[Eg-oversight-board] Election process, officer elections, and executive sessions

[Grace Dunbar]

Hi Tim,
Thanks for the input!
I was clearly unclear.  :)
I think that our current structure of having the Board vote in its own
officers is fine.  Though if someone has a compelling argument for having
the community vote on officers I'd be happy to discuss it.  The issue that
has been bothering me is that we generally elect officers in a voice vote
at a tiring and possible stressful conference.  From everything I've
researched, nominations followed by voice vote are generally not
recommended for officer elections as it puts people in an awkward position
of saying, "Golly,Bob sure is great, but I think I'd do a better job than
he will at being Supreme Commander..."  and worse, we put them on the spot
in an in-person meeting to do it.

So, I think that my suggestion should be taken as keeping the voting for
Board members to the Board, but addressing the election time frame to a.)
remove it from the in-person EG conference meeting thus the immediate voice
vote and b.) allowing for a more thoughtful and considered approach to
elections.  Also, it would free up most of the in person meeting for other
issues.

Thanks!
Grace

On Mon, Mar 21, 2016 at 3:11 PM, Tim Spindler <tjspindler at gmail.com> wrote:

> Grace,
>
> I think the structure you are suggesting is appropriate including the time
> line with appropriate reminders as has been suggested.   I also think it is
> a good idea for voting outside of conference so it is more inclusive but
> also provides an opportunity for incoming officers to be more formally
> introduced at the conference.
>
> I think the only thing I have difficulty is deciding who can vote.  It is
> a bit informal but I don't have alternatives unless we were to create some
> kind of formal membership organization which I see as an entirely different
> discussion with its own advantages and disadvantages.
>
> Tim Spindler
> C/W MARS
>
> On Mon, Mar 21, 2016 at 2:01 PM, Grace Dunbar <gdunbar at esilibrary.com>
> wrote:
>
>> Hi,
>> I promised to send out an email regarding EOB elections.
>> For starters, I want to provide a quick review of the voting process.
>> We are currently accepting nominations for the Board.  The deadline is
>> this Friday.
>> Like in years past, folks have to register to vote.  The deadline for
>> registration is this Friday and the link to the registration form is here:
>> https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/EOB2016 . That list will capture the
>> email addresses we need to send the link to the election on OpaVote.
>>
>> This year, as it was last year, voting process is approval style (
>> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Approval_voting).  You should vote for the
>> four candidates that you feel will best represent the community and the
>> project's interests.
>>
>> Last month I sent out an email that proposed we adopt an election
>> timeline that is something that has a little more specificity than can be
>> used year-to-year.  Right now the wording is, "Each year, the Board shall
>> promulgate procedures for nominating and electing new Board members."
>> (2.4d)
>>
>> I'd like to suggest something a little more structured, such as:
>> Election processes should begin 6 weeks prior to the annual conference or
>> April 1st, whichever comes first.
>> Nominations and voter registration shall be managed in weeks 1-3.
>> Week 4 shall be set aside for voting and Weeks five and six shall be for
>> new member notification and officer elections.
>> Newly elected officers will take office at the end of the Evergreen
>> Conference for that calendar year. If no Evergreen Conference is held
>> during a calendar year, office terms will begin and end at midnight EDT on
>> April 30.
>>
>> Does anyone have any thoughts positive or negative on election of
>> officers prior to the conference?  If no objections, do you have thoughts
>> on how we should structure voting for the chair, vice-chair, secretary, and
>> representative?  I would assume we would nominate and vote on each position
>> separately.  Maybe take nominations for Chair Monday am, vote Monday pm -
>> take nominations for Vice-Chair Tuesday am, vote Tuesday pm, and so on?
>> That would allow someone who ran for a position to run for another position
>> if they weren't elected to the first.  Or we could do all nominations and
>> then handle it via STV
>> <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single_transferable_vote>, RCV, or
>> Approval voting.  Thoughts?
>>
>> I would also like to toss out a few ideas that I'd like to hear feedback
>> on.
>>
>> How do you all feel about a proposal that members newly elected to the
>> EOB (e.g. in their first ever EOB term) may not be nominated to core roles
>> of Chair, Vice-chair, Secretary, or Conservancy Representative?  They can,
>> however, be nominated to serve as committee chairs.
>>
>> Also, the Board has been called upon to appoint several new members when
>> elected members have resigned.  Personally, I find the Board appointment
>> process to be an issue as it has the potential to change the dynamic of our
>> elected board.  Would there be any interest in proposing a change to the
>> rules of governance to require special elections when a Board member leaves
>> with more than 6 months left in their term?
>>
>> This would require some additional language around the structure and
>> terms of special elections, but I wanted to see if the idea was compelling
>> before writing further language.
>>
>> Lastly, I do think we need to add some language to the Rules of
>> Governance about how to manage the occasional executive session.
>>
>> I know I've tossed out a lot of ideas; I'd love to hear your thoughts on
>> any and all of them.
>>
>> Cheers!
>> Grace
>>
>>
>>
>> --
>>
>> Grace Dunbar, Vice President
>> Equinox - Open Your Library
>> gdunbar at esilibrary.com
>> 1-877-OPEN-ILS  |  www.esilibrary.com
>>
>> _______________________________________________
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>> eg-oversight-board at list.evergreen-ils.org
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>>
>>
>
>
> --
> Tim Spindler
> tjspindler at gmail.com
>
> *P**   Go Green - **Save a tree! Please don't print this e-mail unless
> it's really necessary.*
>
>
>



-- 
Grace Dunbar, Vice President
Equinox - Open Your Library
gdunbar at esilibrary.com
1-877-OPEN-ILS  |  www.esilibrary.com
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