tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6115556433372076865.post8371314199894205322..comments2022-03-08T01:26:13.872-08:00Comments on <a href="https://votermedia.blogspot.ca">Votermedia Democracy Blog</a>: How I plan to vote in the Mountain Equipment Co-op election #MECelxnMark Lathamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05570922352903867246noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6115556433372076865.post-26350833823851041012012-04-19T08:15:23.519-07:002012-04-19T08:15:23.519-07:00Vancity credit union members face similar issues t...Vancity credit union members face similar issues to this MEC situation -- see my next post: <a href="http://votermedia.blogspot.ca/2012/04/vancity-credit-union-election-who-i.html" rel="nofollow">@Vancity credit union election: Who I plan to vote for & why</a>Mark Lathamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05570922352903867246noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6115556433372076865.post-22921011948624179292012-03-30T00:25:50.912-07:002012-03-30T00:25:50.912-07:00Well, the voting on the special resolution is now ...Well, the voting on the special resolution is now closed. We'll know the results at MEC's AGM on April 25.<br /><br />I wonder what restrictions apply to candidates now that voting has ended?<br /><br />I'm puzzled as to why, on the various discussion sites, blogs, and web pages where this matter has been discussed, almost no one has voiced support for the resolution other than some of the candidates in the current board election. Given the normally hyper-critical treatment of issues online, and that the MEC board, who presumably are not crazy people, obviously support the resolution, why have so few expressed agreement with them?<br /><br />Surely people aren't afraid to speak up. Surely the MEC board isn't so out of touch that no one agrees with them. It's at least plausible that a roughly $250 million per year business should have a certain level of business expertise on the board.<br /><br />Or is there agreement that the board provides leadership and vision, while the managers are hired for business skill? That MEC governance is more like a citizen democracy than a business? Can a "lay" board successfully guide such an organization, just as "lay" citizens populate our governments? If it can't, how do you get enough business expertise on a coop board without violating democratic fundamentals? Does everyone think MEC has done well enough up to this point without this measure, and does this prove or disprove that it can continue to do so? Do people possibly think MEC's problem is that there is too much business influence on the board?<br /><br />Or is it just the approach? Did members resent being given only one side of the story, as though they were being taken for dummies? Were even members who may agree with the resolution angered by the fact the most serious effect of the resolution appeared to have been deliberately omitted from clear and specific mention? Have members become increasingly concerned about the direction of MEC and the board and this was just a flashpoint?<br /><br />Hopefully the minimum benefits to come out of this will be that uncritical acceptance of what MEC has to say will be a thing of the past and MEC members will be more engaged in the organization.S. Grantnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6115556433372076865.post-50546474517281684782012-03-29T12:27:55.431-07:002012-03-29T12:27:55.431-07:00Summary of Links:
- Open Letter to MEC Members
-...<b>Summary of Links:</b><br /><br />- <a href="http://www.democraticcoop.ca/" rel="nofollow">Open Letter to MEC Members</a><br /><br />- Blog post: <a href="http://montreal.mediacoop.ca/blog/dru/10078" rel="nofollow">Mountain Equipment Co-op Proposes Screening Process for Board Candidates</a><br /><br />- Facebook page: <a href="http://www.facebook.com/DemCoop" rel="nofollow">MEC Members for a Democratic Co-op</a><br /><br />- Georgia Straight article 2012-03-19: <a href="http://www.straight.com/article-639016/vancouver/bid-update-mountain-equipment-coop-board-election-rules-sparks-debate" rel="nofollow">Bid to update Mountain Equipment Co-op board election rules sparks debate</a><br /><br />- VueWeekly article 2012-03-21: <a href="http://vueweekly.com/front/story/a_question_of_democracy/" rel="nofollow">A Question of Democracy</a><br /><br />- <a href="http://www.clubtread.com/sforum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=42675" rel="nofollow">Online discussion at ClubTread.com</a><br /><br />- <a href="http://www.myccr.com/phpbbforum/viewtopic.php?f=44&t=39512" rel="nofollow">Online discussion at Canadian Canoe Routes</a> <br /><br />- <a href="http://votermedia.org/misc/2012MECBoardOfDirectorsElectionReminders.pdf" rel="nofollow">MEC Guidelines for Candidates</a><br /><br />- <a href="http://votermedia.org/misc/RepliesFrom2012MECBoardElectionCandidates.pdf" rel="nofollow">Candidates' replies to my questions</a>Mark Lathamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05570922352903867246noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6115556433372076865.post-64882240314051565672012-03-23T15:45:04.842-07:002012-03-23T15:45:04.842-07:00Here's an email I received from a fellow hiker...Here's an email I received from a fellow hiker I notified about this:<br /><br />"The subtleties of the resolution escaped me until pointed out by yourself…and I have already voted. However, please add my name [to the <a href="http://democraticcoop.ca" rel="nofollow">Open Letter</a>]."<br /><br />And a similar case on <a href="http://www.clubtread.com/sforum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=42675&whichpage=2" rel="nofollow">this discussion board</a>:<br /><br />"You are correct: this is a badly-worded resolution. However I did not read it well enough to see the anti-democratic implications. Therefore, when I voted a month ago, I voted in favour of the resolution. Are there any steps I can take to reverse my earlier support of this?"Mark Lathamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05570922352903867246noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6115556433372076865.post-13205214545012846432012-03-23T15:33:27.431-07:002012-03-23T15:33:27.431-07:00All candidates replied to my first question within...All candidates replied to my first question within 2 days, except Robert Campbell who replied after 7 days, adding: "I must apologize for lack of response - I have been locked out of the MEC server until this Monday."Mark Lathamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05570922352903867246noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6115556433372076865.post-79385966235701801842012-03-22T00:26:32.783-07:002012-03-22T00:26:32.783-07:00Mark,
