As currently drafted, I object to the passage of the
Minutes.
Minute 8: I agree with Jim Tiemstra that the
language "with 8 in favor and 7 against" is incorrect and
improper. It should read as suggested by Jim: "... by the
tellers, with with the following results: Mr. Roderick 8, Mr.
Tiemstra 7, with Mr. Roderick declared as having been elected
President."
Minute 11: The same objection as to Minute 8.
It should be read: "... by the tellers, with with the following
results: Mr. Stafford 13, Mr. Frahm 2, with Mr. Stafford
declared as having been elected International Affairs Vice
President."
Minute 13: Due to the language in Dr. Michel's
contract, this should be corrected to read: "President Roderick
stated that this would be a Yes/No vote to elect Dr. Michel as
Chief Executive Officer. Ballots wer distributed, collected and
counted by the tellers, whereupon it was declared that Dr.
Michel had not been elected as Chief Executive Officer."
By the language of Dr. Michel's contract,
there was not a vote — and could not be — a vote to renew or not
renew Dr. Michel's contract. The effect of Dr. Michel not being
elected as CEO was that the first renewal under his contract
with the ARRL did not become effective. But that does not equate
to a vote to renew or not renew. The contract specifically
requires a vote to elect Dr. Michel as CEO; failing to be
elected as CEO results in the first renewal not going into
effect.
The failure to record this correctly opens
the League to an accusation that it failed to comply with the
terms of Dr. Michel's contract, resulting in the risk that the
League could be found to have breached that contract, if
litigation were to occur.
Do we report the vote count? Respectfully,
we have a problem. The results of the initial election of Dr.
Micheal as CEO was recorded and publicly reported. It was a 9-6
vote to elect. Having deemed it important to publish the fact of
his initial election and the vote count, the decision to
announce that he was not elected, but to NOT report the vote
count opens the League to accusations of inconsistency, improper
conduct, secrecy, having been complicit in the kidnapping of the
Lindbergh baby, etc.
We need to think this through very
carefully. Yes, Dr. Michel's election/non-election as CEO
involves a personnel matter, but only because if elected an
employment relationship is established and if not elected, an
employment relationship is not established. But that conclusion
does not end the discussion.This was an election for an Officer
position and we always report the result of Officer elections
AND the vote counts. See Minute 8 and Minute 11.
I believe, absent a formal change in
policy, we are compelled to report the vote count for the CEO
officer position.
Until this issue is resolved and confirmed
by advice of counsel, the finalization and publication of the
Minutes need to be delayed.
Minute 15, Minute 26: I share Jim Tiemstra's
concerns regarding the waiver of the attorney-client privilege.
Advice provided by attorneys representing the League should
never be set forth in any document available to the public. I
adopt and support Jim's recommendations for the changes in these
two Minutes.
Minute 27: Again I have concerns regarding what we
report related to advice from our attorneys. The last sentence
of Minute 27 should be deleted.
Minute 30: As a Member of the Legislative
Committee, I support Chairman Tiemstra's request for the change
in language as set out in his email below.
Minute 33: Due to the sensitive nature of our
relationship with the FCC we should be circumspect in our
language. The second sentence would be less subject to criticism
of the FCC were it to be worded: "It was noted again that staff
turnover and limitations at the FCC might impact our efforts."
As this comment was based on David Siddall's report to the
Board, we again need to be careful not to disclose
attorney-client privileged matters.
_______________________________________
John Robert Stratton
N5AUS
Director
West
Gulf Division
Office: 512-445-6262
Cell: 512-426-2028
P.O. Box
2232
Austin,
Texas 78768-2232
_______________________________________