Yesterday AUTM sent an email to all members about the slate of candidates for the 2012 Board of Directors election.
We heard from several members who asked why there are not two or more nominees for each position – i.e., they thought we were moving to a contested, election system where the membership would pick between two or more candidates by a secret ballot. Since several people asked the question, odds are there are many more who have been wondering the same thing but didn't ask, so I'd like to share the answer with all of you.
Last year AUTM President-elect Todd Sherer co-chaired a taskforce on the AUTM Board nominations and elections process. The taskforce interviewed close to 10 organizations and compared their nominations and election processes to AUTM's processes. The taskforce presented its findings to the AUTM Board May 3, 2011. Todd discussed this process in a blog post May 9, where he discussed the change that was implemented based on the recommendations of the taskforce. Todd mentioned that a contested open election system was one of the options that was considered. Even though some members of the taskforce entered the process advocating contested elections, at the end of its work the taskforce unanimously rejected the idea because experience from other associations is that there is a serious risk of alienating the unsuccessful candidates whose failure to win an election is very visible and possibly could result in our losing them as active volunteers in the association.
Recapping, the process that the taskforce recommended was
- A Nominating Committee of nine members
- Five of the Committee not to be current Board Members
- The Nominating Committee to identify at least two candidates per position
- The Board to select one candidate per position for the slate
- The membership to be able to nominate additional candidates by petition
- Electronic vote of the membership
Members have always been actively encouraged to nominate themselves or other candidates, but this year AUTM was far more aggressive in promoting the call for nominations. People who were on the Nominations Committee and who had been on previous Nominations Committees commented that the process was much more rigorous and thorough than in prior years. Several positions had more than two candidates. Two members of the committee carried out lengthy interviews with each candidate, using a standard set of questions. They then interviewed two references supplied by the candidates. Finally they then wrote a report on the candidate and submitted it to the Nominations Committee which held a lengthy conference call to discuss the candidates for each position.
At the September Board Meeting, the Board reviewed the Nominating Committee’s report and selected the slate you see by a secret ballot for each position.
In short, we feel the nominating process has become as transparent and thorough as it can be without going to contested elections, which the Board and the taskforce, after careful consideration, have decided against.
Anyone who elected not to participate in the nominations process still has an opportunity to participate by petitioning to be added to the ballot.
As mentioned in yesterday's email, you can add your name to the ballot by collecting the signatures of 25 current AUTM members. Once you collect the signatures - an email originating from an AUTM member's email address supporting your candidacy qualifies as a signature - send the petition, a one page biography, and a position statement (no more than 500 words) to Vicki Loise at vloise@autm.net or if you prefer to mail send to:
AUTM Headquarters
Attn: Vicki Loise
111 Deer Lake Road, Suite 100
Deerfield, IL 60015
USA
All petitions and supporting materials must arrive at AUTM headquarters by October 26, 2011, to qualify for the 2012 election. At that time, the Nominations and Awards Committee will review submissions and add all qualified petitioners to the 2012 ballot. Bios and position statements for the petitioning candidates will be distributed to the membership by November 4, 2011.
Thank you for your interest and your participation in the nomination and election process. If you have additional questions, please post them here, or send an email to info@autm.net.