Guest Lulu Posted May 14, 2012 at 08:12 PM Report Share Posted May 14, 2012 at 08:12 PM Is it ethical for the Speaker of a House to attend local association meetings and participate in them prior to an annual meeting? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jstackpo Posted May 14, 2012 at 08:21 PM Report Share Posted May 14, 2012 at 08:21 PM RONR doesn't speak to your Speaker / Ethics question at all.Do your bylaws? Which is where definition(s) of "ethical" would have to be found.Sounds as though your Speaker is doing a little political groundwork -- but what kind of "participation" do you have in mind? Presumably the Speaker is not a member of the local association -- was there any objection to having a "guest" - the Speaker - at the local meeting? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest lulu Posted May 14, 2012 at 08:24 PM Report Share Posted May 14, 2012 at 08:24 PM The Speaker IS a member of the local association and is Speaker for the state annual meeting. Apparently they attended the local meeting as well as participated in an executive session there. We are wondering how/where to address this for the future. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Harrison Posted May 14, 2012 at 08:35 PM Report Share Posted May 14, 2012 at 08:35 PM There is nothing to address. If the Speaker is a member of the local Association then he has a right to attend and participate at their meetings. Maybe there is something that you aren't saying or that I am missing here but I see no problem with anything that is going on as far as RONR is concerned. What is your specific objection to the situation? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest Posted May 14, 2012 at 08:52 PM Report Share Posted May 14, 2012 at 08:52 PM There is a belief that the Speaker stands in that role with a 'prejudged' idea of what the outcome is that they prefer and tend to guide the discussions to that end. We were wondering if possibly not allowing participation in planning of actions prior to the house of delegates would hopefully alleviate this and keep the Speaker in the imparial role they were elected to be in. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jstackpo Posted May 14, 2012 at 09:03 PM Report Share Posted May 14, 2012 at 09:03 PM The Speaker IS a member of the local association and is Speaker for the state annual meeting. Apparently they attended the local meeting .......Who is "they"? Were "they" all members of the local association? If, yes, then Chris's answer is still correct. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David A Foulkes Posted May 14, 2012 at 09:09 PM Report Share Posted May 14, 2012 at 09:09 PM We are wondering how/where to address this for the future.Amend your rules, if possible, to change the status of the Speaker's membership in the local, or whatever it is that the membership (or whichever body has the authority to do so) would prefer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Harrison Posted May 14, 2012 at 09:09 PM Report Share Posted May 14, 2012 at 09:09 PM Is the Speaker the presiding officer of the local association or merely a member? If the Speaker is the presiding officer of the local Association he should remain impartial and not get involved in the consideration of the questions before the assembly nor vote on the question with a few exceptions. However, since he is a member of the Association he cannot be prevented from exercising all of the rights of membership including making motions, entering into debate, and voting on the question. See FAQ #1 for details.What exactly do you mean by that he tends to guide the discussions? If he is merely a member of the Association he shouldn't have any power to guide the discussion beyond the two ten minutes speeches he can give. If he is the presiding officer he still has no real power to guide the discussion since the members should have minds of their own and if they allow themselves to be guided down a path they don't like the responsibility for allowing it to happen falls on them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest lulu Posted May 14, 2012 at 09:11 PM Report Share Posted May 14, 2012 at 09:11 PM Yes the Speaker is a member. The Speaker works behind the scenes to line up people to speak her mind and facilitate her thoughs in the business of the meeting. It was the thoughts of the membership that as Speaker that role is impartial and therefore would not be correct to be quite this involved?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Harrison Posted May 14, 2012 at 09:41 PM Report Share Posted May 14, 2012 at 09:41 PM The Speaker works behind the scenes to line up people to speak her mind and facilitate her thoughs in the business of the meeting. Nothing wrong with that under RONR. More times than I can count we have advised members who want to see something done (or want to stop something from happening) to get other members on his or her side to speak and vote for or against the motion before the assembly. This member is doing the same thing. If the Membership doesn't like what she is proposing they merely have to get more members on their side than she has on hers.It was the thoughts of the membership that as Speaker that role is impartial and therefore would not be correct to be quite this involved?? When she is presiding over the State assembly she has a duty to remain impartial during the meetings. However, as a member of the local Association she is not wearing the "hat" of being the Speaker of the House and has no duty to remain impartial despite what the Membership thinks. Also, as I mentioned above the duty to remain impartial only exists when the meeting is in session. There would be nothing in RONR preventing her from huddling up and plotting with her allies during recesses and before and after the meetings. Then when the meeting is in session she can sit there and remain impartial in her rulings and duties as presiding officer while her minions do her dirty work and RONR is perfectly fine with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jstackpo Posted May 14, 2012 at 09:44 PM Report Share Posted May 14, 2012 at 09:44 PM Nothing wrong with the Speaker - or anyone else - doing a little politics "behind the scenes" to try to get the association to take a particular position, or whatever. But this is OK only between meetings - via talk, e-mail, arm twisting, whatever. It is commonly called "leadership".However IN THE MEETING the speaker, as presiding officer, is obliged to be COMPLETELY impartial, not favoring any side over the other. And NOT participating in any debates of discussions. Just presiding. Which is quite enough work to do well. See p. 448 ff. And don't miss p. 454. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest lulu Posted May 14, 2012 at 10:19 PM Report Share Posted May 14, 2012 at 10:19 PM Thank you for all of your comments and help on this, much appreciated! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Novosielski Posted May 17, 2012 at 02:10 AM Report Share Posted May 17, 2012 at 02:10 AM The Speaker IS a member of the local association and is Speaker for the state annual meeting. Apparently they attended the local meeting as well as participated in an executive session there. We are wondering how/where to address this for the future. Thanks!As a member of the local association, he has the right to participate in meetings. Are you asking how to infringe upon his basic rights of membership? Because it's pretty certain that RONR isn't going to help you there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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