[svlug] Electing the next set of officers

[Tim Bird]

Paul Reiber wrote:
> Likewise, my last act in office, appointing a successor, isn't in
> question, it's actual.
Whether it has any meaning is different question.  OK Paul,
you appointed someone as your successor.  I have no idea what
that even means for a position that is normally elected.

The idea that an elected person can appoint their successor
without group approval is very weird indeed.
> 
>> are we going to start that again ??? or wait till wed for the
>> votes ( in person, by email, .. ) to happen ??
> 
> SVLUG has officers, volunteers, and members.  No officer has called
> for any vote on anything.  I'm unsure whether any volunteers called
> for a vote or not... and I'm unsure whether volunteer status gives one
> the right to even call for a vote on something.  I'm damned sure that
> being an SVLUG member does NOT give one the right to call for a vote
> on something.

Here's my two cents.  I assume the organization has no bylaws,
but at least some rudimentary past processes (e.g. past
voting procedures, terms of officers, etc.)

Absent a set of bylaws, I would recommend something very simple.
Of course I have no "right" to call for a vote, but I would
recommend something akin to one, in order to elect Edward
or someone else of the group's choosing.

Given the state of the organization, I would be happy to support
Edward as interim or acting President until an election is held.
But I would recommend to Edward to make the election his only
substantive action and first priority, until the matter of
governance is resolved.

I would recommend the following process:
 1) a short (due to circumstances) period of time for candidates
 to announce themselves
 2) a simple majority vote, in person or by e-mail for who will
 be Pres and VP.
    It should be announced in advance that a vote is happening
    at a particular meeting, and what the deadline for e-mail
    voting is.
 3) a simple majority vote on whether that person serves
    a) a full term
    b) the remainder of Paul's term
    c) some temporary term until the organization can
    draft proper bylaws and a more formal election can
    be held.
 4) an independent counter of the vote decides the outcome
    I believe Edward said he would try to find someone for
    this.
 5) after the election, the work of the bylaws committee
 (or whatever it was called) should be made a priority.  Some
 very simple rules (1 or 2 pages) would avoid a lot of
 misunderstandings, IMHO.  I can't make it to meetings, but
 I will (with some degree of hesitation) volunteer to assist
 by e-mail in drafting bylaws if it would be helpful.  I have
 done this for commercial standards organizations.

Everyone's still a bit hot under the collar today, and I think
a cooling off period would be good.  I think a good approach
would be to accept volunteers or nominations until the next
meeting, and accept votes cast by e-mail until then, and
then hold a short in-person vote at the meeting itself.
By the end of the meeting, we could have some officers with
a semblance of legitimate authority.

That's just my own ideas and suggestions.  I'm just an e-mail
list subscriber with an interest in the group.  I have no
authority to implement any of the above, but an interest
is seeing a positive outcome for the organization.

Regards,
 -- Tim

=============================
Tim Bird
Architecture Group Chair, CE Linux Forum
Senior Staff Engineer, Sony Corporation of America
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