A pro-bicycling group rising on an arc of political influence in recent years, Cascade Bicycle Club (CBC) is now in the throes of a magnificent implosion: Longtime executive director Chuck Ayers was fired on October 4, to the dismay of his supporters. In retaliation, a contingent of members is trying to recall the entire board of directors—the board who ousted Ayers for being too gutsy—but their success would result in the once-powerful group being under entirely new (and untested) leadership.
“The current board has handled this whole situation poorly,” says Kelli Currie, a five-year CBC member leading the recall effort with a handful of insurgents calling themselves the Bike Club Rescue Squad. “I don’t trust them to guide or direct the executive director.”
Technically, while the firing of Ayers is the genesis of the conflict, insurgents say the 11-member board broke the nonprofit’s own rules for electing new board members at a meeting on October 21. Board president Chris Weiss neglected to inform the club’s 13,000 members of the nomination process back in July, giving them the four months’ notice required in the bylaws. This essentially cut members out of the election.
Weiss didn’t return repeated requests for comment, but board vice-president Peter Morgan says, “The board acknowledged the mistake,” adding that it’s in the middle of rescheduling the election process for March.
“It’s a clear dereliction of duty,” argues Currie. “Why [Weiss] is not resigning is beyond me.”
Instead of resigning, Weiss—who was up for reelection on October 21—was asked by the board to retain his position until the new election.
“That’s not acceptable for us,” says Currie. “The members don’t have a voice right now. We have no power.”
Members may feel powerless, but this club of casual cyclists and commuters wields considerable power in the state—thanks in large part to Ayers’s leadership. The organization has grown from 4,500 members to over 13,000 in his 13-year tenure. Also credited: advocacy director David Hiller’s seven years of work. Hiller helped establish multiuse trails as “essential public facilities” under the state’s Growth Management Act, helped pass Seattle’s Complete Streets ordinance, launched a full-time lobbying program in Olympia (and is pushing legislation to penalize drivers who recklessly hit cyclists and pedestrians), and has pushed CBC to the forefront of elections to reject highway projects and support the city’s growing light-rail network.
At the root of the friction is an ideological conflict: The milquetoast board prefers field trips to exurban trails, while Ayers and his staff are comfortable throwing elbows around to pass stronger laws. Hiller also has a colorful vocabulary and no fans on the CBC’s board of directors. In January, when referencing the careless-motorists bill he was pushing, Hiller told The Stranger, “I’d love to hang these people up by their toenails at the edge of town and paint ‘killer’ across their chest and let them hang there until the buzzards peck their eyes out.” The board voted unanimously to recommend that Hiller be fired. But Ayers refused.
In early October, Ayers says the board offered him the choice of resigning with six months’ severance pay or being fired with four weeks’ pay. “Based on my feelings of not doing anything wrong and the integrity of the organization,” Ayers says, “I told them I would not resign.”
Morgan downplays the backlash and the accusations that the board is out of touch with the membership base and with the power both Ayers and Hiller wield in the community. “That’s a matter of perspective,” he says. Nevertheless, the board reinstated Ayers as interim executive director for a period of six months until a new director can be found.
Currie says her group needs 5 percent of the total membership—690 signatures—in order to trigger a board meeting that would address a full-board recall. Even if Currie’s push is successful and the board is overhauled, Ayers says he’s out of CBC for good. “I have a gentlemen’s agreement that I will step down regardless of the new constitution of the board,” he says. “Right now my focus is on helping my staff formulate a strategic plan for the future and search for a new director. Beyond that, I have no idea what happens next.” 
This story has been updated since its original publication.
“I have a gentlemen’s agreement that I will step down regardless of the new constitution of the board.”
And that agreement is with…?
Soon after the axe job by the Board, they realized that a recall might be in store for them, so they agreed to reinstate Chuck Ayers after Peter Morgan (representing Chris Weiss and the Board) met with Chuck on Sunday, October 10th. Chris Weiss would only accept the reinstatement if Chuck agreed to make a reasonable effort stop the recall, and (in a “gentlemen’s Agreement”) to not come back permanently. Although nothing was signed in that regard, the problem here (as you may suspect) is that Chuck has certain principals that he lives by. At the time, he had wanted to avoid the recall of the Board so that the club would not sustain further damage, and that is why he made his agreement (under a lot of duress). But now, it looks certain that the Board will be recalled anyway, and hopefully the membership will demand that their “champion” be returned to the helm.
i just ate some fantastic truffle oil mushroom homemade pizza
I’ve been following the ins-&-outs of this fiasco from the beginning and have been trying to make sense of what’s really going on. Interestingly, The Stranger was used as a boogeyman by CBC board president Chris Weiss.
