Bias Shown In Statements By Committee Chair

Washington State House Democrats member Judy Clibborn web page banner

After a Town Hall meeting at Somerset Elementary in Bellevue on Saturday, March 18th Rep. Clibborn spoke with a constituent that apparently she didn't realize was a motorcyclist.  Her statements provide a glimpse of her bias towards motorcyclists, and may explain why she rarely ever holds a hearing on motorcycle related legislation.  It seems that Rep. Clibborn finds motorcyclists to be "intimidating and scary".  During the conversation, she told her constituent that her committee members "lied" when they stated they would request a hearing on bill 5378.  When her constituent asked Rep. Clibborn to allow the committee to hear the bill, and let the committee vote on the bill, she reportedly responded; "No, I will not waste my time."

Apparently Rep. Clibborn also feels that motorcyclists have all "misinterpreted the studies" showing the benefits of lane sharing.  She stated that there are "no safety benefits of lane splitting."  Which would seem to point towards Rep. Clibborn or her staff not ever reading the studies from the University of California on the subject.  If they did, the safety benefits to motorcyclists would be quite clear and evident.

If these statements are true, it would seem to point to a deep rooted bias against motorcyclists.  This could explain why at least nine motorcycle bills have been referred to the House Transportation Committee since the start of the 2017 session, and not a single one has even been given a hearing.  It may also explain why a bill that was voted out of the Senate with a bipartisan majority vote is being ignored in the House Transportation Committee.  It could also explain why a bill requiring medical insurance for any motorcyclists who chose not to wear a helmet while riding, and that was given a bipartisan majority "Do Pass" recommendation in the House Business & Financial Services Committee was then referred to the House Transportation Committee and allowed to die from disinterested neglect.

What does it say about our state government when one individual can allow her personal bias to block an entire class of legislation, allowing to be killed irregardless of the support or benefit of the individual bills.  Telling Constituents that she considers holding a public hearing on bills to be a "waste" of her time should give Rep. Clibborn's constituents as well as the rest of Washington State's citizens concerns as to how well legislators are fulfilling their obligated duties.  Perhaps Rep. Clibborn and the House Democratic Party Leadership should reread this portion of their own website, and begin to actively follow through with their own words; "Everyone should have the freedom to travel quickly and reliably, regardless of where they come from or where they are going.  A modern transportation system with options for all commuters promotes not just mobility, but equality and opportunity."  With her ongoing practice of allowing motorcycle related bills to languish and die in her committee, it would seem the Rep. Clibborn does not feel Washington State's motorcyclists are worthy of that "equality and opportunity" the the House Democrats so proudly promote on their Transportation web page.  To categorically ignore motorcycle related transportation bills tends to contradict another part of that same web page; "Commuters need to get to their jobs without wasting time and money stuck in traffic."  Yet a bill that provides a low cost congestion relief effort is sentenced to death without even a hearing.

Catch you on the road sometime...