Nominating committee

[Guest Jeanne]

What would constitute an incomplete application for an elected position and how should the Nominating committee handle those? What message does it send to slate people in several different positions? Should candidates be slated just because they applied for a position?

[Richard Brown]

RONR does not require the use of any kind of application by a nominating committee.  If such a requirement exists, it must be in your own rules.  The purpose of the nominating committee is for its members to use their own judgment in selecting the people who the committee is going to nominate.  RONR contains no restrictions regarding nominating people for more than one position or nominating more than one person for a position.  That is all wide open, subject only to your own rules.

[Guest jaws]

we were told that only 1 person can be nominated by the nominating committee for each open position. Our ByLaws state " a nominating committee will recommend a slate of candidates to the BOard ..."Nowhere does our ByLaws say it is limited to 1 person per open position. I am confused & need advice.

 

[George Mervosh]

26 minutes ago, Guest jaws said:

we were told that only 1 person can be nominated by the nominating committee for each open position. Our ByLaws state " a nominating committee will recommend a slate of candidates to the BOard ..."Nowhere does our ByLaws say it is limited to 1 person per open position. I am confused & need advice.

 

I think what you were told makes sense to me.  

[Richard Brown]

30 minutes ago, Guest jaws said:

we were told that only 1 person can be nominated by the nominating committee for each open position. Our ByLaws state " a nominating committee will recommend a slate of candidates to the BOard ..."Nowhere does our ByLaws say it is limited to 1 person per open position. I am confused & need advice.

 

Guest Jaws, I think ultimately this is a case of your organization having to interpret its own bylaws to determine whether the nominating committee can nominate more than one person for a position.  The language you quoted can reasonably be construed to mean that a "slate of candidates" means only one nominee for each position.  Your organization must determine what that provision means.

As I said in a post above on December 5, RONR does not limit the nominating committee to only one nominee per position nor does it prohibit the committee from nominating one person for more than one position.  Any such restriction would have to be in your own rules.  It is up to your organization to determine if its rule limits the committee to one nominee per position. 

Here is some pertinent language regarding the nominating committee from page 433 of RONR:

"Nominees. Although it is not common for the nominating committee to nominate more than one candidate for any office, the committee can do so unless the bylaws prohibit it. It is usually not sound to require the committee to nominate more than one candidate for each office, since the committee can easily circumvent such a provision by nominating only one person who has any chance of being elected (see also p. 573).
Members of the nominating committee are not barred from becoming nominees for office themselves. To make such a requirement would mean, first, that service on the nominating committee carried a penalty by depriving its members of one of their privileges; and second, that appointment or election to the nominating committee could be used to prevent a member from becoming a nominee. "    (Emphasis added)

 

[Guest Who's Coming to Dinner]

1 hour ago, Guest jaws said:

Our ByLaws state " a nominating committee will recommend a slate of candidates to the BOard"

It depends on what your bylaws mean by "slate." In most organizations, a slate consists of one nominee per office. Slates are not provided for in RONR, so it's up to your organization to decide what it means.