Since no one else seems to know...here is the low-down on how to get elected to
the BFW board.
Note that this process is 90% board policy and 10% by-laws. The board policy
can be changed at any time (and since no one seems to know what it is, it may
just fade with lots of other institutional memory)...the bylaws can also be
changed...and I suspect that they will be some time over the next year.
Step 1: contact BFW board or staff and make them aware of your interest in
joining the board. Provide a brief biography, your qualifications for being on
the board, and you interest in bicycling and BFW.
Step 2: staff or board member forwards your name and contact info to the
Nominating Committee. The Nominating Committee is currently chaired by Laura
Kreofsky. If you are concerned that your interest in being on the board has
not been communicated...I would contact the entire board, with special
attention to Laura K and President Edith Merila.
Step 3: the bylaws state that, 30 days prior to the finalizing of the board
election, a ballot will go out to the membership. In the past few years, the
election has been finalized at the fall meeting...which is usually in September
or October. So, you count 30 days backwards from the meeting date and that's
when the ballots should go out. The decision about who goes on the ballot
comes around July or August (in the past I asked if anyone wanted to step down
at the June board meeting, which kind of kicked off the process for filling
vacancies). Ballots have been mailed to members in the past. About 10% of
members typically vote. As per board policy, anyone who requests to be on the
ballot may appear on the ballot. The board also puts forward its "board
endorsed slate" which are the people that they feel are the best candidates.
In addition, write in candidates are allowed (Eric Schramm was elected as a
write in candidate). Directors are elected by a plurality of the
votes...which means the top vote getters win...you can win by a single vote as
long as you get more votes than the next person. No one has ever run for
election without being part of the board approved slate with the exception of
write in candidates. Typically, if a person doesn't fit the board's ideas for
a candidate, the person is discouraged from running and has always agreed not
to run if not on the approved slate. Terms are for three years and 1/3 of the
board is elected at each election.
Step 4: If a director steps down in the middle of their term...a replacement
can be appointed by the existing board...or they can choose to leave the seat
vacant..they then fill the term of the person who left. I do not remember
what the minimum number of directors allowed is (this should be in the bylaws)
but the maximum is 15. The last several vacancies were filled after at least
three candidates were interviewed by the Nominating Committee.
Criteria for appointment or being put on the board approved slate is: diversity
and qualifications. Diversity means racial, gender, geography, type of
bicycling interest, field of work/study. As much as possible, in the past they
have tried to spread directors out across the state geographically...though the
ones from far away tend to quit do to travel issues. Some important fields of
work in the past have been bicycle industry/retail; law; planning and
government; education; medical/health. They have tried for a long time to get
a racial minority on the board, but to no avail.
Once you are on the board you are expected to participate in at least one
committee, attend 3 meetings per year, and give significantly of your time
and/or your money.
Note that, the year before I was hired they forgot to have an election at
all...and most of the cleaning up of the election process happened under my
watch...in general I had to make a point of putting pressure on to get
deadlines met, etc (the logistics of laying out, printing, and mailing ballots
falls to staff, who are at the mercy of the board to approve the information on
the ballots). If no one is pressing the issue...the elections may not happen at
all or could happen in a way entirely different from what I've described above.
I think that it would be a reasonable thing for interested candidates to
contact Laura Kreofsky and Edith Merila and request to be appointed to the
vacant seat as soon as possible. It's up to them to decide if they are willing
to do that. Otherwise, assuming that the process stays the same...you can
demand to be put on the ballot in the fall...or mount a write in campaign.
-Dar
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