[nabs-l] . Re: Justin Salisbury for NABS Presiden

[justin williams]

I thought it was called campaigning; isn't that the basic technique of
anyone who wants to run for office?

-----Original Message-----
From: nabs-l [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Sean Whalen via
nabs-l
Sent: Friday, June 06, 2014 2:19 PM
To: nabs-l at nfbnet.org
Cc: nabs-presidents at nfbnet.org
Subject: [nabs-l] . Re: Justin Salisbury for NABS Presiden

Good Friday afternoon NABS,

I wanted to briefly jump in on this thread to offer a few important points
and clarifications.

First, the policy to exclude individuals who are campaigning for Board
positions from speaking on the NABS agenda at convention is not a "private
agreement" among the NABS Board. It was a decision that has been discussed,
considered and voted on several times dating back to Arielle Silverman's
stint as NABS President. I very much understand why Justin and others have
concerns about this policy. There is certainly an element of unfairness to
it. But it is important to acknowledge that there are also legitimate
arguments in favor of the policy. The strongest of which being that placing
somebody on the agenda who wishes to run for a position benefits that
individual enormously in his or her bid. A speech on the agenda familiarizes
everybody in the room with the candidate and leaves the candidate fresh in
the mind of all meeting participants. Clearly permitting one candidate this
opportunity while denying it to others is not fair. And if everybody who
were running for a position was entitled to a spot on the agenda, we would
have little time left for anything else. I am not saying that I either
oppose or support the policy; I didn't vote last time we considered it. But
it is something that was and has been openly discussed among the NABS Board
and voted on. Some on the Board voted against the policy last time we
discussed it, each of whom had a full opportunity to voice opinions and each
of whom possesses one of the equally-weighted nine votes that the Board uses
to make decisions between national meetings. There is certainly space for
disagreement, but there is no "whistle" to be blown. The process by which
the decision was made was legitimate.

Second, nothing in this policy in any way conflicts with the Constitutions
of the National Federation of the Blind or the National Association of Blind
Students. If anybody is aware of any such conflict, I would be very grateful
if it could be brought to my attention, in which case we will certainly
change course immediately.

Please, anybody with questions or concerns about this, feel free to contact
me to discuss them.

Many thanks,

Sean Whalen
President, National Association of Blind Students
(608) 332-4147
nabs.president at gmail.com

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