WILPF US 2016 board election cycle begins

Here’s the information you need to begin planning to run for the US Section board – or to nominate a candidate. Watch for news of the opportunity to quiz current board members on their duties in a December teleconference.

Notice To Members– The 2016 US Section National Board Term Election Cycle Is Beginning

To be eligible to VOTE, you must be a member in good standing in one of these categories:

• YOUR annual dues must be paid up (contact the national office at 617-266-0999 to double-check their records; you may also check with your branch leadership but they need double-check) to make sure that the national office records show you as being fully paid up by December 1, 2015, to be sure that your name is captured in the list of members eligible to receive ballots.
• YOUR monthly pledging dues must be current and ongoing (contact the national office at 617-266-0999 to double-check their records; you may also check with your branch leadership but they need to double-check with national) to make sure that the national office records show you as being current and continuous in a pledge amount FOR DUES (this means that any monthly pledges through Peace Development Fund are not applicable as DUES since DUES ARE NOT TAX-DEDUCTIBLE monies payable to WILPF US. Again, if there are any questions, resolution in your favor needs to happen by December 1, 2015, to make sure that your name is captured in the list of members eligible to receive ballots.
• YOUR Life Membership must be valid – and officially recorded on file with the national office (contact the national office at 617-266-0999 to double-check their records; you may also check with your branch leadership but they need to double-check with national) to make sure that the national office records show you as being a Life Member. Again, if there are any questions, resolution in your favor needs to happen by December 1, 2015, to make sure that your name is captured in the list of members eligible to receive ballots.

For YOU to be eligible to RUN FOR OFFICE, YOU must have been a member for no less than two years (24 months). This is the minimum and sole requirement in the Section Bylaws. For YOU to be eligible to NOMINATE or RECOMMEND another member as a candidate for office, YOU, YOURSELF, MUST BE A MEMBER IN GOOD STANDING; YOUR CANDIDATE MUST ALSO BE A MEMBER IN GOOD STANDING AND HAVE BEEN FOR NO LESS THAN TWO YEARS.

Direct any questions to Nominating Committee Chair, Barbara Nielsen (bln.sf.ca@gmail.com)

Election schedule and specific deadlines will be published as soon as possible, but ...

• Applications, nominations and recommendations must be made on the forms provided; preliminary drafts may be download from the following links and could be used by anyone eager to begin the process.
  Application Form  |   Nomination/Recommendation Form
• Nominations can be made at any time and the deadline for nominations is anticipated to be by mid-December 2015.Applications and recommendations can be made at any time and the deadlines are anticipated to be in early January 2016.
• We anticipate scheduling an early-December telephone conference with current board to which all members will be invited and are asking everyone to think of questions you’d like to ask of the current board (and we may be able to have some former board members in attendance, too!), to give general members and candidates opportunities to ask questions of those with board experience. Let us know if you have questions we should put on the list of questions that we’ve started up!

2016 Term Election Ballot—Open Positions:

MEMBER-ELECTED Full Terms (Three Years):

PRESIDENT
(incumbent, Mary Hanson Harrison, has indicated a desire to run for the position again.)

DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE CHAIR
(position is vacant; interim appointee Fran Foulkrod has resigned from the board.)

NOMINATING COMMITTEE CHAIR
(incumbent, Barbara Nielsen, is not running for re-election.)

AT-LARGE MEMBER OF THE BOARD
(does not chair any board standing committee)
(interim incumbent, Marybeth Gardam, was appointed by the board to finish out 2015 year of current term; unclear whether she will run for position.)

MEMBER ELECTED Partial Terms:

Two Years: PROGRAM COMMITTEE CHAIR
(last 2 years of Deb Garretson’s 2015 three-year Board Term)
(interim incumbent, Maureen Eke, was appointed by the board to finish out 2015 year of current term; unclear whether she will run for this two-year continuation position.)

One Year: TREASURER AND FINANCE COMMITTEE CHAIR
(last 1 year of Altaira Hatton’s 2014 three-year Board Term – she served first year; board appointee Millee Livingston finished second year; need Member Election for third year.)
(interim incumbent, Millee Livingston, has indicated that she is not running for election for this one-year continuation position.)

Please take note that:

• Each applicant will need two WILPF US members in good standing to provide recommendations for you – please provide their names to us – they should use the nomination/recommendation form that accompanies this application material.
• Each applicant must be a current member in good standing (dues-paying, pledging, Life Member) in the Section for at least two years (twenty-four months) and also agree to adhere to our WILPF US Conflict of Interest policy in order to be able to serve on the National Board
• Service on the National Board currently has a cap of two terms.
• Service on the National Board requires adherence to various terms and conditions of Board service as seen in the Bylaws of WILPF US and they may be accessed here:

http://www.wilpfus.org/about/wilpf-us-section-laws

In addition to the specific job of each Board member, ongoing general procedural guidelines for Board service provide that each candidate agrees, upon election to service on the Board, to:

• Promote WILPF US in all aspects of each Board member’s activism and when opportunities arise through each Board member’s personal, professional and social networks
• Make WILPF one’s priority activist time effort commitment during the term of service on the WILPF US Board
• Disclose any and all other affiliations with activist, grassroots, or nonprofit organizations, including and particularly any other service on boards of directors or governing bodies or staff or volunteer positions of responsibility
• Serve a full (normally three-year but these interim positions are only for several months) term, barring unforeseen circumstances
• Attend every scheduled Board meeting (some limited exceptions apply), whether an in-person meeting or a telephonic Board meeting, and strive to make an active and constructive contribution to each meeting
• Participate in discussions and take responsibility for making decisions on issues, policies and other matters brought before the Board as it works together to move the program of WILPF US forward
• Commit to working collaboratively as a team on the Board and with all general members to effect the common goal of supporting the grassroots activism of our general members
• Set and adhere to the highest ethical standards of service by
  • Examining all personal actions to ensure compliance with our Conflict of Interest policy guidelines and fiscal and ethical requirements
  • Refraining from using WILPF activity to promote one’s own position or career
• Determine and understand the specific responsibilities of the office to which the member has been elected (or, as applicable, appointed to on an interim basis) and fulfill those responsibilities
• Accept individual and collective responsibility for the financial health of WILPF US and work toward an annual goal of raising $500 per Board member [this may not be applicable to an interim appointment but is not clear]
• While accepting individual and collective responsibility for the financial health of WILPF, exercise individual prudent review and analysis of the periodic financial reports presented to the Board, including but not limited to the annual WILPF US budget, our financial audit and Federal Form 990
• Other duties as required