[Lnc-business] Resignation of the Secretary

[Geoffrey Neale]

Last Sunday afternoon, I received a phone call from Ruth Bennett.  In that
conversation she informed me that she was resigning, and that she would send
notification to the LNC within "a few days".  I asked her to get it to us by
the end of the week.  Perhaps I'm over-stepping something here, because my
assumption of "end of the week" meant by Friday, and I'm pretty sure I did
NOT say "by Friday".  However, I am also quite sure that "a few days" has
passed without a formal non-verbal communication, and I need to be able to
move things forward.

 

Therefore, I am accepting Ruth Bennett's verbal resignation as a formal
resignation, and am declaring that the position of Secretary is as of this
point open.

 

I also am appointing Dr. James Lark as secretary pro tem.  For the record,
Dr. Lark offered his services to the LNC in assistance of the Secretary at
our last meeting, and there was no objection to this offer.  I do not recall
a formal motion, and this was not an appointment.  Additionally, Dr. Lark
has communicated to the members of the Executive Committee that he is
willing to take on this duty in the short-term, until we choose a
replacement, but is not interested in taking on the role formally.  He is
also hopeful of being relieved of this duty as soon as possible, and would
like us to fill the position before the next LNC meeting.  Therefore, his
appointment is effective immediately, and will last until he resigns from
the appointment, or until a new Secretary is chosen.

 

It should be clear that there is nothing within our Bylaws that specifically
grants me the authority to do this.  However, there is also nothing in the
Bylaws that prohibits me from doing this.  In RONR, it is considered a
normal action to do so, in order to keep the operation of the organization
moving.  While some may question the authority to select a secretary pro
tem, I think it is more of an imperative that we do so.  Since I am not
filling an LNC position, I believe my authority to appoint a volunteer (Dr.
Lark) falls within the following: "The Chair is the chief executive officer
of the Party with full authority to direct its business and affairs,
including hiring and discharging of National Committee volunteers and paid
personnel, subject to express National Committee policies and directives
issued in the exercise of the National Committee's plenary control and
management of Party affairs, properties and funds."

 

During our discussion among the EX members, it was mentioned that there is
precedent for the EC making this selection, as was done when Bill Redpath
was appointed treasurer pro tem by the EC upon the resignation of James
Oaksun.  However, there is also precedent for the Chair making the
appointment, as was done when Bill Redpath was appointed treasurer pro tem
by the Chair upon the resignation of Deryl Martin (2003).

 

It should be noted that the discussions between EC members about Dr. Lark
filling this role came down to four in favor (Hagan, Redpath, Wiener and
myself), one willful abstention (Dr. Lark) and one abstention by absence of
stated opinion (Wrights).  Since we now have only six EC members, and one
known abstention, a vote in favor of four members of the EC is more than
sufficient to formalize the appointment of Dr. Lark.  We can still
subsequently hold a formal EC vote to confirm my appointment, but my
appointment is consistent with what the EC would do if it met, and I'd
rather save the time inherent in scheduling and holding an EC meeting.

 

Of course, I recognize that one or more of you could object to my ruling
that I have the authority to make this appointment, and I respect your right
to do so.  However, if you think I do not have the authority, I'm afraid
we're in a true Catch 22 scenario.  If you believe I have over-stepped my
authority, you can get enough others to join in the request for a mail
ballot, but such a mail ballot can only be submitted to the LNC by the
Secretary.  If you do not accept this appointment, then who can submit the
mail ballot to the LNC?

 

So I hope that we all accept this appointment and get this train back on the
tracks. 

 

Now, as to procedure for replacement, I intend to send a notice to the State
Chairs list and membership that we have an opening for Secretary, and
solicit self-nominations.  I propose that we have a submission deadline of
January 31, 2013 at midnight Eastern time.  As soon as possible after that
time, the secretary pro tem will submit a mail ballot on voting for the
replacement from the full list of nominees, with our normal mail ballot
deadlines.  At first I thought this could take several votes, but I now
think that this could be resolved in a single vote for the simple reason
that any LNC member can change their vote prior to the deadline.  If
supporters of one or more minority candidates see that their choice is
trailing, then they will be open to change their vote to a subsequent
choice.

 

I want to send this email to the State Chairs no later than next Monday.  If
you have suggestions or feedback on better ways to proceed, please get them
to me ASAP.

 

Geoffrey Neale

Chair, Libertarian Party

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://hq.lp.org/pipermail/lnc-business/attachments/20130112/64ac90dd/attachment-0001.html>