More below... ;^)
> > It's a little involved. IBT and Delegates Seminars are open for all to
> > speak but the Chair (President) gives priority to Delegates first,
> > Alternates second, Members third. If I had to guess why I'd guess that
> if
> > comments are allowed in that order that possibly Delegates and
> Alternates
> > would have greater knowledge of constitution and bylaws and might
> clarify or
> > address issues more completely than many members wondering the same
> thing
> > that haven't (and shouldn't have to) studied all WBCCI Constitution,
> Bylaws
> > and Policy? Just a guess...
>
> And sometimes the delegates and alternates fail to see the issue and it
> takes the member to make the point.
More often than you would like to believe!
If the constitution and bylaws are
> so convoluted it takes a city lawyer to understand them, they are too
> complex for a volunteer organization and should be eliminated.
Well in theory I agree, but as a business (which the WBCCI is) I don't think
there's anyway around it. If our leadership weren't championing pure
bone-headed disruptive causes the constitution and bylaws would be
completely transparent to most. The Club's Constitution at 9 pages isn't so
bad -- the Bylaws and Policy at 74 pages on the other hand... ;^)
Shouldn't that be a fundamental of a democratic organization's
> constitution? That there be more than one candidate for each office at
> each election? Wouldn't that be a fundamental from Robert's Rules of
> Order?
You got me there -- not sure -- but in a quick Google search quite a few
organizations pop up with the "slate of officers." My RRNR for Dummies has
eluded me for the moment. I think I brought it with me to Perry -- hmm...
> Hmm... Well
> > Hyde's got one year left on the IBT. Let's see if the IBT INC puts him
> up
> > for I3VP in '08 or '09. Then let's see if he can get elected...
>
> If he's on the ballot, how is he not going to be elected? Nominations
> from the floor without campaigning?
...and there we go. First we need willing candidates that would run for
International Office. You're in for a four year commitment as I3VP. You're
going to attend both the Internationals and the Mid-Winters at a minimum.
One year commitments are for International Recording Secretary,
International Treasurer, and (2) International Nominating Committees.
Between I3VP, IRS, and IT that's THREE influential votes on a 7 voting
position executive council.
If you can place two members from the floor into the International
Nominating Committee you control the process -- you can dictate the slate of
officers for the following year. It might be possible that if you control
the Nominating Committee you could influence the process to give all members
a ballot and a choice prior to the Delegates Meeting.
You're part of the International Rally Committee as I3VP, I2VP, I1VP, and
IP.
I was impressed with the result of running from the floor by the way. With
a virtually unknown candidate that announced he was running the morning of
the Delegates Meeting ~10% of all votes were affected. Pete Daniel captured
400+ votes but at least one unit abstained from voting as a result and
another unit actually split their votes according to the way that unit voted
for SOBs. Many more commented that had they expected to see alternative
candidates running from the floor they could have prepped their home units
for that possibility and potentially changed the outcome of those elections.
Here's the rub... If you even THINK you're going to run from the floor in
Bozeman you need to notify all units by late January, early February. The
INC doesn't have to declare it's slate of officers until March 1st and even
then that is only to HQs. The membership gets the first whiff of what is to
be when the April Blue Beret hits the mail.
So if you want to run from the floor (to give the membership ALTERNATIVE
candidates) you need to declare your intent, without even knowing who you
will be running against, in late January. The upside it gives you plenty of
time to get position papers, goals and objectives out there, BUT, if the
common denominator for the average unit is US Mail it can get expensive.
Lastly consider this. If five candidates run from the floor in Bozeman --
it's FIVE HOURS of roll call votes -- FIVE HOURS. Yet in Bozeman this year,
unless the IBT finds some way to run real elections, that probability is
VERY high. For every candidate we can put up from the floor it's at least a
45 minute roll call.
Leo