In a recent Facebook post, NCRA’s President Stephen Zinone – or, hopefully, his ghostwriter – through a tour de force of NCRA’s governing documents and applicable law, held NCRA’s election process up as a shining example of “democracy in action.”
Well, our fact checkers here at WakeUpNCRA – never shrinking from a good challenge – wanted to see if our current president is the real deal or if he’s just lip-synching when it comes to democracy.
So, let’s see if Steve’s stage crew at least has the speakers turned on. He is hyper-technically correct that all directors and officers are “elected” by Voting Members of NCRA because the members of the Nominating Committee — all FIVE of them – are themselves Voting Members of NCRA. Okay, the speakers are turned on.
Now let’s look at the tune that he’s supposedly singing. Based on the Facebook post, to everyone here at WakeUpNCRA, it sounds like Steve is emphasizing how all of the directors and officers are elected by scores of at-large members. But we know that’s not the case because here’s how it really works – and this is how we really know that Steve is lip-synching — as we can all read on Election Central regarding uncontested elections: “The following are the uncontested nominees for the 2016 election. These candidates will be deemed elected at the Annual Business Meeting, August 4, 2016.”
That’s right. Our new president, president-elect, and two directors will be “deemed elected,” meaning, from our perspective as at-large members, these “candidates” will ascend to become OUR leaders without having received one single vote from a single one of us. Now, does that sound like anything resembling true democracy to you? Because it sure doesn’t to us. To us, it sounds like an oligarchy—the rule of a few (FIVE) people.
That’s right. If somebody leads a charmed existence and first gets nominated as a director and then a couple of years later gets nominated as the president-elect, both times in uncontested elections, that person will become our supreme leader without having ever received one single vote from the membership at large. As a matter of fact, it will be a maximum of ten votes cast by people who themselves may never have received one single vote from the membership at large. So, this, my friends, is an oligarchy.
So, our fact checkers have concluded the following. Democracy? Not in Steve’s (or his ghostwriter’s) wildest dreams. Oligarchy? 99.999 percent.
The only small exception (the .001 percent) is when someone runs from the floor and wins a contested election without ever having received the support of the oligarchs. Because just to run, they have to receive the support of at least 100 at-large members with not more than 25 from any single state. Then to serve they have to beat the oligarch’s nominee by receiving a majority of votes cast by the membership at large in an ACTUAL election.
So, this coming Thursday, August 4th, please vote for candidates who are “the real deal” – YOUR candidates because YOU nominated them.
So strike a vote for true democracy and vote for Sue Terry, Debbie Dibble and Christine Phipps – the real deals!
Finally, don’t pay the extra money for NCRA’s concert CD. The oligarchs lip-synched it.
Wake Up NCRA
Frank N. Sense
P.S. Let’s make some real-deal noise – no mic, no sound system, no lip-synching!!! Please VOTE this Thursday, August 4th!!!
P.P.S. You will receive an e-mail from NCRA after the business meeting to vote if they have your e-mail address on file.
P.P.P.S. Please send this to at least TEN NCRA members (the equivalent of two Nominating Committees) so that they know how important their vote is, too!!!