Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Open Letter to West End Residents from WECA President Susan Prince

Open Letter to West End Residents
May 22, 2012
Dear West End Residents,

 
As many of you know, we held the West End Citizen’s Association annual elections last week at our bi-annual General Membership meeting.  We had a strong turnout of 186 residents who came to vote and to hear a presentation by Susan Swift, Director of Community Planning and planning department staff. 
For those of you who couldn’t attend the meeting, I thought it would be helpful to provide a recap of the election as well as introduce you to the new officers.

 
As in years past, our election process followed the exact format of previous elections.  Below is a quick outline of the three month process we use to identify and elect new officers:

 
1.       Nominating Committee:  We begin the process in March with the establishment of a Nominating Committee. At that time the request goes out into the community calling for parties who are interested in serving in an officer role.  This notification is provided by email to the listserv and posted on the website (www.weca.us).

 
2.       Approval of Slate:  At the April meeting the Nominating Committee presents the slate of officers they have identified as interested and willing to serve.  At that time a motion is made to accept the slate.  This year the slate was approved unanimously. The candidates are listed in the WECA newsletter which is hand-delivered in advance of the meeting to every household in the West End. 

 
3.       The Election:  Per our bylaws, the election takes place at our Spring General Membership meeting.  Relying on Robert’s Rules of Order, we present the slate, call for nominations from the floor and conduct a voice vote.

 
The WECA approved slate contained the following nominations:
  • Noreen Bryan – President
  • Vicki McMullen – Vice President
  • Dennis Cain – Treasurer
  • Jan Balkam – Recording Secretary
  • Jacques Gelin – Corresponding Secretary
This year, in addition to the WECA nominated slate, there was an alternate slate that was presented.  This slate had 4 officers nominated from the floor during the election:
  • Robin Nelson Corridon – President
  • Marian Hull – Vice President
  • Daryl Newhouse – Treasurer
  • Tom Weko – Recording Secretary
 
There was no one nominated for Corresponding Secretary. 
There were no other nominations from the floor.

 
The vote was taken by voice.  Each slate was presented individually and those who wished to vote for that slate were asked to stand, say “aye,” count off and then sit down.  The process was repeated for the next slate.  The final vote tally was 132 for the WECA nominated slate and 32 for the alternate slate. 
Congratulations to Noreen, Vicki, Dennis, Jan and Jacques!  Each of these officers has a long history of involvement in WECA and has devoted countless hours in engaging the City, residents and outside businesses/institutions.  Their contact information is provided on the WECA website so please be sure to contact them if you have any questions or comments about issues that affect our community.
After a short break, our speakers for the evening – Susan Swift- Director of Community Planning and Development Services, Jim Wasilak – Chief of Planning, Clark Larson GIS Specialist, Bobby Ray - Principal Planner, Craig Simoneau - Director of Public Works, and David Levy , Chief of Long Range Planning  and Redevelopment presented a status update of projects scheduled to be built in and around the Town Center and answered questions from the audience.   The meeting ended at 8:30 and our next meeting is scheduled for early September.  Minutes from the meeting will be available on the website once they are approved.
Questions about the Election:  As a side note, some residents have raised questions about the election process.  There were two main issues raised: 1. how could residents have learned more about the candidates and 2. why was a voice vote used.
1.       Candidate Information:  The alternate slate chose to nominate their candidates from the floor, during the election.   Making nominations from the floor is allowed and is perfectly acceptable.   However these nominations happen during the actual voting process which precludes campaigning by any candidate.  A better process would have been for the alternate slate to have contacted the Nominating Committee in advance.  At that time we could have made arrangements for a candidate’s forum or to circulate information.   As it was, I only learned about the alternate slate through a forwarded email and a posting on Rockville Patch 2 days before the election.  Not a lot of time to incorporate a candidate’s debate –especially when senior City staff were already scheduled to make a presentation. 

 
2.       Voting Procedure:  There was also a question about how we conducted the vote.  WECA is an open organization and all votes have historically been taken by voice.  Secret ballots have never been used. That is not to say that we cannot change the method by which we take votes in the future, but the idea should be discussed as a meeting agenda item, researched and voted upon.   It is not appropriate to ask for a change in voting procedures at the meeting where the voting will happen.  It takes time to figure out a new process to make sure everything is well thought out.  Our rules do not require a written ballot.  When a paper ballot was suggested from the floor at the last minute there was a loud collective groan throughout the membership.  There was no warning, no provisions, no pre-approved ballots, few pens or pencils, no room, and a potential huge delay.
The election is not the time or place to reinvent the process that has been successfully followed for years and is well known to and anticipated by members.
Now that the election is over, and my term as President officially ends May 31st, I wanted to take a minute to thank all the people who have donated their time, energy and abilities to serving WECA.  In addition to the five Officers just elected, WECA has 47 Block Captains who are your local “representatives.”  They attend meetings, serve on committees and deliver your newsletter.  In addition we have several committee heads who follow specific issues, put the newsletter together, manage our listserv/website and coordinate our block captain lists. We had a “Meet Your Block Captain” social event at last year’s Spring General Membership meeting and a large number of residents turned out to enjoy Carmen’s Ice Cream, participate in the election and meet the Mayor and Council.  We will continue to plan events to foster engagement with WECA and the West End community. If you’re interested in serving as a Block Captain or on a committee, please contact Noreen Bryan at president@weca.us. 
I have been involved with WECA for almost 10 years and have seen up-close the important role in the organization has played as our neighborhood evolves.  The West End is an incredibly vibrant and dynamic community which makes it a very desirable place to live.  Our location, schools and strong sense of community will continue to be draws as Rockville moves into the next economic growth cycle.  I hope you will find the opportunity to come to a WECA meeting, learn about some of the issues we’ll face going forward and add your voice to the conversation.  I may be passing the baton to Noreen, but I’ll still be coming to WECA meetings and remain involved in the activities of the organization.  Hope to see you there!
Susan Prince
President