David Hiller, the advocacy director for the Cascade Bicycle Club in Seattle, has announced his resignation effective on Friday.
The announcement on the Cascade Bicycle Club blog comes a couple of days after news that the Vulnerable User Bill, three years in the making, was scheduled to be signed into law by Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire on Monday.
The 41-year-old advocate starts works next week in Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn's office, reports the Seattle Times. He'll work with the Seattle transportation department and on organizing community events.
The 13,000-member bicycle club will be launching a nationwide search for a replacement. The announcement says he told Cascade staff in April about his decision.
Bicycle advocate
Hiller arrived in Seattle in 2003 from his previous position as executive director of the Connecticut Bicycle Coalition. As advocacy director, he worked with everyone from city bureaucrats to state legislators to further the cause of bicycling in the Puget Sound region.
Said executive director Chuck Ayers:
Successes
Among Hiller's successes are implementation of the Seattle Bicycle Master Plan and local Complete Streets ordinances in the area. More recently, he shepherded the Vulnerable User Bill through the state legislature and onto the governor's desk for signature — a three-year effort.
That new law, which goes into effect in June 2012, establishes a penalty for motorists who kill or injure a pedestrian of bicyclists because of negligence. The person can either surrender their driver's license and pay a $5,000 fine, or appear in court and request the alternative penalty — up to 100 hours of community service in traffic safety or driver improvement, complete a traffic safety course, and pay a fine of $250.
Hiller was quoted in the Cascade blog:
Controversy
Hiller found himself at the center of controversy involving the Cascade's board of directors last fall. Some members found his style too confrontation at times and told executive director Ayers that the group needed to change its direction.
As it turned out, the board fired Ayers then reinstated him after a broad-based support from the membership. Eventually, most members of the board resigned and new members were elected.
KOMO-TV reports that the $95,000 job is a created position. Check out Tom Fucoloro's fact check on that misinformation at Seattle Bike Blog: “Hiller's appointment not outside mayor's budget.”
Recent Comments