Apparently enough Republican voters in Colorado believed in Dan Maes's conspiracy theory regarding bicycling and the U.N. to support his run for governor.
The businessman told an audience last week about his fear that support of pro-bicycling projects, like the Denver B-cycle bike share program, were linked to a United Nations plot that would “threaten our personal freedoms.”
His bicycling comments were roundly ridiculed in the past week, yet he must have touched a nerve. Voters in the Republican primary gave Maes a 1.3% margin over opponent and former congressman Scott McInnis, according to last night's returns in the Denver Post.
[The margin needs to dip below a half percentage to trigger an automatic recount.]
Opponent supports bicycling
Maes's Democratic opponent for the governorship will be John Hickenlooper, the current mayor of Denver and supporter of bike-share programs.
Maes criticized Hickenlooper for backing programs that promote bicycle commuting. Maes told a campaign meeting:
“This is all very well-disguised, but it will be exposed … This is bigger than it looks like on the surface, and it could threaten our personal freedoms…. These aren't just warm and fuzzy ideas from the mayor. These are very specific strategies that are dictated to us by this United Nations program that mayors have signed on to.”
“Good chuckle”
Denver is one of about 1,200 members of the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives. Maes fears the group that supports environmentally sustainable development “is part of a greater strategy to rein in American cities under a United Nations treaty.”
After the story broke last week, the New York Times reached the head of ICLEI, former Albuquerque mayor Martin Chavez. He said:
“When we heard the story, we all got a good chuckle. The next thought in the back of your mind is, 'Gosh, I hope nobody will actually believe that.' “
Well, a few people did fall for it — like 197,000-some Colorado Republicans.
Here's a link to current ICLEI members. In Washington state, members are Auburn, Bainbridge Island, Bellevue, Bellingham, Bothell, Clallam County, Coupeville, Edmonds, Everett, Issaquah, King County, Kirkland, Lacey, Lynnwood, Mercer Island, Oak Harbor, Olympia, Port Townsend, Redmond, SeaTac, Seattle, Sequim, Shoreline, Skagit County, Snohomish County, Spokane, Tacoma, Thurston County, Tumwater, and Whatcom County.
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