[Lnc-business] EMAIL BALLOT 200623-1 Release CoC meeting recording to ED

[Alicia Mattson]

I vote no.

Let's start with the email from the LNC Chair calling for this email
ballot.  In it he explained that he tried "directing" a member of the COC
to provide to a non-COC member a recording of the COC meeting in question.
The LNC chair is not the boss of those of us on the LNC and on various
committees, such that he can unilaterally direct COC members to take
various actions, as he has previously done with the COC chair and now with
another COC member.  Party bylaws make the LNC chair's powers subject to
LNC policies and directives, and chairs of parliamentary bodies are
facilitators rather than bosses.

The LNC chair wrote, "My understanding is that members of the Convention
Oversight Committee would rather nobody be able to review the recording and
are claiming some right of confidentiality over its contents, though there
is no legal, bylaws, or policy manual authority that has been put forward
that has been offered to support this claim."

I do not believe the chair has correctly stated the position of COC
members, though each is an individual and mileage may vary.  What do LNC
policies say?  After 6 years, the LNC chair ought to know without us
needing to point him to it, but if you take a look at PM Section 2.07.7
subsections (k) and (n), the committees clearly get to choose whether their
meetings are recorded, and who is able to observe their meetings.

Interestingly, the COC members have previously said we only want guests by
invitation only, though at various times we found ourselves with guests
that we had not agreed to invite, including at times staff members.

During COC meetings we often discuss details of legal compliance,
suitability of various potential speakers, frustrations with others
involved in the process, etc.  These are not things that should be
subjected to leaking to social media for political purposes.  We need to be
able to have those discussions amongst ourselves.

LNC policy already provides for how allegations (and I emphasize
"allegations" because I was present and do not believe the reality is what
was alleged to the LNC off-list) should be handled.  The policy does not
say that the Executive Director is the investigator.  In this particular
case, certainly the LNC chair as a political actor, and any staff member
reporting to the LNC chair who has the power to fire them, should not
handle it.  The risk of political influence is too great.

The vice-chair was both present for the meeting, and is another person
listed in our policy as the person it may be reported to.  He previously
indicated an intention to inquire further about this subject.  Also note
that our policy gives the EPCC an HR-type role in confidentially hearing
such allegations of policy violations.

If the vice-chair and/or members of the EPCC wish to look into the matter,
as a COC member I would support providing those people confidential copies
of the relevant audio subset from the meeting for their review.

That is not what this motion does.

-Alicia



On Tue, Jun 23, 2020 at 6:41 AM Caryn Ann Harlos via Lnc-business <
lnc-business at hq.lp.org> wrote:

> We have an electronic mail ballot.
>
> Votes are due to the LNC-Business list by June 30 2020 at 11:59:59 pm
> Pacific time.
>
> Co-Sponsors:  Sarwark
>
> =============================================
>
>
> Motion: The Libertarian National Committee directs the Convention Oversight
>
> Committee to provide the recording of the June 15, 2020 Convention
>
> Oversight Committee meeting to the Executive Director for his review.
>
> =============================================
>
> THRESHOLD REQUIRED:  Simple majority
>
>
> You can keep track of the Secretary's manual tally of votes here:
>
> https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1VntkXkkuQouUiWbt9bnI_TjSMKDiTaDDpvsYtTmJdhE/edit#gid=674326069
> Votes are noted with a link to the actual ballot cast for verification. You
> can find the time that the manual tally was last updated at the bottom of
> the sheet.
>
>
> Please notify me of any discrepancies.
>
> *  In Liberty,*
> * Personal Note:  I have what is commonly known as Asperger's Syndrome
> (part of the autism spectrum).  This can affect inter-personal
> communication skills in both personal and electronic arenas.  If anyone
> found anything offensive or overly off-putting (or some other social faux
> pas) in an actual email, please contact me privately and let me know.  *
>