nomination commitee unable to fill slate

[Guest Mark]

According to our club bylaws, a nomination commitee is to be formed. This commitee must put together a slate of officers and directors within thirty days and anounce them to the current board. At which time, nominations are open by petition for thirty days before a vote (if required).

My Question- The nomination commitee is unable to return to the current board a complete slate of nominations for office within the thirty days.

1) Could the nomination commitee submit a incomplete slate of nominees for office?

2) How would this affect the stability of a unstable club?

3) If a incomplete or blank slate of nominees is submitted, how does a club proceed if nothing is stated in the club by laws?

4) what are the pitfalls in proceeding in this manner

5) Is there any benefit in proceeding in this manner/

Please help

Mark

[Gary c Tesser]

1. It must.

2. This is not a procedural question, but we both know, it won't help.

3. It soldiers on the best it can. (See #1.)

4. You're violating the bylaws.

5. Yes: you're doing the best you can.

[jstackpo]

First check the bylaws. Officers (current ones) may be in office "until the election of their successors" - if no election, they STAY in (at least until they quit or you finally do complete the election).

Or....

Announce that because of a lack of leadership interest, the organization will dissolve itself and go out of business. Really. Organizations don't last forever, and it is much better to close up shop formally than just drift along, and then wonder what happened to the bank account, far too long after the fact to do anything about it.

Often enough a threat like this one will shake some people out of the woodwork who will be willing to serve after all. But if it doesn't, there is a message there...

Additional answer to #3): Beat the bushes and get up a write-in champaign for someone. Or on election night, move to open nominations, if floor nominations are not explicitly forbidden in the bylaws.

[Gary c Tesser]

Urmf. Also to #3. If the bylaws do not require officers to be members, look to finding a non-member who is both capable and willing. The service of an outsider can sometimes be a breath of fresh air (around p. 450).

[Gary c Tesser]

To clarify #1: It must, because that's all it can do.

Mark, c'mon, work with us. Dr. Stackpole even has a citation for you.

[Gary c Tesser]

(John, you better have a citation for Mark, I promised him.)

[jstackpo]

Citation for what?

[Gary c Tesser]

(Oh make semething up)

[Trina]

According to our club bylaws, a nomination commitee is to be formed. This commitee must put together a slate of officers and directors within thirty days and anounce them to the current board. At which time, nominations are open by petition for thirty days before a vote (if required).

My Question- The nomination commitee is unable to return to the current board a complete slate of nominations for office within the thirty days.

1) Could the nomination commitee submit a incomplete slate of nominees for office?

2) How would this affect the stability of a unstable club?

3) If a incomplete or blank slate of nominees is submitted, how does a club proceed if nothing is stated in the club by laws?

4) what are the pitfalls in proceeding in this manner

5) Is there any benefit in proceeding in this manner/

Please help

Mark

1) If the report of the committee is due, the committee should make its report, incomplete or not. It is unusual for the nominating committee to make its report to the board, but, if that's what your bylaws say, follow the bylaws.

3) It appears the bylaws do say something beyond describing the job of the nominating committee -- you mention a thirty day period for nominations by petition. If your bylaws are indeed silent beyond that, it follows that nominations from the floor at the election meeting are in order (nominations from the floor are always part of the process, unless specifically prohibited in the bylaws), as are write-in votes.

If your election does indeed take place at a meeting, the lack of nominees at this point in the process doesn't necessarily signify much -- still plenty of opportunities to scrounge up nominees, including those last-minute self-nominations (volunteers) from the floor, as members realize that the organization may go under if they don't step up to help. If yours is an organization that conducts elections by absentee voting (by mail, for example), the opportunities are fewer, but, even if parts of the ballot are blank, there is still the write-in option.

Your questions 2), 4), and 5) largely call for opinions, not for answers from RONR.

[Tim Wynn]

(Oh make semething up)

RONR (11th ed.), p 435, ll. 23-26. Will that do?

[Gary c Tesser]

(Ya see? Even young brave Tim came up with something apropos.)

[Rev Ed]

Also, perhaps the By-law's should be amended to remove the petition requirement and merely ask for nominations at the meeting. This might help to get interest - some people may be interested in serving but do not want to "run" for the position and would rather be acclaimed. For a volunteer organization that does not pay its Board members, I have found that this is often the case, people don't want to work to get a volunteer position.

[Guest Mark]

Thank you for your comments and guidance with these questions regarding nomination comittee's nominations (or lack there of)and how to proceed. I would like to clarify a bit on this clubs and its bylaws< which are poorly written.

This is a small club with approx 130 +/= members who live in thirty-two different states throughout the U.S.. The club has monthly board meetings (via Teleconfrence) and one annual general membership meeting per year (if quorum is present). The annual membership meeting is is when the new board is announced. The election is held if more than one person is to run for the same position by ballot mailed to a private third party to be counted. Per bylaws, a member could run for office if they were not nominated by the nomination comitee by a petition with the signatures/endorsments of five members in good standing.

As the nomination comittee prepared their list of nominees, they did ask the current board members if they were interested. All board members declined. Their last term was very difficult and exhasting as they has to fight off a few frivalous lawsuits and spen their term persuing funds that were embezzeled by a prevous Treasurer. The membership still wanted to belong to this club but very few were eager join the nominees to be on the board.

To update everyone, this list of nominees was presented to the current board and anounced to the general membership with two positions, the secretary and one director left blank. Since the anouncement, the membership is can nominate by petition signed by five club members. The petitions must be received with 45 days (by aug 31) to be accepted and name placed on the ballot for a vote. per bylwas.

QUESTION

1) If no additional nominations are received within 45 days, does the nominess automatically elected into office minus the two open positions?

2) how does the club proceed from here/

Just not sure

Mark