ACLU of PA: 2008 Board Elections
Under the new by-laws approved and adopted in late 2006, we have expanded our state affiliate board by 12 seats elected at-large by the members from across Pennsylvania. In addition, three seats are elected to represent all of the approximately 24% of our members who reside within the areas covered by the eight lower-membership chapters.
Although all terms of trustees are to be three years, in order to avoid the disruptive effect of a complete turnover of board members, the new by-laws provided for randomly assigned, staggered terms for the first newly expanded board. To accomplish this, all board members drew lots to determine whether their terms would be one, two or three years. This year, the positions of five directors who drew one year terms are open, four at-large directors and one lower membership chapter representative.
Annual elections allow the organization to meet its affirmative action goals, and allow the membership to elect a board that possesses 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:
- Geographic diversity
- Racial/ethnic diversity
- Age
- Persons with disabilities
- Skill-sets
The sense of the nominating committee was to give weight to the preferences of all of the one-year directors on whether they wanted to continue to serve, particularly because one year is too short a period to develop the experience and understanding of this organization especially as it undergoes adjustments to its new structure and plan. All five individuals wished to continue to serve on the board. Moreover, it was just a year ago that the state membership voted to elect these board members, a factor not overlooked by the committee. Therefore, the nominating committee has nominated the five directors whose terms are expiring at the end of this year.
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)
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Thomas Earle
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Anthony C. Infanti
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Samia Malik
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Jeanine McCreary
Short biographies of the listed candidates will be posted soon.
In accordance with the by-laws, any 50 members of the ACLU-PA may by petition nominate a candidate for the board of directors. 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 Friday, October 10, 2008.
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 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
Representative From the 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.
The Nominating Committee has submitted the following name as a candidate for representative from the lower membership chapters to the board of directors of the ACLU-PA. (1 seat available)
A short biography of the candidate will be posted soon.
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 directors 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 Friday, October 10, 2008.
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 living in the lower membership chapters 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 2008)
You must live within the geographic boundaries of one of the following ACLU-PA chapters in order to be eligible to be nominated or to nominate a candidate for representative 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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