2009 Board Elections
Pursuant to the new by-laws adopted December 9, 2006, we have expanded our state affiliate board by 12 members elected at-large by ACLU members from across Pennsylvania. In addition, three seats are to be elected to by the approximately 24% of our members who reside within the geographic areas covered by the eight lower-membership chapters, which are chapters with insufficient members to elect a representative individually.
Although all terms of Directors are to be three years, in order to avoid the disruptive effect of a complete turnover of board members in any one year, the new by-laws provide for randomly assigned, staggered terms for the first newly expanded board. To accomplish this, all of the initially elected Directors drew lots to determine whether their terms would be one, two or three years. This year, the positions of 4 at-large Directors who drew two year terms are open.
Our annual elections allow the organization to meet its affirmative action goals by electing to the board candidates that possess the type of balanced skill set that is needed to effectively run the organization. The overarching theme of the board election is a commitment to a diversity of representation:
The sense of the nominating committee was to give weight to the preferences of all those Directors who did not draw three year terms at the outset who wanted to continue to serve because they participated in the lottery that eliminated their opportunity to be elected to a full three year term when they first ran.Three of the four individuals finishing their two year terms are being nominated for a full three year term.
The individuals on this year’s slate for at-large Directors do not represent specific constituencies, regions or chapters. They do represent a diverse leadership for the state as a whole.
Slate of Nominees for At Large Members of the Board of Directors
The Nominating Committee has submitted the following names as candidates for the Board of Directors of the ACLU-PA. (4 seats available)
- William DiMascio
- Iftekhar Hussain
-
Robert J. Jennings, Jr
-
Katherine D. Seelman
Candidate statements are available here.
In accordance with the by-laws, any 50 members of the ACLU-PA may by petition nominate a candidate for the Board of Trustees. Petitions for candidates must include the signatures of 50 current ACLU of PA members. The petition form for at large members is available here.
Signed petitions must be in the hands of the Nominating Committee by 5:00 p.m. on November 2, 2009.
Mail your petition to Board Nominations/ACLU of PA, 313 Atwood Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15213 or fax to 412-681-8707. (If you fax, please mail the originals afterward.)
The full slate of candidates – including both those selected by the nominating committee and those nominated by the petition – will be included on the final ballot. Members will receive the ballot via mail as an insert in the fall edition of the ACLU- PA newsletter.
Nominations for Lower-Membership Chapter Representatives
(see below for list of lower-membership chapters)
For the eight "lower membership" chapters, which are listed below, there is one seat to be elected. Please be very aware that the individual elected represents ALL EIGHT lower membership chapters; not just his/her own chapter constituency.
Although all terms of Directors are to be three years, in order to avoid the disruptive effect of a complete turnover of board members in any one year, the new by-laws provide for randomly assigned, staggered terms for the first newly expanded board. To accomplish this, all of the initially elected Directors drew lots to determine whether their terms would be one, two or three years. This year, the position of 1 at-large director who drew a two year term is open.
The sense of the nominating committee was to give weight to the preferences of all those Directors who did not draw three year terms at the outset who wanted to continue to serve because they participated in the lottery that eliminated their opportunity to be elected to a full three year term when they first ran.
The committee is therefore pleased to re-nominate:
- Abigail Byman (Northeast Chapter)
A vacancy occurred in the term of a lower membership representative who was elected to a three year term which expires in December 2010.To fill that vacancy the committee is pleased to nominate:
Candidate statements are available here.
In accordance with the by-laws, any 25 members of the ACLU-PA lower membership chapters (see list below) may nominate by petition a candidate to be placed on the ballot for representative from the lower membership chapters. Petitions for candidates for representative from the lower membership chapters to the Board of Trustees must include the signatures of 25 ACLU of PA members residing in the lower membership chapter areas. The petition form for lower membership chapter representatives is available here.
Signed petitions must be in the hands of the Nominating Committee by 5:00 p.m. on Monday, November 2, 2009. Mail your petition to Board Nominations/ACLU of PA, 313 Atwood Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15213 or fax to 412-681-8707. (If you fax, please mail the originals afterward.)
The full slate of candidates – including both those selected by the nominating committee and those nominated by the petition – will be included on the final ballot. Members will receive the ballot via mail as an insert in the Fall edition of the ACLU- PA newsletter.
ACLU-PA Lower Membership Chapters (as of September 2009)
You must live within the geographic boundaries of one of the following ACLU-PA chapters in order to be eligible to be nominated, to nominate a candidate, or to vote for representatives to the Board of Directors.
(Note: The three largest ACLU-PA chapters - Philadelphia, South Central and Pittsburgh - elect their representatives directly and therefore those members are not eligible to participate in this election.)
- Northeast Chapter includes the counties of Susquehanna, Wyoming, Luzerne, Lackawanna, Wayne, Pike, Monroe and Carbon.
- Greater Lehigh Valley Chapter includes the counties of Schuylkill, Lehigh, Northampton, and Berks.
- Lancaster Chapter includes the county of Lancaster.
- Central Chapter includes the counties of Clearfield, Cameron, Centre, Mifflin, Huntingdon, and Clinton.
- Williamsport Chapter includes the counties of Lycoming, Bradford, Tioga, Potter, and Sullivan.
- Central Susquehanna Chapter includes the counties of Union, Snyder, Montour, Northumberland, and Columbia.
- Keystone Chapter includes the counties of Bedford, Blair, Cambria, and Somerset.
- Northwest Chapter includes the counties of Clarion, Crawford, Elk, Erie, Forest, Jefferson, McKean, Mercer, Venango, and Warren.
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