Running for office for someone who had one and resigned

[Linda J]

We have run into an issue with a person who was an officer a few years back and resigned in mid term. Now they want to run for an office again. Can they do that? It was mentioned that they never could again, but our by-laws don't state this and I can not find it in Robert's Rule. Can someone please clarify?

[Weldon Merritt]

You can't find it in RONR because it isn't there. If the bylaws don't say they can't, then they can.

[Linda J]

Thank you for your help. I greatly appreciate it.

[Benjamin Geiger]

Related hypothetical: Would an assembly be allowed to prohibit a person from holding office in the future as a consequence of a disciplinary trial? Would this violate the "assemblies can't constrain future assemblies" principle?

[Joshua Katz]

3 minutes ago, Benjamin Geiger said:

Related hypothetical: Would an assembly be allowed to prohibit a person from holding office in the future as a consequence of a disciplinary trial? Would this violate the "assemblies can't constrain future assemblies" principle?

I think an assembly could do so. It is either the same assembly, as in a membership meeting, or a different assembly, as in the case of a convention. In the first case, the issue you raise doesn't arise. In the second, the assembly needs permission in the bylaws to bind future assemblies since qualifications for office must appear in the bylaws. The bylaws adopt (presumably) RONR, which contains Chapter XX, which permits the assembly to use a wide variety of disciplinary methods. Assuming that includes "can't serve in office" we don't have to worry about the notion that one assembly can't constrain another. So what matters is whether Chapter XX allows it. I think it's within the range described there.

[Benjamin Geiger]

27 minutes ago, Joshua Katz said:

It is either the same assembly, as in a membership meeting, or a different assembly, as in the case of a convention.

I think I'm either misunderstanding or misremembering, then. I thought that a change in membership made it a "different assembly" (in the sense of Heraclitus^*) for the purposes of parliamentary principles. Perhaps that only applies to boards with elections?

* "No man ever steps in the same river twice." (Often expanded with "for it’s not the same river and he’s not the same man.")

Edited August 15, 2018 at 01:02 AM by Benjamin Geiger

[Joshua Katz]

Well, as a Parmenidian in good standing...

 

[Atul Kapur]

37 minutes ago, Benjamin Geiger said:

I thought that a change in membership made it a "different assembly" (in the sense of Heraclitus^*) for the purposes of parliamentary principles. Perhaps that only applies to boards with elections?

I think the main differential is whether there are terms. As an example, the assembly of the Bedrock Lodge (No. 26) of the Loyal Order of Water Buffaloes is a continuous assembly. Some new members may come and some others may go, but the assembly is the assembly. The Executive Board of the Chapter is made up of members with terms so one board is different than the next. Similarly, the National Convention of the LOWB is a different organization each time, with delegates appointed for each convention.

Edited August 15, 2018 at 01:36 AM by Atul Kapur
Stealing of the Flintstones copyrighted material is (c) Atul Kapur

[Dan Honemann]

9 hours ago, Benjamin Geiger said:

Related hypothetical: Would an assembly be allowed to prohibit a person from holding office in the future as a consequence of a disciplinary trial? Would this violate the "assemblies can't constrain future assemblies" principle?

I think the answer to this question is yes, a member's rights can be suspended through disciplinary proceedings, but I'm not sure what you mean when you refer to the "assemblies can't constrain future assemblies" principle. I suppose you may be referring to the one mentioned on page 87, lines 4-11, but I don't see what it has to do with any of this. 

[J. J.]

4 hours ago, Daniel H. Honemann said:

I think the answer to this question is yes, a member's rights can be suspended through disciplinary proceedings, but I'm not sure what you mean when you refer to the "assemblies can't constrain future assemblies" principle. I suppose you may be referring to the one mentioned on page 87, lines 4-11, but I don't see what it has to do with any of this. 

I agree, but I would note that this penalty could be rescinded.