KMCA Election procedures; sample ballot

To KMCA Members:

As previously announced, the Election Meeting will be held Wednesday, September 6, at 7:30 PM at Congregation Young Israel Shomrai Emunah, 1132 Arcola Avenue. Each Household is entitled to only one ballot, no matter how many members reside in the Household.

Candidates nominated so far are:

For President — Alan Felsen and Ira Ungar

For Director (two to be elected) — Peter Lublin

Additional nominations may be made from the floor at the meeting.  A candidate must be nominated by two members in good standing.  The nominee must be a member in good standing and must indicate a willingness to serve in the office.

Only members in good standing may vote or speak at the meeting.  Dues may be paid at the meeting.

The election will be only part of the business of the meeting.  The President will have appointed Tellers for the election.  When the order of the meeting does reach the election, the President will yield the Chair to Art Boyars, Vice-Chair of the Nominating Committee.  (Committee Chairman Stuart Rosenthal has an overriding need and will not be able to attend the meeting.)

In accordance with KMCA practice, the election will be conducted with a single ballot for all offices. Nominations will be taken from the floor for President, Vice-President, Treasurer, Secretary, and Director (two Directors may be elected).

After nominations close, members will have the opportunity to speak in favor of nominees for contested offices, in the order above for nominations. These remarks shall be limited in time: candidates themselves for President, five minutes each; candidates themselves for other offices, three minutes each; other members in support of a candidate, two minutes each.

(Note that Roberts Rules of Order prohibit motions to make a balloted election unanimous.  Therefore, even uncontested offices are included on the ballot.  However, there is no need to allow remarks in favor of unopposed candidates.)

After the remarks the Tellers will collect the ballots and retire to count them. When the Tellers have completed counting, they will report the results to the Chair of the meeting.

While ballots are being counted, other business may be conducted so long as the Tellers are not deprived of an opportunity to vote.

A sample ballot is attached.

The Nominating Committee

2017 09 06 Sample ballot

Election Meeting – September 6, 2017, Nominations

As previously announced, the KMCA Election Meeting will take place September 6, 2017, at 7:30 p.m. at Young Israel Synagogue, 1132 Arcola Ave. As with all KMCA meetings, members are allowed only one vote per household. The Bylaws require that members be present at a meeting to vote.

The terms of all current officers are expiring, as are those of directors elected in odd-number years. Therefore, the following KMCA offices are to be filled by this election:

President (incumbent Ira Ungar)

Vice President (incumbent Seth Jacobson)

Treasurer (incumbent Marci Lavine Bloch)

Secretary (incumbent Adam Mervis)

Director (incumbent Pete Lublin)

Director (incumbent resigned)

Nominations made through the Nominating Committee must be received no later than August 6. To appear on the list, a nominee must be nominated by two KMCA members, and the nominee must state in writing a willingness to serve if elected. E-mail should be addressed to the committee chair, Stuart Rosenthal, at stuart@thebeaconnewspapers.com or vice-chair Art Boyars at artboyars@gmail.com.

A list of those properly nominated will be circulated to the membership via the listserve no later than 10 days prior to the election. Nominations may also be made from the floor at the Election Meeting.

For your convenience, here is the language of the bylaws regarding the duties of the various officers:

SECTION 5 – Duties of the Officers:

a) The President shall preside at all meetings, appoint committee chairs and members (except elective committees), be a member ex-officio of all committees, and shall represent the Association in all external communications.

b) The Vice President will stand ready at all times to assist the President and will serve as a member ex-officio of all committees. In the event of the absence of the President, the Vice President shall perform the duties of President with full powers. The Vice President shall succeed to the office of President in the event that office becomes permanently vacant until the next regularly scheduled meeting pursuant to Section 6 of this Article.

c) The Secretary shall keep a record of the proceedings of the Association, file and preserve all written communications and reports of the Association, and maintain a current roll of all officers, directors, and the membership. Upon expiration of his or her tenure in office the Secretary will deliver to his or her successor all such files and records of the Association and take all steps necessary to ensure an orderly transition.

d) The Treasurer shall maintain an account at a local bank in the name of the Association for deposit of all dues and other monies. Such local bank will be designated by the Executive Committee and will be a bank insured by the FDIC or other agency of the United States Government. The Treasurer will maintain current records of all dues, other revenues and disbursements and will provide the membership with an annual financial report of the Association promptly upon the close of each calendar year. Upon expiration of his or her tenure in office the Treasurer will deliver to his or her successors an accounting and all records, receipts and statements concerning monies of the Association and the Association bank account and take all steps necessary to ensure an orderly transition.

As for directors, the Bylaws simply provide as follows:

The Executive Committee will be composed of the four (4) Officers of the Association plus five Directors. The Executive Committee will act for the Association at all times between official meetings and shall be responsible to the Association for carrying out the functions and policies of the Association as directed by the membership.

The members of the Nominating Committee have agreed not to personally nominate any candidate, nor to be nominated for any office, except that for any office for which there are no other nominations the Committee Members may accept nomination at the Election Meeting.

Please note: Campaigning for votes is not allowed on the KMCA listserve.

The Bylaws state, regarding the list of Households, “Such list may not be used for personal purposes or to campaign or lobby Members on any issue or issues.” In keeping with the spirit of that proscription, the KMCA Listserve shall not be used for campaigning or lobbying regarding the September 6 election of Officers and Directors.

Looking forward to seeing you on September 6.

The Nominating Committee