[Council] voting procedures and Council membership

[Ryan Eatmon]

+1

With the stipulation that when something comes up for a vote we do a 
better job at informing the members about the vote.

There are times I get busy and don't read the emails, but I check Jabber 
daily.  This is mainly just an issue for the chair(me) and the 
editor(stpeter) to work out. =)


Peter Saint-Andre wrote:
> If there are no objections, I propose that we follow the procedures
> outlined below from now on. So:
> 
> 1. JEPs pass by a simple majority +1, but -1 is a veto (essentially
>    this is what we do today).
> 
> 2. If you don't vote on a JEP after 10 days, your vote defaults to 0 
>    but we track the fact that you did not vote.
> 
> 3. If you miss three votes in a row, you may forfeit your Council 
>    membership (the Council will determine if there are extenuating
>    circumstances, and may retain such a member). A 3/4 majority of
>    Council members is required to vote +1 on removing another member.
> 
> 4. The Council shall at its discretion determine whether to fill
>    any vacancies on the Council, but as a matter of policy should 
>    do so if there are more than 3 months remaining in the Council's 
>    term.
> 
> If you find any of this problematic, speak now.
> 
> Thanks.
> 
> Peter
> 
> On Tue, Apr 29, 2003 at 09:20:14PM -0500, Peter Saint-Andre wrote:
> 
> 
>>In today's meeting of the Board of Directors, I raised the issue of 
>>inactive Council members. The Board remanded this issue back to the
>>Council. Specifically, Michael Bauer pointed me to Section 8.1 of 
>>the Bylaws, which reads in part:
>>
>>  The Jabber Council shall act upon the affirmative vote of a 
>>  majority of the members of the Council voting. A quorum of 
>>  the Jabber Council shall be a majority of the members of the 
>>  Council. The provisions of these Bylaws with regard to 
>>  meetings, notice, etc. that apply to Membership meetings 
>>  shall apply to the Jabber Council and members thereof unless 
>>  such provisions are inconsistent with this Article VIII.
>>
>>This seems to imply the following: 
>>
>>1. The current voting method (all Council members MUST vote) is
>>   overly strict. It would be perfectly acceptable for the Council
>>   to pass JEPs by a simple majority vote.
>>
>>2. The "three strikes and you're out" rule that applies to votes of
>>   the JSF membership also applies to the Council. So a Council
>>   member who misses three votes in a row is subject to automatic
>>   termination as defined in Section 2.6 of the Bylaws.
>>
>>In votes of the general membership, there is a defined time period 
>>for voting (usually 10 to 14 days). In line with previous discussion
>>on this topic, I would move that we institute the same policy within 
>>the Council -- from the date that voting begins, Council members have
>>14 days to vote. If a Council member does not vote, that fact is duly 
>>recorded and the member's vote defaults to 0 (neutral). If a Council
>>member misses three votes in a row, that member may be removed from
>>the Council (notice that Section 2.6 says "may", not "must"). I know
>>that I was the one who argued most strenuously against such a policy
>>in the past, but I have seen the error of my ways and now realize that
>>such a policy is a good thing.
>>
>>Further, it seems that section 2.5 also applies to the Council, which
>>means that a Council member could be removed upon an affirmative vote
>>of two-thirds of the Council. That is a radical step to take, but on
>>my reading it is open to the Council to remove a Council member if 
>>that should ever become necessary.
>>
>>BTW, the Bylaws do not require that the Council be made up of nine
>>members. Thus there is no immediate need to replace a Council member
>>who resigns, is removed, or is terminated -- the Council could function 
>>with fewer than nine members and still comply with the Bylaws. So it's
>>not necessary to formulate a procedure for filling a vacancy, although
>>it might be good to define such a procedure.
>>
>>Thoughts?
>>
>>Peter
>>
>>-- 
>>Peter Saint-Andre
>>Executive Director
>>Jabber Software Foundation
>>http://www.jabber.org/people/stpeter.php
>>_______________________________________________
>>Council mailing list
>>Council at jabber.org
>>http://mailman.jabber.org/listinfo/council
> 
> 


-- 
Ryan Eatmon
reatmon at jabber.org