Re: [atlarge-discuss] Chair

[espresso@e-scape.net]

At 23:25 -0400 2002/08/06, Micheal Sherrill wrote:
>Why not have the Panel select their own spokesperson?  

Indeed, in many organizations that is exactly what happens: the membership elects the directors, and the directors decide amongst themselves how their work should be divided. In practice, that usually means *somebody* has to hae the duty of calling meetings and then chairing them, while other somebodies take the minutes, prepare the financial reports, etc. The person who chairs meetings of the directors may or may not be the person who handles media relations, or chairs meetings of the membership, or serves as liaison with other organizations.

>This is a representative political group.  We have elected 
>a certain body to represent us.  We should allow them to use 
>their initiative and their resources to determine whom among 
>them can best serve to speak for them after consensus (I am 
>choosing my words carefully here).  

Bless you for doing so! Consensus is the key to this type of organization, and that should start with the representatives on the Panel working to develop a consensus first amongst themselves as to who does what and how they will co-operate as a body, then a second and larger consensus within the organization as a whole on what its mandate will be. A good Chair is the person who can best facilitate these processes by keeping things organized and moving forward, as well as by reminding people of the need for civility, openmindedness, responsiveness to the membership, transparency, etc.

>Give them a chance.  If it does not work out the way we hoped it 
>would then we vote them out the next election.  Or petition them 
>out if they become ICANN-like.

Here is where I begin to disagree, I'm afraid. I've seen too many organizations fall apart in well under a year if directors can't be induced to work well together or if they work well together but feel they were elected to make decisions according to their own preferences rather than ensure that decisions are made in the best interests of the organization as a while and in accordance with the wishes of the voters. (Just look at what happens to our "democratically-elected representatives" when they form a majority government!) And petitioning an ICANN-like structure would be all too much like petitioning ICANN itself -- i.e., pretty useless. 

Personally, I've just gone through a harrowing 18 months of wrangling within another organization whose equivalent panel-members got themselves elected primarily because they didn't like untidy democracy very much and wanted to eliminate it as quickly as possible (over my dead body and several others). Meanwhile, another organization was placed in serious jeopardy because ONE person on its council thought he should be the only person with access to information -- including how many members there were, how many had not renewed their membership, how much money was left of the year's budget, etc. -- with the result that half the council quit, and this year's elections and convention will be something of a farce.

In short, a really good obstructionist can foul everything up in about three months and a committed anti-democrat can turn amicable co-operation into two opposing camps with a few ill-chosen words. Either way, it can take the organization years to recover ... if it doesn't just fall apart instead. THIS organization is not yet strong enough to withstand that kind of pressure.

Unless I'm very much mistaken, we've been talking about this year's Panel as the group charged with the task of drafting a Constitution and bylaws for thi organization with a view to incorporating it as a non-profit fairly soon. 

That drafting process is likely to be exacting work but the results should be ratified by the membership before they take effect; I think it would be realistic to say that the ratification process could be done this time next year as a prelude to the next lot of elections -- the one which, assuming the Constitution and bylaws are approved, will follow a prescribed procedure for the notice of elections, call for nominations, candidates' statements, etc., and will include the definitions of specific positions and their duties (e.g., President, Secretary, Treasurer, Panel Chair...) and terms of office. In short, this year's Panel is still "interim" while the next elections should fall within the rules by which the new non-profit organization will conduct itself, and should therefore result in clearer mandates for those elected.

In the meantime, of course, our Panel has already been charged with improving communications with current members, recruiting new ones, enunciating democratic principles by which we would like the Internet to be governed, etc. We are asking these people to do a LOT of work and I hope we all realize that work simply can't be done by the Panel alone: this will work only if the Panel members can draw on the skills and resources of the rest of the membership. 

That means we as a group have a strong interest in coming up with a consensus of our own about what needs to be done in what order and by whom. I blush to admit I haven't been to the site to register yet (will try to do it in the morning) but what I'd like to see, first and foremost, is an attempt to enunciate exactly what we want this new organization to do so that our Panel can plan how best to go about it.

Regards,

Judyth la pomme
(who really could live without all the ad hominem stuff)

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Judyth Mermelstein     "cogito ergo lego ergo cogito..."
Montreal, QC           <espresso@e-scape.net>
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"History teaches us that men and nations behave wisely once 
they have exhausted all other alternatives." (Abba Eban)
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