Erik as backup trustee (was Re: [Foundation-l] Election results?)

Tue Jun 15 12:48:00 UTC 2004

Daniel-
> This way Erik becomes a trustee, gets to do all the work required of a
> trustee (attend meetings, head and work in committees, etc) but normally
> does not get to vote

Sounds great ;-).

What I can definitely say at this point is this: I am not interested in  
any kind of "official title" type position as Anthere suggested. Being  
constantly at the mercy of the board for easy disposal if need be is not  
how I can work. I would feel chained and muzzled at the same time.

Almost as many people expressed their trust in me as in Anthere with a  
difference of 11 out of 1088 votes. Knowing this is important because,  
let's face it, Anthere is about the exact opposite of me in many ways. She  
can't replace me and I can't replace her.

In a political election this doesn't matter - the winner takes it all and  
the loser spends a year in a secluded mountain cabin and grows a full  
beard. That's what happened with Bush v. Gore, anyway.

As a non-profit organization with a tradition of finding mutually  
acceptable solutions, we have other options to accommodate the wishes of  
the voters. I do agree with Anthere and others that simply adding another  
seat to the board would undermine the legitimacy of this election and lead  
to ties during important votes. Also, 11 votes are 11 votes and this  
should be expressed in the result. So this solution seems to be out of the  
question.

I am willing to serve as a non-voting substitute trustee if that means  
that I will advance to full trustee should any sitting trustee resign from  
the board (over the duration of the term). As I understand the Bylaws, in  
that case the trustees can elect an interim replacement, so no post-vote  
change to the Bylaws is required to make this happen.

However, given that the position of "non-voting substitute trustee" was  
not on the ballot, it would be important to find a consensus on this  
solution, at least among the board members and candidates. A brief  
community-wide ratification vote would be another way to add legitimacy.

Regards,

Erik