Bike Champions 2022 Elections Recap

CalBike endorsed 11 candidates for the California State Senate and Assembly, and the results are finally in: Eight won their races, and three lost, including two very close matches. The four incumbents we endorsed, all bike champions, won. And we’re happy to see four new faces in Sacramento who will be great supporters of active transportation. 

Most importantly, thank you for biking the vote in 2022! 

Streets for All Mobility Report Card gives high marks to CalBike-endorsed candidates

Elections matter. The 2022 legislative session was outstanding for active transportation because of strong leadership from many members of the Assembly and Senate. Not only did we get 15 excellent bills signed into law, but we also secured an extra $1.1 billion in funding for active transportation. That meant that Cycle 6 of the ATP had $1.6 billion to allocate to projects that make biking and walking safer.

Read Streetsblog’s breakdown of Cycle 6 Active Transportation Program funding.

CalBike ally Streets for All recently published a Mobility Report Card that scored state legislators on their support for biking, walking, and transit. Here’s how CalBike’s endorsed candidates ranked (Note: All these legislators had very high scores for bike-friendly voting):

• Laura Friedman (AD 43), Ranking: #1: Friedman, a longtime bicycle champion, authored several excellent bills in 2022, including the OmniBike Bill, which requires car drivers to change lanes to pass bike riders. Redistricting shifted her from AD 44 to AD 43; we’re thrilled that voters in her new district returned her to Sacramento.
• Phil Ting (AD 19), Ranking: #2: Ting has been a consistent and savvy champion for active transportation. We are proud to have worked with him for the past two years to pass the Freedom to Walk Act, which decriminalizes safe midblock crossings for pedestrians.
• Steve Bennett (AD 37), Ranking: #15: CalBike endorsed Bennett on his first run two years ago, and he has proven himself to be a strong ally for people biking and walking.
• Tasha Boerner-Horvath (AD 76), Ranking: #35: Boerner-Horvath has championed the Bicycle Safety Stop for the past two legislative sessions, along with other bicycle safety bills. Although the safety stop didn’t pass in 2022, we’re sure she will continue to champion this crucial measure that lets people on bikes treat stop signs as yields.

Four new champions head for Sacramento

We have high hopes for our four endorsed candidates, who have already begun their first terms. Each of these new members of the Assembly or Senate brings a strong background of understanding and supporting the need to expand access to active transportation.

• Catherine Blakespear (SD 38): As the mayor of Encinitas, Blakespear has shown leadership in creating protected, safe bicycle facilities in her city. We’re glad to have her leadership at the state level.
• Liz Ortega (AD 20): Ortega has been a labor leader for some of California’s most marginalized groups, and she understands that lowering carbon emissions and reducing our footprint is also a social justice issue. She brings a critical perspective to Sacramento.
• Gail Pellerin (AD 28): As a lifelong public servant, Pellerin understands the expansion of safe biking and walking to combat climate change, our housing crisis, and healthy and equitable communities.
• Dawn Addis (AD 30): As a Morro Bay councilmember, Addis looked to expand biking along the central coast and beyond. We can’t wait to see what she can accomplish at the state level.