tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6115556433372076865.post666281124484163622..comments2022-03-08T01:26:13.872-08:00Comments on <a href="https://votermedia.blogspot.ca">Votermedia Democracy Blog</a>: @modo_carcoop Special General Meeting had a close call 15-14 vote #coop #democracyMark Lathamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05570922352903867246noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6115556433372076865.post-57055067007777026202013-09-27T15:37:15.235-07:002013-09-27T15:37:15.235-07:00Speaking of transparency and openness, I'd lik...Speaking of transparency and openness, I'd like to thank Modo Board Chair Joel DeYoung for linking to this blog post from his report on the SGM, in the September issue of <b><a href="http://www.modo.coop/news" rel="nofollow">Multi-Modo</a></b>, our newsletter. Joel's report also links to <a href="http://www.modo.coop/modo-special-general-meeting-2013" rel="nofollow">this summary of the SGM</a>, which in turn links to the newly amended <b><a href="http://www.modo.coop/index.php/download_file/view/280/147/" rel="nofollow">Rules of Modo</a></b> and the <a href="http://www.modo.coop/index.php/download_file/view/279/147/" rel="nofollow">SGM-approved Rule Changes</a>. So we are now sharing these governance docs publicly -- yay! :-)Mark Lathamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05570922352903867246noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6115556433372076865.post-50786114847825918942013-09-27T15:17:41.166-07:002013-09-27T15:17:41.166-07:00Thanks Anon for participating in the SGM and raisi...Thanks Anon for participating in the SGM and raising an important issue. It's hard to find the best way to divide power between a board of directors and the voters who elect them. If the election process works very well, then there should rarely be any need for voters to question a board's decisions.<br /><br />However, democracy is far from a perfect system, and election processes in most large democratic organizations are quite flawed. So we need to work on improving our election systems, while maintaining some checks and balances on the power of elected leaders.<br /><br />I agree that Modo's board and management are clearly good at building a successful car co-op, and that this doesn't necessarily mean they'll be good at investments. But one could counter that Modo's voting members may not be any better than the board at investments, and are likely to be too busy to work on it. We should elect some directors with investment skills -- back to the election process.<br /><br />That said however, among the checks and balances we should have on the Modo board's discretionary power, a member approval vote on future changes to our investment policy could be a wise precaution. So you and I raised the issue at the SGM. We had a good discussion of the pros and cons, and the majority decided not to require member ratification. Nonetheless, we encouraged the board to be transparent about changes in the policy, and alerted members to the issue, which will improve future accountability.<br /><br />Next we can look forward to how Modo's director election system will evolve now that it can include internet voting. As I discussed in <a href="http://votermedia.blogspot.ca/2013/08/modocarcoop-meeting-sept-23-to-vote-on.html" rel="nofollow">this previous post</a>, much depends on what kind of online voter information system we develop.Mark Lathamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05570922352903867246noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6115556433372076865.post-58358366465007464812013-09-26T16:30:25.343-07:002013-09-26T16:30:25.343-07:00Thank you for being so active. I was the one that ...Thank you for being so active. I was the one that asked the accountability question on investment which you had already anticipated. The Boards response was interesting and, in part, justified the very accountability I was requesting. If I read it right it was, "You have elected use to lead and we have worked hard on this. Why should we then give you the chance to change/refuse our work?" Is that a fair summary do you think?<br />In my mind was the thought, "These guys obviously know how to run a successful car co-op. Are those the same skills as knowing how to recognize a good investment?"Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com