I am witholding membership in SVBC

Hi Al,

I'm sorry to hear you won't be renewing your membership. I'd like to encourage you to directly contact SVBC when you have such grievances, but let me try to address your concerns here:

The slate of candidates is the group recommended by the existing Board. However, candidates can run whether they are recommended by the Board or not and all nominees who agree to appear on the ballot will be included. So, in this year's case (as in most years) the Board recommended all candidates. In fact, the Board voted to increase the number of vacancies in order to accommodate all three well-qualified new candidates in addition to those running for re-election. SVBC bylaws (as I understand them), found at http://bikesiliconvalley.org/files/documents/board/100318_SVBC_A_and_R_B..., allow the Board to adjust the number of members.

Nominations were first solicited in August (http://bikesiliconvalley.org/content/2113) on this website and numerous times through the weekly e-Bulletin (see here, here, and here) as well as the SVBC Facebook page. Candidates who either self-nominated or were nominated by others then met with Board members to discuss the roles and responsibilities of being an SVBC Board member. The merits of the recommended candidates were discussed at the November 17 Board of Directors meeting (http://bikesiliconvalley.org/content/2147), which was open to all members. Several members did in fact attend that night.

You're right, the write-in option is not likely to be sufficient enough to earn a spot on the Board. It is, rather, one final opportunity for participation at the end of what I consider to be a rather extensive and open process.

I'm sorry if this process does not seem transparent enough to those not directly involved in it. We strive to keep our members informed and engaged, but sometimes fail to communicate clearly all that we are working on. The "Board" page of this website is currently getting an overhaul and will soon include descriptions of all our committees, links to their charters, and scheduled meetings. It would have been ready to share last week but for some formatting issues that I had to turn to a consultant for help with. I will announce the updated page as soon as it is ready.

Again, if you or any other member has constructive criticism or suggestions for staff, please feel free to contact us. My email address is colin@bikesiliconvalley.org and my phone number is (408) 287-7259, x. 224. Though I do not feel a comparison to murderous Soviet cronies is warranted, I do believe we are all comrades as we work to make the bike a universally embraced transportation choice.

I had exactly the same concerns as Al Williams about the election process. I also wondered if the Board had pre-selected a set of preferred candidates to be allowed to appear on the ballot. Glad to hear from Colin Heyne that wasn't the case.

However, I'm still concerned that the Board even "recommends" candidates for itself. I think that's not appropriate.

Would the county's Board of Supervisors, for example, ever vote to endorse a certain candidate for the Board of Supervisors? Of course not! Individuals on the Board of Supervisors are free to do that, and often do, but not the entire Board itself as a body.

How is the SVBC Board of Directors ever going to be composed of a diverse set viewpoints if it pre-interviews and then recommends candidates to itself?

Let The People Decide. Vote Boone in 2012.