2015 election of American Mensa

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The 2015 election of American Mensa was the regular biennial election in which all elective positions on the American Mensa Committee were filled. In addition, there were a number of proposed bylaw amendments on the ballot.

A large amount of member unrest this time led to a particularly heavy ballot, with as many as four candidates for some offices and a large number of bylaws referenda (some put in place by the American Mensa Committee, some by Annual Business Meeting, and some by petition).

Candidates

(N) = Nominating Committee nomination, (P) = Petition, (PP) = Petition in progress, not yet successful

Candidate petition page in national site

Chairman

  • Deborah Stone (P)
  • Nick Sanford (N) (PP)
  • Dan Burg (incumbent) (N) (PP)
  • Christopher Watson (PP)

First Vice Chairman

  • Heather Poirier (incumbent) (N)
  • Mary Lee Kemper (P)

Second Vice Chairman

  • LaRae Bakerink (incumbent) (N) (P)
  • Terri Steele (P)
  • Barbara Kryvko (P)
  • John Neemidge (P)

Secretary

  • Andrew Heffernan (N) (P)
  • Nancy Farrar (P)

Treasurer

  • Roger Durham (N)
  • Robert Salkin (N) (P)
  • Ken Silver (N)
  • William Davis (P)

RVC 1

  • Deb Jennings (N)

RVC 2

  • Cam Smart (incumbent) (N) (P)
  • Caroline Bruno (N) (PP)

RVC 3

  • Julia Ashley (incumbent) (N) (PP)

RVC 4

  • Jim Cartwright (N)
  • Jon Gruebele (N)
  • Jeudi Juetten (N)
  • George Haynes (P)

RVC 5

  • Baker Ring (incumbent) (N) (PP)

RVC 6

  • Bob Bevard (N)
  • Taz Criss (N) (PP)

RVC 7

  • Greg Kontz (incumbent) (N)

RVC 8

  • SueAnn Gilmore (N)

RVC 9

  • Dez Sagray (incumbent) (N) (PP)

RVC 10

  • Jack Brawner (N)
  • Thomas G. Thomas (incumbent) (N)

Referenda

Bylaws referenda require a two-thirds vote of the membership to pass. There are several methods of getting them on the ballot, and three of these methods were used this time.

Referenda initiated by the AMC

One way to get bylaws referenda on the ballot is for the American Mensa Committee to pass them.

Omnibus Amendment

Passed by the AMC at the September 6, 2014 meeting in Grapevine, TX, this massive amendment changes wording in many sections of the bylaws, including changing the terminology by which the AMC is referred to "Board of Directors" instead of "American Mensa Committee", a change the AMC has been acting as if it were already in effect. One of the changes adds in a qualification to the ombudsman's privilege of receiving all AMC communications to except those with "legal privilege".

Ombudsman section changes

Also passed at the Sepember 6 meeting, it changes the wording of the sections listing the ombudman's powers, independently of the omnibus admendment which also has a provision affecting the ombudsman. It specifies the ombudsman's role as arbitrator or mediator, but removes the provision calling for him/her to "render substantial justice".

Referenda initiated at ABM

Another way to get bylaws referenda on the ballot is to pass a resolution at the Annual Business Meeting of American Mensa (at the AG), which requires a majority vote of those members present.

Make appointed AMC members non-voting

Proposed by Jess Byron at the 2014 ABM, and passed by attending members (after a close quorum call), this would make appointed AMC offices non-voting members of the body.

Remove past/past-past chairs from AMC

Proposed by Jess Byron at the 2014 ABM, and passed by attending members, this would eliminate the positions of Past Chairman and Past Past Chairman from the AMC.

Referenda initiated by petition

Referenda can also be placed on the ballot by getting 250 signatures on a petition, which may be achieved by a combination of paper and electronic signatures. A section of the American Mensa website lists referenda up for petition and allows logged-in members to "sign" by clicking on a button. For this election, proposed referenda needed to be submitted by 11:59 p.m., Central time, on Oct. 15, 2013 for review by the Bylaws Committee (who checks their conformance with other bylaws and laws), following which they are posted for signatures which must be placed by 11:59 p.m., Central time, on Nov. 1. Due to a national office error, signing was briefly disabled the morning of November 1 in the belief that the deadline was passed, but this was reversed once it was pointed out that there was still a day to go.

Referendum petition page in national site

American Mensa Committee meetings

Proposed by Billie R McNamara, this referendum called for increased notice to members of special AMC meetings. As of November 1, it had received 261 electronic signatures (and possibly some paper signatures as well), guaranteeing it a spot on the ballot.

Annual Dues

Proposed by Michael J Eager, this called for the specific amount and date of dues increases to be noted when passed in two consecutive AMC meetings as required by an existing bylaw whose spirit had been somewhat defeated by the AMC passing vague resolutions omitting that relevant information. As of November 1, it had received 291 electronic signatures (and possibly some paper signatures as well), guaranteeing it a spot on the ballot.

Audio and Video Recordings

Proposed by Michael J Eager, this guaranteed the right of members to make audio and video recordings of open-session AMC meetings, something which is currently prohibited by AMC-imposed rules for supposed legal reasons. It also requires recordings of telephone and electronic meetings to be made available afterward to the members. As of November 1, it had received 279 electronic signatures (and possibly some paper signatures as well), guaranteeing it a spot on the ballot.

Candidate petition signatures

Proposed by J Howard Prince, this increased the number of petition signatures for election candidates to 250 instead of 50. As of November 1, it had received 305 electronic signatures (and possibly some paper signatures as well), guaranteeing it a spot on the ballot.

Member Regions

Proposed by Billie R McNamara, this causes all members to be assigned to a region (and thus get to vote on an RVC) even if they are not a local-group member (by preference or because they live outside the country). As of November 1, it had received 130 electronic signatures (and possibly some paper signatures as well), still short of the number needed to make it onto the ballot.

Nominating Committee

Proposed by Lee Roberts Berkovits, this eliminates the Nominating Committee, leaving the petitioning process as the only way to get onto the ballot as a candidate. As of November 1, it had received 270 electronic signatures (and possibly some paper signatures as well), guaranteeing it a spot on the ballot.

Recall elections

Proposed by Jared Craig Levine, this established a procedure to remove AMC members from office. As of November 1, it had received 431 electronic signatures (and possibly some paper signatures as well), guaranteeing it a spot on the ballot.

Restore and Protect Powers of the National Ombudsman

Proposed by Claire T Natola, this acts in the opposite direction of an AMC-initiated proposal to reduce ombudsman powers, by guaranteeing the ombudsman the right to access to AMC meetings and communications. As of November 1, it had received 450 electronic signatures (and possibly some paper signatures as well), guaranteeing it a spot on the ballot.


Preceded by:
2013
Elections of American Mensa
2015
Succeeded by:
2017