As a Gainesville Cycling Club member-in-good-standing, I would like to know if the GCC board approved today’s letter to the editor of The Gainesville Sun, wherein Advocacy Director of the GCC, James Thompson, writing as advocacy director of the GCC, made the following assertion:

 

“Cyclists are done playing nice in this community, where we have tolerated untruths and emotional appeals from the car-only crowd.”

 

http://www.gainesville.com/article/20130906/OPINION02/130909804/1077/opinion?Title=Letters-to-the-Editor-for-Sept-6-2013

 

Purposefully antagonizing so-called “emotional” motorists with innuendo and implied threats is to serve what end?? I feel very strongly that this is a wholly inappropriate stance for the GCC to be taking.

 

Did the board approve this message? Assuming no – certain actions on the part of the board should follow. In my humble opinion, the first should be beseeching The Sun to run a statement authored by the full board, including Mr. Thompson, that condemns the above and makes clear our position on promoting cycling and improvements to bicycle infrastructure.

 

The second should be reminding Mr. Thompson, as I hope this letter does, that when he tags his LTE’s “Advocacy Director of the Gainesville Cycling Club” he speaks for all of us and should therefore actually speak with our representatives on the board prior to making new pronouncements.

 

Sincerely,

Rob Robins

Gainesville, FL