At our annual congregational meeting, members looked over the two single page sheets the UUA provided in the last meeting, one for each presidential candidate.
Last month's newsletter article from me, which went out in April, but didn't get posted here until recently, and it had the web site addresses for the candidates, etcetera.
I told people I would announce who I was backing at the annual meeting, but I stressed they should check out the web sites and try to get a feel for the best president themselves, in advance of the annual meeting.
At our annual congregational meeting we had a secret ballot, it occurred early in the meeting, so we could announce the results before the end of the meeting. We had previously agreed that we would award votes proportionally. That is if 50% of the congregation voted for one candidate, then each would get 6 votes (we get 12 delegates at GA, due to our size-- 576 adult members).
I discovered just before the annual meeting that I, the outgoing board president, the music director, and an incoming board member (the only people who told me their picks) had all chosen the same candidate-- Peter Morales.
The congregation voted this way:
10 votes -- Rev. Peter Morales
2 votes -- Rev. Laurel Hallman
We will be mailing in our absentee ballots next week, well in advance of the June 17 deadline.
I am proud of my congregation. They did the research, arrived at their choice, and are making their voice heard, despite the fact that only 4 of us are attending GA in Salt Lake City, due to costs, etcetera.
Friday, May 22, 2009
The Next UUA President
Paul Rickter, the secretary of the Unitarian Universalist Association’s board of trustees, writes:
“Absentee ballots with instructions and biographical information about the candidates will be mailed to congregations in early May and must be returned by June 17.
“By sending delegates to vote on site at General Assembly on Saturday, June 27. All GA delegates who have voting credentials that were not used to vote absentee will be eligible to vote on site...
“When discerning how to vote in the election (absentee or on site), congregations have wide discretion in determining whether and how to instruct their delegates. For example, a congregation could hold a congregational meeting to discuss the election and then could direct its delegates to vote for particular candidates. Or the congregation could appoint delegates and allow those delegates to vote their consciences.
“More detailed instructions for voting will be included with the ballot mailing in early May.
“Please let me know if you have questions about the election. For more information on UUA Elections, see http://www.uua.org/aboutus/governance/elections/index.shtml.”
What does this have to do with you? About every 8 years, there is a major election for UUA president. This year, at the General Assembly (GA) in Salt Lake City, Utah, is a major election for UUA president, and the two candidates are distinctively different.
Because the GA is being held in Utah, and few Eliot members are expected to attend, and because many UUs (including me) believe the selection of the next president is an issue critical to the future of Unitarian Universalism, we will take part of our annual meeting (9:30 a.m., Sunday, May 17) to vote the congregation’s wishes. At that time, I will also indicate who I am endorsing. In the meantime, you should review the two candidates web sites yourself:
Peter Morales - http://www.moralesforuuapresident.org
Laurel Hallman - http://www.hallmanforuuapresident.com
We will accomplish our democratic exercise by briefly reviewing the two candidates, vote by secret ballot, and then fill out the absentee ballots proportionally. For example, we get 12 delegate votes: if the two candidates each get about half the Eliot member votes, then the absentee ballots will be split 6 and 6, and we will mail them all in. Hopefully, one candidate will clearly emerge as the front runner, but it is more important that we vote the congregation’s will, and not any particular person’s will.
Notice of Eliot Unitarian Chapel
Annual Meeting
9:30 a.m. Sunday, May 17, 2009
“Absentee ballots with instructions and biographical information about the candidates will be mailed to congregations in early May and must be returned by June 17.
“By sending delegates to vote on site at General Assembly on Saturday, June 27. All GA delegates who have voting credentials that were not used to vote absentee will be eligible to vote on site...
“When discerning how to vote in the election (absentee or on site), congregations have wide discretion in determining whether and how to instruct their delegates. For example, a congregation could hold a congregational meeting to discuss the election and then could direct its delegates to vote for particular candidates. Or the congregation could appoint delegates and allow those delegates to vote their consciences.
“More detailed instructions for voting will be included with the ballot mailing in early May.
“Please let me know if you have questions about the election. For more information on UUA Elections, see http://www.uua.org/aboutus/governance/elections/index.shtml.”
What does this have to do with you? About every 8 years, there is a major election for UUA president. This year, at the General Assembly (GA) in Salt Lake City, Utah, is a major election for UUA president, and the two candidates are distinctively different.
Because the GA is being held in Utah, and few Eliot members are expected to attend, and because many UUs (including me) believe the selection of the next president is an issue critical to the future of Unitarian Universalism, we will take part of our annual meeting (9:30 a.m., Sunday, May 17) to vote the congregation’s wishes. At that time, I will also indicate who I am endorsing. In the meantime, you should review the two candidates web sites yourself:
Peter Morales - http://www.moralesforuuapresident.org
Laurel Hallman - http://www.hallmanforuuapresident.com
We will accomplish our democratic exercise by briefly reviewing the two candidates, vote by secret ballot, and then fill out the absentee ballots proportionally. For example, we get 12 delegate votes: if the two candidates each get about half the Eliot member votes, then the absentee ballots will be split 6 and 6, and we will mail them all in. Hopefully, one candidate will clearly emerge as the front runner, but it is more important that we vote the congregation’s will, and not any particular person’s will.
Notice of Eliot Unitarian Chapel
Annual Meeting
9:30 a.m. Sunday, May 17, 2009
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