Chair Elect

[Guest Ann]

Our board had a vice chair who was also the chair elect who took office in January. In July the chair resigned and the vice chair assumed the Chair's term with the idea of serving the remainder of that one year term then a one year term of his own. In August, as part of a general bylaw revision, the chair elect position was eliminated from our bylaws. My question is, does our current board chair still get an automatic year's term since he was chair elect before we changed the bylaws? Thanks for any thoughts.

[Chris Harrison]

Nope. When you amended the bylaws you all legislated him right out of office (as Chair-elect). If he wants to continue to serve as Chair after the term is up he will have to run for it.

[Guest Ann]

Can you give me the RR that would apply? I thought that was right but couldn't find it anywhere. Thanks.

[Shmuel Gerber]

Can you give me the RR that would apply? I thought that was right but couldn't find it anywhere. Thanks.

The Reading RR, of course. (Although the name of the railroad is properly pronounced "redding", which sort of ruins the pun.)

Anyway, you can start by redding -- um, I mean reading the paragraph that begins in RONR (11th ed.) at p. 597, l. 24.

[sMargaret]

Hmm - in your former bylaws, was the "chair elect" considered to be the same person as the "vice chair"? Or was that a separate position?

If being the "chair elect" was the same as the "vice chair", I'd say that he gave that up when he stepped into the role of chair. If it was indeed a separate position, then it was given up when the bylaws were amended.

If the membership didn't intend for the bylaws provision to affect him the next year, then it's easy enough to vote him in as chair in the next election.

[Guest Guest]

The vice chair was the chair elect, same person. If I understand it correctly, the time now being served as chair is through the position he held as vice chair. The term that he would hold beginning in January (when all our officers begin a one year term) would be the term served due to being chair-elect, a position that no longer exists. If the position no longer exists, I think he must now be nominated by the nominating committee and elected like all the other officers in order to serve, correct?

[Guest Edgar]

. . . correct?

Yes.

[sMargaret]

The vice chair was the chair elect, same person.

Same person, yes, but was it the same position? Did the position of vice chair carry with it the position of chair elect, or were they separate items? Could some not the vice chair have been the chair elect?

At any rate, hold an election for chair the next time.

[Guest Edgar]

Did the position of vice chair carry with it the position of chair elect, or were they separate items? Could some not the vice chair have been the chair elect?

Given that the office of chair-elect has been eliminated, I'm not sure what difference it makes.

[Guest ZvM7hn]

The line in the previous bylaws was "The Vice Chairman shall be the Chairman-elect of the Board..." But I think everyone agrees it doesn't matter if we no longer have a Chair Elect, the current board chair will have to be elected in order to continue after completing this term that was inherited. Thanks.

[Gary c Tesser]

... If I understand it correctly, the time now being served as chair is through the position he held as vice chair.

I think that's it. He finishes out the term of the chair.

... I think he must now be nominated by the nominating committee and elected like all the other officers in order to serve, correct?

He would need to be elected like all the other officers ... but not necessarily only by the nominating committee, I trust?

(Is Guest_ZvM7hn the same as Original Poster Guest Ann, but in her Klingon disguise?)

[Gary c Tesser]

Given that the office of chair-elect has been eliminated, I'm not sure what difference it makes.

I'm leaning that way too, but I haven't quite completely wrapped my mind around all this, so it might make a difference. For instance, if I got this right, then they never used to elect a chairman, but always a vice-chairman-cum-chairman-elect (Reg. U.S. Pat. Off.), only. When the VC/CE's term expired, he became the chairman. But now, implicitly -- or, better, intrinsically, or maybe both -- they have to elect both chair and vice-chair. That might not be a problem for Guest_Edgar or me, but it'll probably take some adjusting for the organization come election night, unless they get ready beforehand. And their bylaws might have to be further tweaked (although, if their bylaws are like the sample bylaws in RONR 11th Ed, especially p. 585, on OFFICERS, they won't).

[Gary c Tesser]

... If being the "chair elect" was the same as the "vice chair", I'd say that he gave that up when he stepped into the role of chair. If it was indeed a separate position, then it was given up when the bylaws were amended....

This is hypothetical as far as Guest Ann's organization is concerned (hmm, is it only a board??!?), but still. sMargaret, assume that they had not eliminated the chair-elect position, and of course assume that it works the same as RONR's president-elect (p. 457 -- huzzah, a citation at last!). They have no provision for electing the chair. So if he gave up his chair-elect position when he assumed the chairmanship, what happens when the term is up?

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N.B. The computer transformed sMargaret's quotation marks into """ so I tried to turn them back; apologies if I missed any.