Mike - You are correct about there being 5 seats available. I went back and looked at the last email I got from the Nominating Committee chair:
"This note is in response to your question about the ballot for the upcoming election. Three incumbent directors have been nominated to run for their spots on the board. Two additional candidates have been nominated to run for two open spots on the board. Therefore, there will be five names appearing on the ballot. In addition, there will be five lines for write in candidates on the ballot. This has been the way our elections have been conducted, for as long as I recall. I hope this provides some clarification." In other words, you will be provided 5 names for 5 seats. That's handy! Mailing of the ballot can also serve as the election results announcement. Sarcasm aside, the BFW board nominating committee members have taken it upon themselves to decide who will be on the board. I could understand it if they wanted to 'endorse' a slate of candidates and encourage membership to vote for those candidates over others. But, excluding qualified candidates from the ballot to the point of offering 5 names for 5 seats is a joke. A very sad joke. It would be nice if, along with Aaron and Joel, there were three other fresh candidates on the ballot. What I mean is: We need five new bodies on the board of the BFW. To ensure the future viability of the Bike Fed, board members should be replaced as quickly as possible. There are a lot of big brains on "Bikies" and I would encourage a few of them to step up and run a "write-in" campaign. I know you're busy. We're all busy. But this is kind of important. Think about it. Five new board members with fresh perspective. Five new board members that were not a part of the January 25th termination action. Five new board members with a positive outlook on the BFW's future. Sweet!! Pam Barrett ---- Michael Rewey <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > All. Here is what I know. > > There are 5 positions up for election. There are a total of 15 board members > with 3 year staggered terms. > > The incumbents are, as Pam noted: Eric Schramm, Chick Veenstra and Ken Bates > > Here is some information on the two new folks. > > Aaron Crandall > Aaron has been an avid BFW volunteer for several years. He also > volunteers for many community organizations and events. Aaron hails from > Madison and currently works for UW as a grant specialist. He has a > background in HR as well as auditing. > "I currently serve on the Ped, Bike, and Motor Vehicle commission in > Madison > and have been living car free for the last 2+ years. My primary focus on > the board...would be on commuting and making the state more bicycle friendly > to allow for cyclists to be able to bike from city to city. I'm excited to > see where we could go with "complete streets"initiatives; but I'm more > focused on making the roads more "rideable" for cyclists and would like to > see a statewide initiative rather than municipality by municipality. Beyond > commuting, I have begun to participate in more bike tours...so I would > advocate for the many recreational riders out there as well." > > Joel Savilonis > Joel is a recent transplant to Wisconsin. He is from New Hampshire. Joel > found BFW by searching for local advocacy and finding the BFW web site. Joel > states that cycling, especially safe cycling is part of his soul. He has > advocated for helmet use since 1968, when he purchased his first 10 speed > which he still repairs and rides today. He has a collection of modern and > vintage bicycles. He even won a new 3 speed automatic for writing a winning > essay in a Bicycling Magazine contest. He rides with adequate tools and > spares so that he can help stranded cyclists along his way. > "My name is Joel Savilonis, and I have been an advocate for bicycling for > a > few years back in my home state of NH. I started an advocacy group movement > in NH, the Granite State Bicycling Alliance, and have attended a couple of > Thunderhead Alliance retreats and seminars. I decided to move to the > Madison area to get back into ... a bicycle friendly town and state! I have > watched Madison, and Wisconsin continue to grow the movement, and I would > like to help, if I can continue that mission. I will always advocate for > safe cycling and more awareness to the issues affecting our sport. So > whether I am on the BFW Board or not, my passion will not diminish for the > bicycle, and all that goes with it! > I am a person who wants to teach others how to maintain their rides, so > that > they can feel good about themselves, knowing that they have the ability to > fix their own equipment. Boy scouts, cycling club members and neighbors > have all benefited from my trainings to the point that I had quit my > professional job to try my hand at owning a bike shop." Joel is currently > employed as a quality manager. > > Thanks. Mike Rewey > > > ---- Pam Barrett <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Here’s what I know about the upcoming BFW Board Elections: > > > > There are four board members whose terms expire this year. One of them > > will not be running for re-election. Three of them are running for > > re-election. > > > > An announcement for applicants interested in serving on the BFW board was > > made in an email message to “Bikies” on 7/12/7 with the application > > deadline being 8/16/7. > > > > Four applicants for the board were interviewed on 8/27/7. For this year’s > > election, the board has nominated two of the four applicants. Their names > > will appear on the ballot with the three incumbents (Five names for four > > open seats). The other two applicants will not have their names on the > > ballot but were given the option to run a “write-in” campaign. > > > > Some details and thoughts: > > 1) Per the BFW website, the four board members whose terms expire this > > year are Dick Kendall, Eric Schramm, Chick Veenstra and Ken Bates (Mr. > > Kendall is not seeking re-election to the board). > > 2) The four new applicants for the board are Aaron Crandall (Madison), > > Joel Savilonis (Dodgeville), Pam Barrett (Madison) and one other individual > > whose name I do not know. The nominating committee has chosen Aaron and > > Joel to be on the ballot. You’re truly and one other candidate (whose name > > I don’t know) were not selected. > > > > Members could have had the luxury of voting for 4 of 7 candidates. Per the > > BFW Board’s desires, you will choose 4 of 5 nominees. > > > > I would point out that the board is acting well within the parameters of > > the new by-laws (ratified in August of this year). After the Board > > decision was made, I asked for clarification that my name would not appear > > on the ballot. I was informed by the nominating committee chair that the > > policy of excluding candidate names from the ballot has been going on for > > “as long as I recall.” I contacted Jean Hoffman, executive director from > > the mid- to late-90’s and she assures me that no candidate was ever left > > off of a ballot. Perhaps in the last few years names have been left off of > > the ballot but this procedure was not previously part of any policy or the > > old by-laws from what I can find. > > > > I would also point out that BFW members do not have access to the > > membership database and thus, the suggestion that one mount a “write-in” > > campaign places a potential candidate at a greater disadvantage than the > > Dennis Kucinich presidential bid. At least he has access to registered > > voters. > > > > I am not surprised that the board does not want me to join them given how > > publicly critical I have been of the manner in which they handled the > > termination of the previous executive director. > > > > I still believe they handled the situation poorly. In not reconciling > > their actions with BFW membership they have weakened the status of the BFW > > both financially and with regard to good will in the community. > > > > If you are a BFW member, I humbly encourage you to vote for Aaron Crandall > > and Joel Savilonis to get some “new blood” on the board. I don’t know Joel > > but, sometimes, change for the sake of change can be a positive thing. I > > know Aaron. He’s a good fella, dedicated bike commuter and a tireless > > volunteer. > > > > Pam > _______________________________________________ > Bikies mailing list > [email protected] > http://www.danenet.org/mailman/listinfo/bikies _______________________________________________ Bikies mailing list [email protected] http://www.danenet.org/mailman/listinfo/bikies
