plans to improve VIA?
Answer:  I am a big believer in public transportation. I think we need a comprehensive transportation plan that includes multi-modal transportation and rail services- if they have the support of the majority of the citizens of San Antonio. Offering more hubs around the city would make it a more practical system to use and could also ease our traffic congestion. When I was on Commissioners Court, we gave every Bexar County employee a free bus pass and encouraged the top 100 area employers to do the same.

Leticia Van de Putte
As you go to her site and click on the Policies, you come across Infrastructure.  Nothing on bicycles here just making sure we have sidewalks.  She said something about putting barriers along the sidewalks.  Don't really know what's she's talking about, but to me it sounds like a fence of sorts, like the ones you see in Tokyo to keep people out of the roadway.  From the looks of it, this person will continue the policies that Keep San Antonio Lame.

Rhett Rosenquest Smith
No Website, No Answer.

Julie Iris Oldham
Just a Facebook page, No Answer.

Cynthia T. Cavazos\
1.  Would you have voted to remove the S Flores Bike Lanes?

Answer:  They recently put in these green bike decals on our cities west side...i see the need for the lines. They look nice. I used to ride a bike...i tried to stay on the sidewalk...if there was noone around ...i went for it. The bike rule is a mopad or some if them Vespas...a line to the left side and right side of the street would be good...next to cyclist a hopeful road  for min speed vespa riders.

2.  What are your plans to improve Bicycling as a form of transportation in the City?
Answer:  The same as above

3.  Are you a supporter of Uber and Lyft?
Answer:  I am not sure why they have to go through the city...they have assume business names, they have a license....insurance? I think they need insurance without the city anyway.

4.  What are your plans to improve VIA? 
Answer:  Well...if i am elected the next Texas mayor, VIA will still be in business for a while...for a while they have been talking about a train. We have a set railroad...and because of that road..it might be hard to keep trains from collision. I think if Via can think of a safety plan...it could be possible to add train but, much deliberation is as soon as prints are drawn.
I love the train in Austin...The ride is beautiful, but...no hills or overpasses. My main concern regarding trains is safety and speed. I Will not fund the train. I love the idea, but I will not fund.

Gerard Ponce
 Just a Facebook page, no Response.

Pogo Mochello Reese
Just a Facebook Page.  No Response.

Cynthia Brehm
1.  Would you have voted to remove the S Flores Bike Lanes?
Answer:  I would have voted no to remove the S Flores Biking lanes. I'm a huge proponent of biking. I want to create more biking trails, hiking trails, parks, swimming pools, and basketball courts for families to enjoy- everything doesn't have to be bricks and concrete.

2.  What are your plans to improve Bicycling as a form of transportation in the City?

Answer:  Absolutely, biking, walking, and some other quick mode of transportation yet to be decided by the voters are the way of the future.

3.  Are you a supporter of Uber and Lyft?
Answer:  I'm a big supporter of free enterprise. I believe Uber and Lyft need to improve their background checks on their employees. Two recent incidences occurred because of their failure to properly screen their employees.

4.  What are your plans to improve VIA? 
Answer:   To improve VIA, we must change the City By-Laws regarding lifetime appointments. Appointments should be a two -four year term. They have a monopoly and do as they please instead of doing the will of the people representation.

5. Anything Else you would want to add?.
Answer:  We need transparency, trust, and accountability within our City government. City officials are elected to represent the people, not special interest groups, not political parties, but the will of the people and how they want to be governed. We must put an end to wasteful spending, corruption within our government, and oppression of the people. It must end for a better San Antonio.


Now they're are also 3 propositions on the ballot, but due to time and space issues, you'll see that posting next week.  Until then, Enjoy Fiesta and make sure you vote.