Car Less Ohio

Greg Bachman was appointed as Summit County Engineer in 2003, and ran unopposed for re-election in 2004. As an avid cyclist, he did his best to consider the needs of bicyclists as part of his County Engineer duties, such as making sure that several recent road improvement projects included widening of the shoulders. He also led group rides at different locations around the county throughout this past summer.

He was defeated in this month’s election by Democrat Alan Brubaker. Was it mainly due to the current anti-Republican backlash, or is there more to the story? Please comment on this post if you have any insight. Either way, we appreciate the efforts of Greg Bachman to promote cycling in Summit County, and hope that his work will serve as a platform for continued improvements in the county, as well as the state.

Alan Brubaker has a campaign web site, and his Position Statement page lists “Added emphasis on pedestrian and bicycle facilities” as a main bullet point. The Platform page lists “County Improvements,” and every one of the bullet points there makes some mention of cycling, walking, and/or “multi-model” transportation. So it looks like at least from a promise standpoint, Mr. Brubaker will continue the good pro-cycling work of Mr. Bachman.