More bicycle & trails candidates win their elections

Previously we covered two candidates, Scott Ogilvie of St. Louis and Fred Schmidt of Columbia, who made bicycle, pedestrian, or trails issues part of their campaigns and recently won elections.

We've recently found out about two more candidates:

Don Butterfield, Warrensburg City Council
In Warrensburg, Don Butterfield made the area's trail plan a big part of his platform.  During the campaign, Butterfield said:

Don Butterfield/Star-Journal

“There is a master trails plan for the community,” Butterfield explained. “They did a survey several years ago looking for what the community wanted to see done. One of those things was the aquatic center which is now completed. A trails program was ranked very high on that list. To have a trails program for cycling, walking and jogging is important for the health and well-being of the community. I know budgets are tight and the economy is down but I think this is an important issue for the future.”

Upon winning the race, Butterfield remarked:

"I'm strong on the trails program," Butterfield said moments after learning he had won. "It's a high priority item and I'd like to see us do more in that area."

Ryan Nely and Michael Polwort, President & Vice President, Truman State University
In an interesting race in Kirksville, the current student senate had eliminated funding for the university's Bike Co-op. Ryan Nely and Michael Polwort ran for president and vice president on a platform that prominently included a promise to restore funding to the Bike Co-op:

While hardly any students have actually seen our budget this year, and almost none of them can name something good that we’ve done, they can remember the bad things: spending 1880 dollars to join ASGA and send a handful of Senators to Chicago, rehashing last year’s fight over a smoking ban and leaving the issue unresolved, and denying funding to the Bike Co-op, despite spending the exact same amount it would cost to save the Co-op, on Facebook and youtube videos. 

The duo's goals included:

The Bike Co-op: strong and unyielding support for a new green Bike Co-op.

Nely and Polwort won the recent election with 53% of the vote.

An important part of MoBikeFed's Vision of Bicycling and Walking in Missouri is building a movement in support of bicycling and walking in Missouri.  That includes educating elected officials and encouraging bicyclists, pedestrians, and trails supporters to be the vote by running for office. Bicyclists and pedestrians understand these issues better than anyone--and when you run for office, you have a real chance to change Missouri for the better.