Chris Weiss claims Hiller’s words in The Stranger were inappropriate and offensive. He also stated he was incensed that the article was accompanied by a photo of Critical Mass, which reflected poorly on CBC. He’s using both The Stranger and Critical Mass as boogeymen to make his case against Hiller. Chris Weiss then went to the Puget Sound Business Journal (an upstanding publication) and gave an interview complaining about Hiller’s comments in The Stranger.
Typically, Board members try to downplay negative incidents in the media. In this case the board president chose to amplify the negative connotations of something David Hiller said not to the PSBJ but to The Stranger. Chris Weiss is a corporate trial attorney, and is using gamesmanship to justify his mission to get rid of Hiller. While this may be acceptable behavior in the corporate world, I think it’s unethical behavior for the board president of a non-profit organization that relies on the goodwill of its members.
When confronted directly at the CBC annual meeting with the question “Was Chuck Ayers fired for refusing to fire David Hiller?” Chris Weiss answered an emphatic “No”. Chuck Ayers then stood, took the microphone and said “If I get fired for protecting my staff, then so be it”. Applause for Ayers quickly turned to anger at Board President Chris Weis, who had stated only minutes earlier that the Board had never issued Ayers an ultimatum to fire Hiller or be fired. So, in his quest to get rid of Hiller, Weiss was willing to throw the baby out with the bath water, fire Chuck Ayers, and destabilize the organization.
Under Ayers’ 13-year leadership, CBC membership has grown and is financially sound, no small feat during these atrocious economic times. Additionally, he’s highly regarded by CBC staff for his open-minded leadership. Chuck Ayers’ willingness to fall on his own sword, rather than feed Hiller to the lions is valiant behavior rarely seen outside Lord of the Rings. Regarding the “gentlemen’s agreement” mentioned in your article, there’s only one gentleman in this story, so the idea of an agreement should be moot.
What does all this mean for the future of CBC and why should readers of The Stranger care?
One of the areas in which CBC has been typically weak is in reaching out to the demographic that is The Stranger’s readership. That demographic already thinks bikes are cool and a smart transportation alternative. This is Seattle, and many of the tattooed fixie cyclists you see riding around without helmets are actually software developers. They work in a corporate environment and like to let loose riding bikes and partying. In the not-too-distant future those tattooed fixie cyclists will be middle-aged and have kids of their own. They will be potential Cascade members, but only if Cascade is relevant and respectful of them now.
One thing cyclists of all ages and persuasions have in common is our desire for the streets to be a safe place for our friends, families, and ourselves. That’s why the strong political advocacy work of CBC is important now and into the future. The current board under Chris Weiss clearly wants a softer approach to advocacy.
David Hiller’s thick-&-zesty use of language was appropriate to The Stranger readership. Hiller has the ability to connect with all kinds of people and is an effective lobbyist for our interests. He cares passionately about the safety of cyclists. In an interview Chuck Ayers said “David himself is a brilliant guy … and that’s been one of the main attributes for us to be able to achieve what we’ve achieved.” He’s also highly regarded by legislators in Olympia.
I see a CBC under the Weiss regime, as being ‘SMALL TENT’, either alienating or not reaching out to broader demographics, including people who read publications like The Stranger. I don’t think it’s necessarily malicious or intentional. It may just be short-sighted and lacking the kind of ‘BIG TENT’ vision that’s needed to grow an organization like CBC into the future and make it relevant to a broad demographic.
The Board may claim the organization will remain grassroots, but what does that really mean? It’s a valueless claim. Unquantifiable. I suspect the Board is attempting to make CBC in their own image, a squeaky clean soulless corporate organization. So much of Seattle has already gone corporate. Top down management and communication style. Employees must work strictly from the guidebook and not feel too passionately about advocacy. It’s just a job and you are disposable. We’re not paying you to think.
However this thing goes, I want to thank Chuck Ayers and David Hiller for making Seattle a safer and better place to live.
I’ve been following the ins-&-outs of this fiasco from the beginning and have been trying to make sense of what’s really going on. Interestingly, The Stranger was used as a boogeyman by CBC board president Chris Weiss.
Chris Weiss claims Hiller’s words in The Stranger were inappropriate and offensive. He also stated he was incensed that the article was accompanied by a photo of Critical Mass, which reflected poorly on CBC. He’s using both The Stranger and Critical Mass as boogeymen to make his case against Hiller. Chris Weiss then went to the Puget Sound Business Journal (an upstanding publication) and gave an interview complaining about Hiller’s comments in The Stranger.
