Candidate campaign page: http://www.electandrewagueronow.com/
We were troubled by Libertarian candidate Andrew Aguero’s hard line stance against active transportation funding. While it’s clear he has a vision for improving mobility options, Bike The Vote L.A. believes that dedicated funding for biking and walking is an important and necessary component of a safer, more equitable transportation system.
Bike The Vote L.A. 2017 Primary Grade: C
(See below for full candidate questionnaire response)
1. What future do you see for active mobility, and public transit in the daily lives of Angelenos, particularly those who lack access to cars and rely on these other modes as their primary way of getting around?
Sadly i don’t see a good future for Angelenos that use public transportation or bikes with the current zoning laws/regulation we have today. Lawmakers of the past made us dependent on the car, but there is hope if we get rid of some of the zoning laws our city can be more dense and people can live where they work.
2. Do you support Vision Zero, an approach to street safety that treats each fatality as preventable and seeks to eliminate traffic deaths on public roads?
Yes, based on what i read so far.
3. In Los Angeles, low-income communities of color are disproportionately burdened by the impacts of streets designed primarily for cars, without receiving proportional funding for their mobility modes like walking, biking, and quality mass transit. Would you support legislation to add a ‘complete streets’ policy to SB 1, California’s newly augmented gas tax, to direct revenues to projects and programs that benefit pedestrians, bicyclists and transit-dependent communities?
I don’t support the new gas tax increase, because it dissaportionaly hurts people that on a fixed income and those who work for a lower income. With that said we don’t need additional laws/funding to help low-income communities. Right now we have a huge misallocation of funds and the best thing we can do to help these low-income communities is to decrease regulation so they can start their own business in their communities and end these zoning laws and off street parking requirements. If we do this everyone will be better of because we won’t be depended on the car.
4. In 2017, Assembly Members Phil Ting (D-San Francisco) and Jay Obernolte (R-Hesperia) introduced AB1103, a bill to enact an “Idaho Stop” adjustment to traffic code that allows cyclists to safely yield right of way at stop signs. This bill would help to reduce subjective traffic stops by law enforcement for a practice that is common by people on bikes and was endorsed by the L.A. Times Editorial Board. Will you commit to support an “Idaho Stop” bill that allows people on bikes to safely yield at stop signs as it comes up in the 2018 legislative session?
Yes i will support “Idaho Stop” and i would also look further and see other laws to pass or remove to make our communities more people centered.
5. Would you support expanding state funding for bike share, and providing incentives for low-income individuals to afford high quality, family-friendly bikes that empower more economical mobility such as electric bikes and cargo bikes?
No because I want to end taxes like the sales tax which is regressive and that will make bikes cheaper. My goal will be to stop taking poor people money so they are able to buy the bikes they desire. But it is important to remember that the only reason we are not using more bikes or public transportation in the first place is that city planners of the past made our city for the car not the people; so until we remove these bad laws people won’t be buying bikes. And as for expanding the state funding for bike share, i believe it won’t be necessary if we just stop taking people’s money local communities will do that on their own.