Succession of vice-presidents [by Connie Waller]

[Guest Guest]

Newly elected First Vice President has resigned and club bylaws do not address whether or not position is to be filled by appointment from the Board of Directors or require an election.  Also, is it the duty of the newly appointed Nominating Committe to find the replacement?

[Richard Brown]

If your bylaws are silent about the method of filling a vacancy, then there needs to be an election by the general membership to fill it, unless the board itself is empowered by the bylaws to select the president or to fill vacancies.  How is the president normally selected?

 

I would think that the job of the nominating committee ended when it issued its original list of nominees.  Technically, it is probably no longer in existence unless your rules make it a standing committee that serves year round.

 

btw, even if the committee is still in existence, it would not normally select the replacement:  It would select a nominee who must then be voted on.

[Edgar Guest]

How is the president normally selected?

 

Not that it matters but I think we're talking about the (first) vice-president, not the president.

[Guest Connie Waller]

Yes, we're talking about the First Vice President. 

[Guest Connie Waller]

Thank you for input.

[Dan Honemann]

Newly elected First Vice President has resigned and club bylaws do not address whether or not position is to be filled by appointment from the Board of Directors or require an election.  Also, is it the duty of the newly appointed Nominating Committe to find the replacement?

 

Since you have a First Vice-President, I assume you have a Second Vice-President. If so, then (unless you have something in your bylaws to the contrary) upon acceptance of the resignation of your First Vice-President your Second Vice-President will automatically become your First Vice-President. A vacancy will occur in the office of your lowest ranking Vice-President.

[Guest Connie Waller]

Thank you for input.

[Hieu H. Huynh]

Since you have a First Vice-President, I assume you have a Second Vice-President. If so, then (unless you have something in your bylaws to the contrary) upon acceptance of the resignation of your First Vice-President your Second Vice-President will automatically become your First Vice-President. A vacancy will occur in the office of your lowest ranking Vice-President.

 

I thought the automatic succession was specifically for a vacancy in the office of the president. Does the automatic succession apply to a vacancy in the office of the first vice president as well, when there is no vacancy in the presidency?

[Richard Brown]

I thought the automatic succession was specifically for a vacancy in the office of the president. Does the automatic succession apply to a vacancy in the office of the first vice president as well, when there is no vacancy in the presidency?

Hieu, this is what RONR says on page 458 about a vacancy in the office of 1st vice president:

 

"Some societies elect several vice-presidents in an order of precedence: first, second, third, and so on. In case of the resignation or death of the president, the vice-president (if there is only one) or the first vice-president (if there are more than one) automatically becomes president for the unexpired term, unless the bylaws expressly provide otherwise for filling a vacancy in the office of president. The second vice-president, if there is one, then becomes first vice-president, and so on, with the vacancy to be filled occurring in the lowest-ranking vice-presidency."

 

I  see your point:  RONR does not specifically address a vacancy in the office of first vice president when the vice president has not moved up to president because of a vacancy in the office of president.  However, I think the above passage should be interpreted to mean that a vacancy in the office of first vice president, no matter how it occurs, means the other vice presidents automatically move up with the vacancy to be filled ultimately occurring in the lowest ranking vice-presidency.

 

I can't see the rule being any different when the vacancy in the office of first vice president occurs due to the death or resignation (or removal) of the first vice president rather than due to his moving up to president due to a vacancy in the office of president. 

 

When the office of first vice president becomes vacant, it seems to me, based on the above quoted rule from page 458. that the other vice presidents automatically move up, regardless of the reason that the office of first vice president became vacant.  Also see page 575.

 

Note:  In the way of an editorial comment, because so many organizations assign specific duties to the various vice presidents and they are often elected because of their skills in specific areas, I'm not sure I completely agree with the RONR rule that all of the other vice presidents move up when the office of first vice president becomes vacant.  It seems to work a hardship on the organization and the other vice presidents with all of them suddenly having to take on new jobs.  However, that does seem to be the rule and if an organization doesn't like it, the members can provide in their bylaws that only the first vice president moves up with the other vice presidents retaining their positions.

[Dan Honemann]

Note:  In the way of an editorial comment, because so many organizations assign specific duties to the various vice presidents and they are often elected because of their skills in specific areas, I'm not sure I completely agree with the RONR rule that all of the other vice presidents move up when the office of first vice president becomes vacant.  It seems to work a hardship on the organization and the other vice presidents with all of them suddenly having to take on new jobs.  However, that does seem to be the rule and if an organization doesn't like it, the members can provide in their bylaws that only the first vice president moves up with the other vice presidents retaining their positions.

 

I fully agree with this, which is why I included the parenthetical "(unless you have something in your bylaws to the contrary)" in my response. This is a question of bylaws interpretation, and in those instances in which the bylaws clearly provide for a number of vice-presidents to be elected to perform particular administrative functions, and not to replace the president should that office become vacant, those bylaw provisions should be interpreted accordingly.

[Edgar Guest]

I thought the automatic succession was specifically for a vacancy in the office of the president.

 

I thought so too.

 

Not surprisingly, this question has been discussed before.