[Chapter-delegates] What is the purpose of the petition process? (Re: Petition filed by Caleb Ogundele to be added to Election Slate)

[Andrew Sullivan]

Dear colleagues,

On Fri, Feb 24, 2023 at 11:20:49AM +0100, Adebunmi Akinbo via Chapter-delegates wrote:
>However, I believe that you are looking at addressing the issues that might
>have created the challenge we are witnessing at this point.

It isn't clear to me what the issues are that are informing this petition, so I can't comment on that (and anyway, I think it would be inappropriate for me to comment on any particular candidacy when the election is in process).

>I recall that we had similar discussions some years ago. I had also applied
>and was interviewed for the Board of Trustee. I guess interviews us no
>longer part of the process.

The ways the elections work are outlined at https://www.internetsociety.org/board-of-trustees/elections/, and the relevant committee charters can be found at https://www.internetsociety.org/board-of-trustees/committees/.

>I strongly assume that the NomCom tries it's best but limited to what can
>be done. I would have expected some strong measures from the committee
>created by the Internet Society President to address this issue around
>2020. I find nothing significant (I might have missed it) in the records
>not a recommendation.

The Governance Reform Working Group was a working group (not a committee -- there is a legal difference but probably not relevant for this discussion) was created by the board, not by me.  The board did in fact adopt some actions as a result of the work.  The WG did not discuss in any significant degree the operation of the NomCom and the elections process, but there was considerable discussion about diversity of people elected through the process (that is, as far as I could tell nobody advocated for changing the process itself, though several people argued that different outcomes would be better).  The board chair followed up with the WG in a message posted at https://elists.isoc.org/mailman/private/governance-reform/2022-June/000806.html (note: you'll need to be a subscriber to the list to view the archives).  In particular, from Ted's note, I think two particular actions were relevant:

	Through the Board Governance committee, we will establish strong
	guidance that the ISOC NomCom’s non-Trustee members be drawn from
	a diverse pool.  We believe that increased diversity in that body
	results in a more diverse pool of candidates in the final
	election, and we wish to reinforce that mechanism.


	The board will formally define methods for using its power under
	Article 2, section D of the bylaws to at least retain the
	diversity of the board.

The NomCom produces a slate that is then subject to revision though the currently-operating petition process.

>Chapters hope to have it's members on the Board of Trustee to further
>promote related objectives of the Internet Society.

I don't think that is exactly relevant to the current petitions, though, right?  That is, the chapters are going to vote on the candidates in any case.

Best regards,

A

-- 
Andrew Sullivan
President & CEO, Internet Society
sullivan at isoc.org
+1 416 731 1261