Nominating Committee chair (by Maria)

[Guest Guest]

Greetings,  Our association has is in the process of nominating new board members.  The chair of the Nominations and Elections Committee has been nominated to run for President and she has accepted.  It would seem evident that as the chair and a nominee, there is a conflict of interest.  The current President is an ex-officio member of every committee EXCEPT for the Nominations and Elections Committee.  If the current chair runs for President and withdraws her chair position, who would appoint a new chair for the Nominations and Elections Committee -- would it be the President?  Thanks for your help.

[Richard Brown]

There is no prohibition in RONR against a member (or the chairman) of the nominating committee being nominated for office.  They are perfectly free to nominate themselves.  It happens fairly often.

 

However, if the current chairman of the committee wants to resign as chairman, the person or body (the president?  The membership? the board?) which selected the members and chairman of the nominating committee in the first place would normally be the body to select a replacement.  Who selected the current members and chairman?

 

It is not necessary, though:  the nominating committee chairman can remain as committee chairman even though she has been selected as a nominee for president.

[Gary c Tesser]

I thought this thread was going to be about Maria, but she hasn't even been mentioned yet

[Guest Maria]

Thanks Gary ... I noticed the error after I posed the question, but I could not go in and fix it!  Sorry about that. 

 

The way the bylaws read is that the immediate past president automatically serves as the Nominations and Elections Chair.  So that position does not get appointed.  But I would think that if the current immediate past president runs again, the chair position would fall on the past president before the immediate past president, but just wanted to be sure if we could do it that way, or have the President appoint someone else.  There is nothing in the bylaws or standing rules of this corporation that dictate what happens when the N&E chair also runs for office. 

 

Thanks for your wisdom.

[jstackpo]

That doesn't seem quite right.  Once the election, for a new president, is over the current (soon to be out of office) president becomes THE immediate past president.  And hence gets the NomCom job.

 

But we here can't be sure without a careful reading of your entire bylaws  --  which we ain't gonna do.  See p. 588 for help in figuring out what your bylaws "really" mean.

 

Wait, there's more....

 

IPP is a Bad Idea:

And here's some reasons why the position is a bad idea:

In my personal view, setting up an "official" Immediate Past President (IPP) position is not a particularly good idea.  The most telling argument is the real possibility of a close and bitter race for the presidency, with the current president running (for a second term) against an "outsider".  And the outsider - the "reform candidate", perhaps - wins but is still stuck with the thorn of the IPP on the Board in a position to snipe at the new president.  And perhaps attempt to undermine the new president's plans.  Not to mention vote against them.

If the erstwhile president is a "good guy" the new president can (usually, depending on the bylaws) appoint him to a pre-existing committee - or even have him chair one, which might put him on the Board - as the new president sees fit.  That way the IPP's experience and value can be put to good use, when needed, without the danger of setting up an adversarial situation which would require a bylaw amendment to get out of.

Here's some more reasons

1) The President resigns and wants nothing to do with the organization.
 
2) The President simply doesn't run for election again because he's had enough, and never shows up at a board meeting.
 
3) The President is booted out of office for being incompetent, or for something more nefarious.
 
4) The President dies.
 
5) The President resigns and moves (wants to help but isn't around).

6) Even worse is the bylaw assignment of the IPP to chair a committee - such as nominating.  Then he dies/quits/leaves town, &c.  You are then stuck with an unfillable (by definition) vacancy.

Note that except for item 4, the IPP may well be part of the quorum requirement for meetings, even though he never shows up.
 

[Richard Brown]

IPP is a Bad Idea:

I agree wholeheartedly.  It is tempting, and maybe even sometimes a good thing, to have the IPP on the board, but there are many dangers in doing so, as Dr. Stackpole pointed out. I have seen some of his warnings come true.   Most experienced parliamentarians probably believe it is not a good thing. 

 

Assigning the IPP as the automatic chairman of a committee is an especially bad idea. 

 

If the IPP is so talented and so great to have around, he can always be appointed to a committee chairmanship or maybe to some other position. But to make him automatically a committee chair is just, well, a horrendous idea.

[Richard Brown]

That doesn't seem quite right.  Once the election, for a new president, is over the current (soon to be out of office) president becomes THE immediate past president.  And hence gets the NomCom job.

John, I'm assuming, based on my reading of the question, that the IPP who is chairman of the nominating committee has been the IPP for almost a year since new elections seem to be imminent. 

 

Also, I don't believe the current P becomes the IPP once the elections are over unless the election takes effect immediately.  Many organizations have a bylaw provision that provides that the new officers take office on some date certain which may be days, weeks or even months after the election.  The current P may remain the P for several weeks after the election.

 

I am assuming we agree that since the bylaws make the IPP the chair of the nominating committee, that there is no way, short of resigning from the organization, for the IPP to step down from the job or to be replaced.   And, if membership in the organization is not a requirement for being a committee chairman, even resigning from the organization may not let him or her "off the hook".   I believe that's one of the pitfalls of having an IPP that you pointed out.  The IPP and the organization are stuck with that person being the IPP regardless of whether he or she or the organization likes it.

[Josh Martin]

The way the bylaws read is that the immediate past president automatically serves as the Nominations and Elections Chair. So that position does not get appointed. But I would think that if the current immediate past president runs again, the chair position would fall on the past president before the immediate past president, but just wanted to be sure if we could do it that way, or have the President appoint someone else. There is nothing in the bylaws or standing rules of this corporation that dictate what happens when the N&E chair also runs for office.

For one thing, I'm not quite understanding what the issue is with a candidate serving on the committee. So far as RONR is concerned, the role of a nominating committee is simply to make nominations, and it seems it has already made its choice to nominate this person, so why does it matter if she continues to serve on the committee? Does this committee have additional duties in your organization?

In any event, it seems to me that you're stuck with this person. If the bylaws provide that the IPP serves as the chair of the Nominations and Elections Committee and provides no alternatives for a situation like this, then that's that. I concur with my colleagues that this is not a wise bylaw provision.

The only option I can really think of is for the IPP to simply not attend any more meetings of the committee. She will still technically be the chair and a member of the committee, but the committee can elect someone else to serve as Chairman Pro Tempore in her absence. Of course, this will only work if the IPP is willing to do this.

[jstackpo]

Of course, this will only work if the IPP is willing to do this.

 

... and the routine absence of the (reluctant) chairman/IPP does not cause a failure to reach a quorum in attendance.

[Shmuel Gerber]

I thought this thread was going to be about Maria, but she hasn't even been mentioned yet

 

 

Thanks Gary ... I noticed the error after I posed the question, but I could not go in and fix it!  Sorry about that. 

 

There, IFTFY.

[Gary c Tesser]

Gary c Tesser, on 31 Dec 2014 - 04:52 AM, said:

I thought this thread was going to be about Maria, but she hasn't even been mentioned yet

 

 

Maria, on 31 Dec 2014 - 12:14 PM, said:

Thanks Gary ... I noticed the error after I posed the question, but I could not go in and fix it!  Sorry about that. 

 

There, IFTFY.

 

Yikes.  What other costumed-hero superpowers do you have that we haven't found yet?