Thanks for obtaining the rules governing ca...Mark,<br /><br />Thanks for obtaining the rules governing candidates. I was thinking I should ask for a copy, since MEC's Rules provide for doing so.<br /><br />Some of those provisions are more shocking than others. If I read it correctly: ""Any representations about a candidate’s qualifications or about MEC, including statements about MEC that may be made in the Candidate’s statement or any other form of written, verbal or online election material, whether produced or endorsed by the Candidate, must be verified in advance by MEC." means I can't even speak to another person about any candidate without clearing it with MEC. Unbelievable. The arrogance needed to produce such a dictate is simply beyond belief. To me, this indicates there's something seriously awry. <br /><br />Since the comments you and I, among others, have made online about candidates are violations of this policy, I wonder what the board plans to do about it?<br /><br />In fact, this and the other provisions are so extraordinarily repressive it makes me suspect that behind it are people who are afraid of the members having all the relevant facts about their suitability for the board. There have been some extremely high walls constructed here.<br /><br />I wonder how the board would handle a violation of their policies that are not violations of MEC's Rules?<br /><br />As if it weren't possible, the full picture is even worse. The staff who police candidate email correspondence, and the Senior Manager, Governance, who supervises the board, report to the management. Not the board. So the people who have hands-on control of all this are in the management structure as opposed to the board which represents the member/owners.<br /><br />These things confirm my worst fears about where the organization has gone.S. Grantnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6115556433372076865.post-49153053720908347432012-03-21T14:40:04.232-07:002012-03-21T14:40:04.232-07:00Here are some quotes from the 2012 MEC Board of Di...Here are some quotes from the 2012 MEC Board of Directors Election Campaigning Guidelines regarding candidate communications about or to other candidates:<br /><br />"Candidates will not campaign for or on behalf of, or against, any other candidate."<br /><br />"A candidate must not endorse or indicate a preference for any other candidate."<br /><br />"Referring to other candidates is not permitted by MEC Rules – therefore we recommend that you do not ‘reply all’ (i.e. include other candidates) when responding to member enquiries."Mark Lathamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05570922352903867246noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6115556433372076865.post-47629458381012023972012-03-20T22:17:10.995-07:002012-03-20T22:17:10.995-07:00I have requested and received from MEC staff a cop...I have requested and received from MEC staff a copy of the 2012 Board of Directors Election Campaigning Guidelines. Here are some quotes:<br /><br />"Failure to abide by these provisions or the Rules will be considered a violation of election policy and, as such, may result in the Candidate’s removal from the election."<br /><br />"Any representations about a candidate’s qualifications or about MEC, including statements about MEC that may be made in the Candidate’s statement or any other form of written, verbal or online election material, whether produced or endorsed by the Candidate, must be verified in advance by MEC."<br /><br />"Candidates must use their MEC email account and not their personal email address for the purpose of communicating with members."<br /><br />"To ensure compliance with MEC Rules, it is mandatory that the Governance Office is included in all candidate/member email correspondence, and as such, will be automatically copied in any correspondence that is sent from a MEC candidate email address."Mark Lathamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05570922352903867246noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6115556433372076865.post-55894407522633504072012-03-20T18:03:21.582-07:002012-03-20T18:03:21.582-07:00Thanks S. Grant for the Georgia Straight link. Sor...Thanks S. Grant for the Georgia Straight link. Sorry blogspot doesn't automatically make it clickable, so here's a clickable version:<br /><a href="http://www.straight.com/article-639016/vancouver/bid-update-mountain-equipment-coop-board-election-rules-sparks-debate" rel="nofollow">www.straight.com/article-639016/vancouver/bid-update-mountain-equipment-coop-board-election-rules-sparks-debate</a><br /><br />Also I'd like to reiterate the comment I posted there:<br /><br />The global financial meltdown was largely caused by a lack of accountability of elected leaders to voters, in corporations and in governments. The Special Resolution would diminish that accountability at MEC. It is not a governance improvement, nor an update, nor a reform -- rather, the opposite. I say this as a specialist in finance and governance (<a href="http://linkedin.com/in/marklatham" rel="nofollow">http://linkedin.com/in/marklatham</a>). For a proposal for actual reform at MEC, please see <a href="http://votermedia.blogspot.ca/2012/03/how-i-plan-to-vote-in-mountain.html" rel="nofollow">http://votermedia.blogspot.ca/2012/03/how-i-plan-to-vote-in-mountain.html</a>Mark Lathamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05570922352903867246noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6115556433372076865.post-57437712743901008682012-03-20T00:58:40.480-07:002012-03-20T00:58:40.480-07:00An article about this has just appeared in the Geo...An article about this has just appeared in the Georgia Straight:<br /><br />http://www.straight.com/article-639016/vancouver/bid-update-mountain-equipment-coop-board-election-rules-sparks-debate<br /><br />The institution of a "Senior Manager, Governance", and the indications you ran into while exploring this matter strongly point to a board that is improperly influenced far more by MEC's management than by the members.<br /><br />Obviously MEC directors are being boxed into toeing a party line, rather than representing the sometimes differing views of the people who elected them.<br /><br />It's curious so many responding candidates used similar phrases to thank you for contacting them. It's also obvious that none of their candidate statements addressed the resolution, and I find that both odd and unacceptable.S. Grantnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6115556433372076865.post-33693286020745366662012-03-19T16:20:15.799-07:002012-03-19T16:20:15.799-07:00There's an active discussion about this MEC Sp...There's an active discussion about this MEC Special Resolution on the ClubTread outdoor community message board:<br /><a href="http://www.clubtread.com/sforum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=42675" rel="nofollow">http://www.clubtread.com/sforum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=42675</a>Mark Lathamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05570922352903867246noreply@blogger.com