Typically, Board members try to downplay negative incidents in the media. In this case the board president chose to amplify the negative connotations of something David Hiller said not to the PSBJ but to The Stranger. Chris Weiss is a corporate trial attorney, and is using gamesmanship to justify his mission to get rid of Hiller. While this may be acceptable behavior in the corporate world, I think it’s unethical behavior for the board president of a non-profit organization that relies on the goodwill of its members.
When confronted directly at the CBC annual meeting with the question “Was Chuck Ayers fired for refusing to fire David Hiller?” Chris Weiss answered an emphatic “No”. Chuck Ayers then stood, took the microphone and said “If I get fired for protecting my staff, then so be it”. Applause for Ayers quickly turned to anger at Board President Chris Weis, who had stated only minutes earlier that the Board had never issued Ayers an ultimatum to fire Hiller or be fired. So, in his quest to get rid of Hiller, Weiss was willing to throw the baby out with the bath water, fire Chuck Ayers, and destabilize the organization.
Under Ayers’ 13-year leadership, CBC membership has grown and is financially sound, no small feat during these atrocious economic times. Additionally, he’s highly regarded by CBC staff for his open-minded leadership. Chuck Ayers’ willingness to fall on his own sword, rather than feed Hiller to the lions is valiant behavior rarely seen outside Lord of the Rings. Regarding the “gentlemen’s agreement” mentioned in your article, there’s only one gentleman in this story, so the idea of an agreement should be moot.
What does all this mean for the future of CBC and why should readers of The Stranger care?
One of the areas in which CBC has been typically weak is in reaching out to the demographic that is The Stranger’s readership. That demographic already thinks bikes are cool and a smart transportation alternative. This is Seattle, and many of the tattooed fixie cyclists you see riding around without helmets are actually software developers. They work in a corporate environment and like to let loose riding bikes and partying. In the not-too-distant future those tattooed fixie cyclists will be middle-aged and have kids of their own. They will be potential Cascade members, but only if Cascade is relevant and respectful of them now.
One thing cyclists of all ages and persuasions have in common is our desire for the streets to be a safe place for our friends, families, and ourselves. That’s why the strong political advocacy work of CBC is important now and into the future. The current board under Chris Weiss clearly wants a softer approach to advocacy.
David Hiller’s thick-&-zesty use of language was appropriate to The Stranger readership. Hiller has the ability to connect with all kinds of people and is an effective lobbyist for our interests. He cares passionately about the safety of cyclists. In an interview Chuck Ayers said “David himself is a brilliant guy … and that’s been one of the main attributes for us to be able to achieve what we’ve achieved.” He’s also highly regarded by legislators in Olympia.
I see a CBC under the Weiss regime, as being ‘SMALL TENT’, either alienating or not reaching out to broader demographics, including people who read publications like The Stranger. I don’t think it’s necessarily malicious or intentional. It may just be short-sighted and lacking the kind of ‘BIG TENT’ vision that’s needed to grow an organization like CBC into the future and make it relevant to a broad demographic.
The Board may claim the organization will remain grassroots, but what does that really mean? It’s a valueless claim. Unquantifiable. I suspect the Board is attempting to make CBC in their own image, a squeaky clean soulless corporate organization. So much of Seattle has already gone corporate. Top down management and communication style. Employees must work strictly from the guidebook and not feel too passionately about advocacy. It’s just a job and you are disposable. We’re not paying you to think.
However this thing goes, I want to thank Chuck Ayers and David Hiller for making Seattle a safer and better place to live.
Cascade lost me when the endorsed Nickels over McGinn last year. That after refusing to stick their neck out regarding Nickels’ capitulation on the Stone Way re-stripe and Suzie Burke’s closure of the Burke Gilman Trail.
They do organize nice bike rides, but grassroots advocacy is not their strength.
When one becomes a board president, shouldn’t he read the by-laws, know the nomination process and make sure it is adhered to? Especially a corporate lawyer who made money defending the environmental misdeeds of Exxon-Valdez!!!
One gets the feeling those running the club are the type of annoying yuppie bike weenies who ride in the middle of arterial lanes all stuffed into spandex, without even looking at what’s happening around them…putting complete trust in the equally clueless average Seattle moron driver blathering on his/her cellphone.
They are the Doomed, with no survival skills whatsoever.
Dear Prince Vlad.
CBC is known as “cascade bikes on top of cars” club because the membership is old and suburban. In other words, more typical seattle driver and less take the lane urban cyclist.